1: You are now living in the city of Salt Lake, are you not Mrs Young?
Yes sir.
2: Are you a daughter of Edward Partridge, who was formerally a bishop in the original church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints?
I am.
3: When did he die?
Well I could not state the exact date when he died.
4: Well state it as nearly as you can Mrs Young?
I think it was in 1841, but I am not sure that was the date. I have it down on the record and if I had access to the record now I could tell you but without that I cannot tell you the exact date.
5: Are you one of the daughters of Edward Partridge, who together with your mother, and perhaps two other sisters, signed a deed to certain property in the City of Independence, Missouri, commonly known as the temple property?
Yes sir, I signed a deed, and I believe it was for that, for I always have it in mind that that was what it was for, but I haven’t charged my mind with it particularly. I know I signed a deed for some property there, and I think it was for this temple lot.
6: What is the fact Mrs Young about you signing more than one deed?
I never signed but one deed that I have any recollection of for land in Missouri.
7: How many of your brothers and sisters did not sign that particular deed?
There was one brother and one sister.
8: That did not sign that deed to which you have references?
Yes sir, there was one brother and one sister.
9: Is your sister now living that did not sign it,-that is the sister that did not sign that did to the which you refer,-is she now living?
No sir, she is dead.
10: I will ask you now Mrs. young whether that property was in fact the property of Edward Partridge, your father, or was it the property held at the time by your father Edward Partridge, in trust for the use and benefit of the church of which he, at that time, was a member?
Well I can’t say for I have no positive knowledge, but I know I always had the idea that he was holding it for the church. That was always the idea I had, but as I said, have no positive knowledge.
11: What was said at the time the deed to which you refer was made with reference to advising the purchaser, or the party to whom the deed was made of the character of the property?
Well I always understood, or had always supposed that he understood it, but I do not remember all these things, for it was a long time ago and I didn’t charge my mind with all these things, and I have forgotten a good deal about it of course,-but I remember knowing it of course.
12: Remember knowing what Mrs. Young?
Of course I remember signing the deed.
13: Was anything said about your interest in it, or about not having any interest in it, or about its being church property?
I can’t say. I don’t remember anything of the kind.
14: Do you recollect who was present at the time the deed was executed?
Well my two sisters,-While we would sign it do you mean?
15: Yes ma’am,-when you signed the deed, do you recollect who was present?
Well my mother and two sisters were present, but I cannot be positive about anybody else, because they were strangers you know, and I can’t remember their names. We went out into town and signed it, and I don’t remember just all who were present.
16: Was you brother Edward present at the time?
No sir, my brother Edward was not present.
17: Do you recollect where you lived at the time the deal for the property was made?
I was living at the winter quarters then.
18: Was that at Council Bluffs?
Well it-was where Omaha is now,-Florence it was called, or some where there. It was winter quarters where we were then any how.
19: Well was that not where Omaha is now?
I don’t know I think it was some where there.
20: I will ask you if the party to whom the property was sold or deeded by yourself and your mother and two sisters come to you where you were in winter quarters in what is now Nebraska, and made the deed for the property there?
Well I don’t know whether the man it was deeded to was there or not, but the agent came there and transacted the business,-or I mean that the man that the business was don with came there and transacted the business, but I don’t think the man who really bought it was there, only the agent was there I think.
22: Then after the deal for the property was made there, you went to some town in Missouri, and executed the deed there?
Yes sir I think it was in Missouri at a town called Weston I think, if I remember right.
23: Now I will ask you Mrs Young, if you, or either of your brothers or sisters, or your mother at any time when she was living, made any claim to that property as being – your own private property?
No sir, we never have
24: I will ask you whether or not either of the parties who signed the deed to the property made any claim at that time to the party to whom it was conveyed, or to any agent of this transacting the business for him to the effect that the property was your own individual property?
Well as I say I don’t remember, but I don’t think we ever laid any claim to that property as being ours, for we never felt that way, or thought that it was outs. we never I don’t think thought the property was ours at all, or felt that it belonged to us.
25: I will ask you Mrs Young if you recollect a statement made by the party purchasing it, or his agent to you, your sisters and mother at the time of the purchase in effect, substantially as follows, – that he would run his changes on the title to the property if he got the seed”, – a statement in substance to that effect?
I don’t remember anything of the kind, but I always understood or supposed, he understood what thoroughly?
Understood perfectly the state of things.
26: Understood what thoroughly?
Understood perfectly the state of things.
27: I will ask you if you executed the deed with the understanding that the property was not your individual property, but was property that was held by your father, for the use and benefit of the church?
Yes sir that was the idea.
28: And did you understand at the time of the execution of the conveyance, that the party to whom it was being conveyed, understood the character and nature of the property that was being conveyed to him?
Yes sir.
29: Mrs Young did you personally have any conversation with the man that purchased this property?
I don’t recollect that I saw him at all. Do you mean the agent?
30: I mean the man to whom the property was conveyed?
I don’t remember anything about him.
31: You don’t remember having any conversation with the man to whom the property was conveyed?
I don’t remember anything about him. He is gone from my mind entirely, but I remember the agent being there.
32: That is the agent of the man who purchased the property?
Yes sir. I mean the man that was there and done the business, but I don’t remember saying anything to him that I recollect of.
33: Did you have any conve3rsation with that agent?
I don’t know I don’t remember that I did but I remember his being there. It has been a good while ago since these things happened, and I did not charge my mind with these things, for I don’t suppose it would ever come up again. I just signed the deed I recollect that well enough, and I did not have any thing more to to do with it.
34: Beyond that you do not know anything at all about the transaction?
No sir.
35: That is all you know about it?
Yes sir. I think I have told you all I can remember about it. As I have said once or twice it was a long time ago, and I did not charge my memory with it, for after I signed the deed I did not think I would ever hear anything more about it, – that would be the last of it, and so I paid not any more attention to it, and I think I have told all I can think of about it.
36: As a matter of fact you cannot recollect anything about it with the exception that you were called on to sign this deed, – that is all you can remember about it with any degree of certainty?
Yes sir, I remember that I was called on to sign this deed, and I remember doing it.
37: You don’t remember anything about how the property was conveyed, or what the deed contained?
Well I suppose the deed was read to me at the time, but I don’t remember anything now about what kind of a deed it was, but I suppose it was a quit-claim deed or something of the kind.
38: You don’t now remember what the date of the deed was?
No sir.
39: You do not really remember anything about the transaction do you?
No sir I don’t remember any thing about it. I don’t think of anything now about it only that the deed was made and I signed it.
40: Mrs Young have you any positive knowledge that the property conveyed in that deed was church property?
No sir, – I have no positive knowledge about that as I said before, but I always supposed it was. I know we always considered that the property was church property, and we made no claim to it as being our property, for we supposed all the time it was church property.
41: What was your age Mrs Young when the property was purchased, – that it – how old were you when the property was purchased?
When it was deeded away?
42: Yes?
It was in 1848 wasn’t it that it was deeded away to that man? Well I was born in ’24, and you can reckon it up for yourself and find out how old I was. I was twenty two I guess, or twenty four, – something like that.
43: How old were you at the time you lived in Missouri, when that property was purchased by your father?
When, what?
44: How old were you when you lived in Missouri when that property was purchased by your father?
Well I don’t know. That is hard for me to say. When I first went to Missouri I was only about seven years old, and I guess the property was purchased about that time. I don’t know anything about the purchase of it though, for I was too young at the time to pay much attention to things like that.
45: I will ask you if you recollect the first time you went to Missouri, Mrs Young?
Yes sir, I can remember very well when we went there.
46: The year I mean? Can you remember the year you first went to Missouri?
No, well let me see, – I think it was in ’30, but I ain’t sure about that. I think it was in ’31 that we went there, but my father went there the year before, – in ’30, I think, but I wouldn’t be sure about that either.
47: Now where do you live there in Independence with reference to
48: Yes ma’am?
Well I couldn’t say as to that, but I have an idea that we had a little house built right on the corner of it.
49: On the corner of what?
Of the lot there. I couldn’t say for sur though, but I have an idea that that is where our little house was built, and it was right on a corner of the lot there.
50: The temple lot?
Yes sir.
51: I will ask you if it is not a fact Mrs. Young that your brother Edward Partridge was not born on that property?
Well now I could not say for sur that he was. I couldn’t say whether he was born in Jackson County, or after we left there. Yell now I remember he was born there, but I couldn’t say for sure that he was born on that lot we loved on at that time.
52: Well now was this let known as the temple lot when you lived there?
Well I was too small to know much about it you know, but I have my impression that it was known as the temple lot at that time, but I can’t say positively as to that.
53: Well what is your best recollection as to that the lot was called at the time you were living there. Parties speaking of it what would they call it?
Well they called it the temple lot I suppose.
I don’t for sure, or positively what it was called, but that is the impression I have now that it was called the temple lot. I can’t remember though positively how that was for it was so long ago, and I was so small at the time.
Yes sir.
55: Well what is your best recollection Mrs. Young as to what it was called?
Well the temple lot, I always thought it was called.
56: Mrs. Young I understand that what you know about what that lot was called at that time is merely an impression?
Yes sir, it is an impression for I don’t know positively.
57: You have no distinct recollection as to what it was called?
No sir, I can’t remember anything positively. It was so long ago that I can’t remember what it was called positively. I have forgotten what it was called and I cannot state positively.
58: How old do you say you were at that time?
Well I was I think about seven years old when we went there, and when I came away I was I think in my tenth year, and it was between three years of course that I was there, and I was too young to remember much about it distinctly.