HISTORIC MARKER
Ann Slater Bunting’s family is shown gathered in front of a cabin near the mountain at the north end of the current Mountain Road in Fruit Heights. In 1855, Ann emigrated to the United States and made her way to Kaysville, Utah. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, she traveled to Kaysville with her family and lived there the remainder of her years with her daughters.
The photograph was created in 1870 by Andrew J. Russell. After discovering controversy regarding the subject matter and its use in propaganda, Charles R. Savage of Salt Lake City who had accompanied Russell and who had also taken photographs of the cabin sent an explanatory letter in the Deseret News. The newspaper published the letter in 1879 describing the scene viewed.
“The notice which appeared in our issue of last evening of the picture now being peddled by the Presbyterians, and purporting to be a photograph of a ‘Mormon’ polygamous family, has called forth the following letter from a gentleman well known to the public, whose word is sufficient guaranty for the truth of his statement and who has in his possession proofs sufficient to satisfy any reasonable mind that the pious people who are palming this thing upon the American public for the holy purpose of getting money, are perpetrating a gross and impudent fraud:
“Editor Deseret News: Dear Sir. – In your leader of December 26th, reference is made to a certain picture peddled by the enemies of the Mormon community as ‘Polygamous Low Life.’ As the individual who took said picture, I will relate the facts in the case, that the readers of the News may then judge for themselves as to the foundation for the false impression sought to be obtained by publishing such a misrepresentation.
“It was in the fall of 1870, in company with a certain Major Russell who was employed as a photographer by the builders of the Union Pacific R.R., that we stopped on the Kaysville bench, on the road to the mouth of Weber Canyon, at the residence of an old lady by the name of Bunting. Having been acquainted with her in England, she was very glad to see me, and after a friendly chat and knowing our business, she remarked to me that as all her living daughters were there at the same time we were, it would be a good chance to have their portrait taken in one picture, that she might be able to send one back to England. Of course, I assented and accordingly arranged the sisters with a spinning wheel and other accessories to make up the picture of a pioneer home. The husband of the oldest daughter was present and in order to introduce him in said picture he was placed in the rear as much as possible. The old lady’s idea was to send the picture of herself and the girls back to the old country. I could not ask him to keep out of the picture, so he became one of the party. Now, after I had got the view, Major Russel, asked permission to take a negative also, as he desired to have a picture of a ‘Mormon’ country home.
“I took no further notice of the matter, and thinking Major Russell to be a man of honor, never had a doubt or suspicion of the picture being used to the damage of the ‘Mormon’ community, and judge my surprise, when a friend of mine, who had visited New York City, told me that the picture was exhibited in New York as polygamy in low life, by this name Major Russell – who knew well that he was publishing a lie when he exhibited the picture. As the politicians say, ‘anything to beat Grant,’ so he thought it no wrong to damage the reputation of the ‘Mormon’ community; such a movement is always popular.
“Mr. Young, at present living in Kaysville, is the husband of one of the ladies – I forget the name of the husband of the other. The facts are well known that the man in the picture is not the husband of more than one of the family. I have the original negative in my possession and a copy of the one issued by this Major Russell is copied and sold by Mr. Smith, photographer of this city, who sells said picture to Alf Low of Ogden, or anybody else that wants it I suppose, for copies of the negative in my possession have never been sold since I found out the lie sought to be circulated by its publication. I am prepared to prove everything I have written, and if any person wishes to disprove it he can have the chance of trying to do so by calling on C. R. Savage.”
Subjects have been individually identified by family members as different members of three generations of daughters, son-in-law, and grandchildren of Ann Slater Bunting. All the adult women, however, are consistently named as Sarah Bunting Bosworth, Mary Bunting Ashton, Ellen Bunting Young and Ann Bunting Ward.
Sources
- Image of cabin photographed by Andrew J. Russell. The photograph accessed on Wikimedia 9/17/2024 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mormon_family_by_Andrew_J_Russell.jpg is in the Public Domain.
- “Anything for Money.” Letter to the Editor by C. R. Savage. Deseret News. Saturday, December 27, 1879; p.2.
- “Died.” Death notice. Millennial Star. November 17, 1874.
