Brigham Young died in a bed on the second floor of the Lion House in Salt Lake City on August 29, 1877. He was 76. For a man who had led a pioneer exodus across a continent, survived the Utah War, and stared down the United States government, his end seemed almost too quiet. Almost. Within days of his passing, the whispers started. Was it really just a "stomach ailment"? Or was Brigham Young assassinated by someone close to him?
History is rarely as clean as a death certificate. If you look at the political climate of 1877 Utah, you see a powder keg. Young was the Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), but to the federal government, he was a rebel. To some of his own followers, he was becoming too powerful. To his many enemies, he was a tyrant. When a man that polarizing dies suddenly after eating a bowl of peaches, people are going to talk. They've been talking for nearly 150 years.
The Sudden Sickness: Peaches, Pain, and Poison?
It started on a Thursday. Brigham had been attending a series of meetings when he felt a sharp, cramping pain in his abdomen. He thought it was indigestion. He'd dealt with it before. But by Friday, he was vomiting uncontrollably. His pulse was thready. His skin turned a sickly, pale yellow.
The doctors of the era—men like Seymour B. Young and Joseph Benedict—were hovering over him. They diagnosed it as "cholera morbus." That sounds terrifying, but in the 19th century, it was basically a catch-all term for severe gastroenteritis. It wasn't the actual Asiatic cholera that killed thousands. It was just... a really bad stomach ache that turned fatal. Or was it?
Honesty time: the symptoms of 19th-century "cholera morbus" look remarkably similar to arsenic poisoning.
Arsenic was easy to get. It was in everything from wallpaper to rat poison. If you wanted to kill a leader in 1877 without leaving a smoking gun, a dash of white powder in a bowl of cream and peaches would do the trick. The theory that Brigham Young was assassinated via poison gained legs because of the timing. The "Mormon Question" was at a fever pitch in Washington D.C., and the internal power struggles for who would succeed the Lion of the Lord were just beginning to simmer.
What the Doctors Actually Saw
Dr. Denton L. Peterson, a modern researcher who has looked into the medical records, notes that Young’s final days were marked by "intermittent periods of intense agony." He was given morphine. He was given brandy. They even tried to give him a warm water enema to "clear the pipes."
Nothing worked.
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If it was an assassination, it was a slow one. He lingered for nearly a week. Most people who think was Brigham Young assassinated point to the fact that his death happened shortly after the execution of John D. Lee. Lee was the only man held legally responsible for the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Before he was shot by a firing squad, Lee felt betrayed by Young. Some believe Lee's loyalists—or even those afraid Lee would talk—had a motive to see Brigham gone.
The Appendicitis Theory: A Modern Medical Lens
Let's pivot for a second. While the poison theory is juicy and fits the "Wild West" vibe, most modern physicians who study the case have a different answer. They think it was his appendix.
Think about it.
- Sudden onset of lower abdominal pain.
- Fever and chills.
- Persistent vomiting.
- Inflammation that spreads until the patient goes into septic shock.
In 1877, nobody really knew what to do with a ruptured appendix. Surgery for appendicitis wasn't common practice yet. If Brigham’s appendix burst, he would have developed peritonitis. That’s a fancy way of saying his entire abdominal cavity became a breeding ground for bacteria. It’s a slow, agonizing way to die. It fits the timeline perfectly.
Is it possible he was poisoned? Sure. Is it probable? Probably not. The doctors who were with him were his friends and family. They didn't see anything suspicious, or if they did, they took it to their graves. But the "assassination" narrative persists because Young was a man who lived with a target on his back. He had bodyguards—the "Danites"—for a reason.
Who Would Have Wanted Him Dead?
If we entertain the idea that was Brigham Young assassinated, we have to look at the "Who" and the "Why." The list of suspects is longer than a Utah winter.
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- The Federal Government: President Rutherford B. Hayes wasn't a fan. The U.S. was trying to end polygamy and strip the LDS Church of its political power. A dead Brigham Young meant a leaderless movement.
- Internal Rivals: Successor drama is real. While John Taylor eventually took the reins, the transition wasn't guaranteed.
- The Anti-Polygamy Crusaders: There were people who viewed Young as a moral monster. To them, killing him wasn't murder; it was a civic duty.
One of the most persistent—and frankly, wild—theories involves his own family. Young had 55 wives (though not all at once). He had 56 children. The logistics of his estate were a nightmare. When he died, the legal battle over his properties and money lasted for years. Could a disgruntled family member have sped things up? It’s a trope in every mystery novel, but in the case of Brigham Young, there’s zero hard evidence to back it up.
Everything we have points to a man whose body simply gave out after decades of high-stress leadership and a diet that probably wasn't great for a 76-year-old.
Why the Rumors Won't Die
We love a conspiracy. It’s more interesting than "old man dies of natural causes."
For the critics of the LDS Church, the idea that Brigham Young was assassinated by his own people supports the narrative of a violent, secretive society. For his supporters, the idea of him being a martyr for the cause adds to his legend. It’s the same reason people still debate the JFK assassination or the death of Marilyn Monroe. We want there to be a reason for a giant to fall.
When the news of his death hit the wires, the New York Times ran a massive headline. The world was shocked. Not because he was young, but because he seemed immortal. He had survived so much that death by "indigestion" felt like a letdown.
The Legacy of the "Lion of the Lord"
Whether he died of a burst appendix or a poisoned peach, the impact of his death was the same. It ended an era. The Utah he left behind was vastly different from the one he entered in 1847. He built cities. He established a university. He created a self-sustaining economy in the middle of a desert.
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If he was assassinated, the assassins failed in their ultimate goal. They didn't destroy the movement. They just changed the leadership.
What the Evidence Tells Us Today
If we dug him up today, could we find out? Probably. Forensic toxicology has come a long way. Arsenic stays in the hair and bones for a long, long time. But the LDS Church is unlikely to ever allow an exhumation of one of their most significant prophets just to satisfy historical curiosity.
So, we are left with the diaries. We have the accounts of George Q. Cannon and others who were in the room. They describe a man in deep pain, praying for relief, and eventually slipping into a coma. There was no "confession" from a secret killer. No mysterious stranger seen fleeing the Lion House.
Honestly, the most boring explanation is usually the right one. Brigham Young was 76. He lived a hard life. He ate something that triggered a latent medical issue—likely appendicitis—and in an age before antibiotics, that was a death sentence.
Key Takeaways for History Buffs
- The Medical Reality: While "cholera morbus" was the official cause, modern experts point to peritonitis following a ruptured appendix.
- The Timing: His death occurred during a period of intense federal pressure and internal church stress, fueling the assassination rumors.
- The Poison Theory: Arsenic was the "weapon of choice" in the 1870s, and Young’s symptoms mimicked poisoning, though no proof exists.
- The Successor Factor: The smooth transition to John Taylor's leadership suggests that if there was a conspiracy, it didn't involve the top tier of church leadership.
To truly understand the question of was Brigham Young assassinated, you have to look past the sensationalism. Look at the man. Look at the medicine of the 1870s. When you strip away the folk-lore and the "anti-Mormon" or "pro-Mormon" biases, you find a historical figure who simply ran out of time.
If you're interested in digging deeper into this era of American history, your best bet is to look at the primary sources. Read the journals from the summer of 1877. Check out the Salt Lake Tribune archives from that week—they weren't exactly fans of Young, and if they smelled a conspiracy, they would have shouted it from the rooftops. They didn't. They reported a sick man who finally stopped breathing.
The mystery remains a part of the Utah mythos, a ghost story told in the shadows of the Wasatch Mountains. But as far as the "facts" go? The Lion of the Lord died in his bed, surrounded by family, victim to a body that could no longer keep up with his iron will.
Next Steps for Researching Utah History
- Visit the Lion House: If you're ever in Salt Lake City, seeing the actual location where he died puts the scale of his life into perspective.
- Read "Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet" by John G. Turner: This is widely considered one of the most balanced, well-researched biographies of the man. It doesn't shy away from the controversies.
- Search the Digital Archives: The University of Utah and BYU both have massive digital collections of 19th-century newspapers that give a day-by-day account of his final illness.