He was a controversial figure with a large history that can not be totally presented in this context. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, making him the longest serving President of the Church in the history of the church, at 29 years. He was also the founder of Salt Lake City and the first governor of Utah Territory, United States. Brigham Young University was named in his honor.

He had a variety of nicknames, among the most popular being "American Moses," because, like the Biblical figure, Young led his followers, the Mormon pioneers, in an exodus through a desert, to what they saw as a promised land. He was called the "Lion of the Lord" by his followers for his bold personality, and was also commonly called "Brother Brigham" by Latter-day Saints. Some of the controversies he was involved in are the banning of black people and the Priesthood, the Utah War, and the Mountain Meadows massacre.

He was a polygamist which would complicate any family history. He had as many as 56 wives. 10 divorced him. Some of them were elderly and the marriage was for purposes of support and protection. He had 57 children 46 of them lived to maturity. He also adopted at least two.

As part of their genealogical collections the LDS church maintains an index of "Utah Deaths and Burials 1888-1946". Ironically they list his Marital status as "unknown".

As a baby Mary Ann's head was run over by a wagon. Her Mother prayed and shaped the little head back into place, and she lived.