Brigham Young signed Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Stock Certificate - 1871 dated Autograph Stock Issued to Lewis S. Hills of Salt Lake City, Utah Fame

Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution signed by Brigham Young. Issued to and signed by Lewis S. Hills.

Lewis S. Hills (1836-1915) was an influential financier and political figure in Utah, known for his role in the state's financial affairs and as the owner of a significant Victorian Italianate house in Salt Lake City. Hills was born in South Amherst, Massachusetts. He worked in a land office in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he converted to Mormonism before moving to Salt Lake City in 1862. Hills co-founded Hooper, Eldredge & Company in 1869 and became a cashier of Deseret National Bank in 1872, later serving as its president. He held positions on the boards of several banks and companies. Hills served two terms on the Salt Lake City Council and was a member of the People's Party. Hills acted as the first receiver of the U.S. Land Office in Salt Lake City. He owned land for his house from 1869 to 1908; built around 1885, it later became a boarding house and then the Hogar Hotel. The house is a key example of High Victorian Italianate architecture and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Brigham Young (June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877) was a prominent American religious figure and politician. He served as the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until his passing in 1877. Additionally, he held the position of the first governor of the Utah Territory from 1851 until his resignation in 1858. 

In May 1834, Young joined Zion's Camp and journeyed to Missouri, returning to Kirtland with fellow members of the camp in August. Upon his return, he engaged in carpentry, painting, and glazing to earn a living. He contributed to the construction of the Kirtland Temple and attended a grammar school. Shortly after his return, his third child and first son, Joseph A. Young, was born. During Young's absence, his wife Mary Ann, who was pregnant at the time, took care of his two daughters as well as the children of her brother Solomon Angell and their friend Lorenzo Booth. 

While in Nauvoo, Joseph Smith introduced the principle of plural marriage among church leaders. In early 1842, Young officiated the sealing ordinances for two of Smith's plural wives. He proposed marriage to Martha Brotherton, a seventeen-year-old recent immigrant from Manchester, England. Brotherton later signed an affidavit claiming that she had been coerced by Young and Smith into accepting polygamy. This affidavit was created at the behest of John C. Bennett following his excommunication, and it was part of a campaign that mixed falsehoods with truths regarding the church's practice of polygamy. Young and William Smith sought to undermine Brotherton's credibility, and she ultimately distanced herself from the church. Young actively campaigned against Bennett's claims that Joseph Smith engaged in "spiritual wifery," despite being aware of Smith's concealed practice of polygamy. He also played a role in persuading Hyrum Smith to accept the principle of polygamy.

Read More

Read Less