The court determines that Sam Echols is not a proper person to raise a child, owing to his opinions.
My great-great-grandfather determines that his zeal for the (Mormon) faith will be his best revenge.
And that’s the last mention of Samuel Echols in the pages of The New York Times.
But not the first.
The young Mr. Echols develops into a Mormon preacher and becomes a leading man among dupes from the South.
Georgia is called up to settle the issue as to whether belief in Mormonism is a stain on citizenship or not.
The feeling among the people is to treat Echols roughly if he should win the suit.
Mrs. Echols learns that Mormonism permits the practice of polygamy, refuses to follow her husband to Colorado, and does not see him again until his return to Georgia two years later.
One month later, as The New York Times will report, Samuel has met my great-great-grandmother and taken her to Salt Lake City to be “sealed unto him.”
“He does not practice polygamy.”😉
