Mary Graham Young

Mary Graham is the mother of Margaret Graham Young, wife to Andrew McDougal Boyle
Mary Graham was born 4 April 1830 to James Graham and Jeanette Dickson in Gladskow, Lanark, Scotland. Both of her parent died while she was still young. When she was fourteen, her family had moved to Kirkintilloch, Scotland. Her mother had already passed away and her father was on his deathbed, when an Elder of the LDS church knocked on the door. He left behind a tract, and after reading it, James told Mary, “Mary, my girl, that is true. I believe that. I believe that young man has come with the true Gospel. I won't be able to remain long with you, but you look for the true Gospel described in this tract, and if ever you find it, you can safely embrace it."

When her father died, Mary became and orphan and began work as a servant for the Allen family. When they found out she was investigating the Mormon church, they became angry. Her association with the Mormons was affecting their business because people thought they were sympathetic to Mormons. They decided that something needed to be done, so they gave her an ultimatum. One dark and rainy night, Mr. Allen told her to either denounce Mormonism or leave.

This was a tough decision for Mary because she cared for the family and wanted to stay. She knew Mormonism was true and refused to denounce it. “I would be falsifying," she replied, "if I said it was not true. My father told me it was true when he was on his death bed. And I know it is true for myself." So out she went into the night with only one shilling in her pocket.
She took that one shilling and went to the owner of the Town Hall, who was a friend of her father. She asked to rent the hall as a place for the elders to preach. Although the shilling wasn’t enough to rent the hall, the man agreed because of his admiration for her father. When the elders discovered her situation, they gave her a blessing, promising she would never want.
Her courage left a lasting impression on the Allen family. They couldn’t believe she would sacrifice all she had for this religion. Mr. Allen said, "I cannot help but feel that there is something more to Mormonism than we understand; it cannot be just a man-made religion." He and his family investigated, joined the Church and immigrated to Utah.

When Mary was 21, she met a young man named Archibald M. Young. He had never joined any religion. She shared the gospel with him and he soon was baptized. Although he was of a higher class, they got married and eventually had 13 children, all born in Scotland.

While still in Scotland, Mary worked as a weaver of curtains and fine laces. They had a home on Union Street in Kirkintilloch, which was a street of weavers. The family lived on the first floor, and Mary weaved on the second.

In 1872, the family immigrated to Utah. When they arrived in Salt Lake City, they were greeted by the Allen family. This was her first contact with them after leaving their house. They took the Young’s into their home and fed them a wonderful banquet. Mary couldn’t help but compare their behavior to that the night she left their house. She marveled at their change in attitude.
The family soon moved from Salt Lake City to Ritchfield because of the United Order. Because her husband was so busy, she took it upon herself to build their house. The children helped make bricks and gather willows for the roof.

Mary was of a more serious nature than her husband, was very ambitious, and had a mind of her own. She often took on extra jobs to make money for the children’s clothes and for other supplies, often against the will of her husband.

When she heard that a Brother Hansen was looking for someone to drive a team to Salt Lake City, she took the job. Her husband was very much opposed, but she did it anyway. She stayed there for about six weeks to earn money for the children’s clothes.

When the Indian War had just ended, Mary received a call from some Indians in search for sugar, flour and meat. She gave them what she could spare, but they demanded more. She insisted she couldn’t because she had children to feed, but they didn’t care and reached for the sack. She took the homemade mop in her hand and laid it down on the Indians back. They hastily left.

One day her husband came home to tell her that the Brethren of the Church had been discussing polygamy with him. She said, “If you want to take another wife, you may take your wife and go.” She then replied, “You can have as many sealed to you as you like. I’m not so afraid of the dead ones.” That was the last of their talk of polygamy.

After Archibald died in 1895, their daughter Elizabeth and her husband moved in with Mary. Eventually they decided to move to Idaho and their house in Ritchfield was sold. She then moved in with her daughter Bell until her death.

Shortly before her death, she called her children together and told them of the blessing the Elders had given her as a young girl in Scotland. She told them, "You may never be asked to give all that you have for the Gospel's sake, but if you are, give it. I would like you to be as liberal with the Lord as he has been to you. I am eighty years of age and I have never wanted. That blessing has been fully realized. So I leave this with you children, that even if it takes the last cent you have for the Church, it is the finest thing you can ever do."

Her example and testimony left a lasting impression on her children and grandchildren. She died on 15 May 1911 of natural causes. She was 81 years old.

(This biography is a compilation of interviews with her children Robert D. Young and Isabell Young Oveson.)