Item Detail
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Backman, Emily Elizabeth Bengstron
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1858-1937
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MSS 8
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Biography
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Emily Elizabeth Bengstron Backman was born June 15, 1858 in Gotenburg, Sweden. When she was sixteen years old, she traveled to America on an old sailing boat. Brigham Young arranged for her to work, helped her to pay for the trip, and also helped arrange for her family's migration later. When she arrived in Salt Lake City, she was met by Brigham Young and taken to his youngest wife's home, where she worked until Brigham Young's death. She then met Axel Emanuel Backman, another Swedish immigrant, whom she married in 1878, and with whom she had twelve children. In 1897, the family moved to Farmington and settled near the lake front on a three hundred-acre farm. They later moved closer to the mountains. Emily died on October 20, 1937.
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This is a two-page typescript biography, from the Margaret Steed Hess collection. It provides basic biographical information and describes Emily as a kind, generous person, and also a good cook. After arriving in Utah, Emily loved living with Amelia, Brigham Young's wife. The home is described as being a palace in comparison to Emily's previous home, and everyone there treated Emily like family. Thereafter, she 'always cherished the memory of Brigham Young.'
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1830-1912