Like Stephen, the boys were considered troublemakers by the Order and like Stephen, they knew a lot about how the clan handled its money. ", "Girls in polygamous Kingston Group continue to marry as young as 15, records show, sometimes leaving Utah to marry cousins", "Inside 'The Order,' One Mormon Cult's Secret Empire", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_Elden_Kingston&oldid=1136713473, This page was last edited on 31 January 2023, at 19:29. Attorneys for the Nelsons and Michaels also did not return messages seeking comments. We dont expect any of the claims to prevail in a court of law.. Shanell DeRieux was married at 18 to a husband in the Kingston Group. Another group of kids called the Lost Boys, who were kicked out of the polygamist cult the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, ended up on the streets of Las Vegas and Phoenix, some turning tricks for drugs like meth and heroin. Once the couples signed the certificates and turned them back in to the Mesa County clerk, they were legally married. J.O. At 17, she agreed to marry a man in his early 20s. Former sect members testified in favor of the measure, but its unclear whether the pressures faced by teens in the Kingston Group constitute forced marriage. Mafi followed Paul Kingstons instructions, the lawsuit states, and never again saw those funds.. They were finally getting even. The couple have since divorced. This is nothing more than a continued attempt in a long history to keep DCCS members from accessing education and services every other U.S. citizen is legally entitled to. No record of the case is available at the court clerks office. Mrs. The Brown boys, charged with felony counts of burglary, wrote a letter to their aunt apologizing for stealing the silver in her house. As he talked to the woman who lived there, Luke Brown came out of the house, and his brother Scott soon joined him. The young women ranged from about age 18 to 22. My e-mail address; george@eaglefreeenterprises ,com . After the wedding, Richaun chose the name Knight randomly a practice designed to prevent prosecutors from proving that men in the Order have multiple wives. Had Snow been a better behaved, more devout member of the Kingston Group, Hansen said, there may not have been a push to have her legally marry at 16. If I had done it, the Order probably would have killed me. Kent Johnson, a spokesman for the Davis County Cooperative Society (DCCS), which also is named as a defendant, said members are strongly encouraged to strictly adhere to every legal guideline when applying for financial aid. They steer clear of banks, fearing theyll steal their money. While some despised Ben for his apostasy and refused to speak with him, Stephen had remained in touch with his brother. Im done with this shit.. Only the inner circle knew the hoard even existed, says Christian Kingston, a former Order member. She's since left the marriage and wants the legal marriage age raised to 18. He charged across the field and started brutally beating Stephens cousin. Youd show up for a welfare call, or a domestic-abuse call, and it was just real run-down.. We figured it was ours anyway, says Stephen, explaining that the clan hadnt paid the boys for bagging coal. Regardless, all those applying should do so legally.. The statement also said that of the Kingston Group individuals who married under age 18 in the past 20 years, 95.1 percent remain married, 94.2 percent have earned a high school degree, and a third, most of them women, have graduated from a public college or university. Then, moving quickly, the boy at the door let himself in and got to work. Fortunately, our population has already attained a higher graduation rate for high school and associates degrees for men and women in the DCCS. The parents of the 16-year-olds also completed a form granting their permission. His arms are sunburned and his hands calloused from long days moving the irrigation pipes that water the fields. (Paul Kingston and other leaders of the family ignored repeated requests for comment for this story. Besides, the mother said, the girl needed her husbands health insurance to treat her condition. Thanks for your understanding. If the case succeeds, the whistleblowers can collect perhaps millions of dollars from the damages or fines paid by the defendants. During the approval process, the young man had begun texting Jessica something forbidden but that she says is common among Order teens who have an interest in one another. Paul F Kingston. Her top choice the one whom she felt God told her to marry was a man five years older than she and to whom she was related on both sides of her family tree. This article appears in the June 23, 2011 issue of Rolling Stone. In all likelihood, Stephen and his brothers had stolen the gold from Patty Kingston first and then the Brown boys, in an effort to emulate their cousins rebellious acts, had robbed their aunt weeks or even months later. Everyone in the Order knew that she controlled the purse strings for the operation but few were aware that she was sitting on a hidden stash of silver. Order girls are taught from birth that their primary purposes in life are to be obedient, a submissive wife, and to bear as many children as possible, the suit states. Their grooms were 22. Men rise in prominence by being obedient and pure of blood and by having large families that can produce a lot of money and workers for the group, the suit continues. Girls, many of them teen brides, answer phones at the Orders law office, bag groceries at its supermarket or tend to the clans many children. A state court website says the judge must conclude that the marriage is voluntary and in the best interests of the minor.. By the time he was 30, he would have more than 10. But he hopes that one day his family will be able to forgive him for leaving them behind. I am in love with old cars and horses. Snow says she chose to get married to escape an abusive living situation. The plaintiffs also contend these eight defendants have significant wealth acquired through the money and labor followers contribute to the Kingston Group and the rent the defendants charge their wives. The Kingston Group is believed to have a few thousand members, mostly in Utah and Idaho. Kingston clan into a multimillion-dollar business empire while allowing many of his purported 13 wives and dozens of children to survive on government assistance. Log In Once logged in, you can add biography in the database. The education figures he cited would be a few percentage points higher than the average for Utah as a whole, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Ive lived a good life. Sometimes, lying in bed at night, he thinks of his brother who died not far from here, and the rest of his siblings who remain in the Order. It felt like it was us against the world. His older brother Richard, a burly diesel mechanic, taught him how to fix cars. They had sped off in a Honda sedan. Those cousins and two others have since pleaded guilty to crimes that include fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and witness tampering in a plot to pocket federal energy tax credits. They did so July 3, 2008, in Grand Junction, Colo, where records show two other couples from the Kingston Group married that day. Kiki Kannibal: The Girl Who Played With Fire. The two most recent of those marriages, according to wedding certificates, occurred in April. That daughter was born with a form of heart disease and had long acted responsibly in caring for it, Hansen said. Unlike other girls in the Order, Richaun was refined she didnt wear hand-me-downs, and at clan dances, a long line of boys waited to dance with her. A nationwide debate is underway about teens, especially girls, marrying. Death: January 25, 1867 (75-76) Immediate Family: Husband of Lydia Kingston. That Stephens father sat atop a mafialike organization was a secret kept from him for most of his childhood. A review of wedding certificates shows how the teen marriages are sanctioned at the highest levels of the Kingston Group. One of them, Stephen Knight, made for the most unlikely of suspects. By 18, she was pregnant with her first child and ended up having four children in four years. They threw away their possessions, donned matching blue overalls, and pitched canvas tents on a patch of land north of Salt Lake that would come to be known as the Home Place.. Polygamist John Daniel Kingston, left, in attendance at a memorial for the 13 (and one still missing) victims of a Sept. 14, 2015, flash flood. presided, while Richauns father officiated the wedding, promising the bride that if she obeyed her husband, she would be guaranteed a spot in the Celestial Kingdom, the highest level of heaven. He would talk to them about marriage and thinking of whom to marry, Hansen said. In response to questions from the newspaper, Kent Johnson, a spokesman for the Davis County Cooperative Society, sent an email saying marriages should occur within the age of legal consent and not be coerced. She said the marriage disintegrated when her husband married spiritually one of her half-sisters, who was 22 at the time. In the past, we have worked closely with DWS, DOE and financial aid counselors at local colleges and universities to ensure proper training and that all applications adhere to every guideline. He inherited the top leadership position in 1987. We were off on our own out there and really close, Stephen says. Many of these men are also given stewardship of the Orders business holdings sent out to run the clans coal mine or ranches, or to oversee one of its many storefronts. They would trek into state welfare offices, their kids in tow, claiming that they had no idea who the father of their children was, or that he was a truck driver who had left them destitute. Directories Newly added. But we paid it all back.. Her husband, John Daniel Kingston, told his children to marry up, she said, meaning marry into a well-regarded family in the Kingston Group. I felt for his pulse, but he was already gone., That night, Paul Kingston arrived at the ranch. Two are nieces. She says marriages can be used in The Order to gain or maintain favor among the parents of the brides and grooms. Thats your Uncle Paul, she said. If God gives him direction on whom to marry, he goes to his dad. Jessicas dad told her the wife can get only as high as her husband rises. During his tenure, Kingston has followed his father's practice of plural, child, and intra-family marriage. Paul Elden Kingston is an accountant and attorney who has served as the Trustee-in-Trust of the Davis County Cooperative Society (DCCS), a Mormon fundamentalist denomination, [2] since 1987. During his tenure Kingston has followed his father's practice of plural, child, and intra-family marriage. He was born Jan. 7, 1928, in San Diego, Calif., a son of the late Paul and Evelyn . Another brother, Ben, showed him how to mend fences. As time passed, his dogma became even stranger. For the marriages performed in Utah, Bill W. Stoddard signed as the officiant until his death in March. Do you think if I took $5 million in gold, Id be working out here?. Thanks, it read. She's since left the marriage and wants the legal marriage age raised to 18. I honestly didnt even know there was any gold until they accused me of taking it, he says. The Mormon Church officially banned polygamy in 1890, and some of the defiant bands of fundamentalists who refuse to give up the practice have been pushed out of the city and into the desert, where they eke out an existence in rusted-out trailers and sprawling compounds. If the father believes his son received true direction from God, the son is sent to Paul Kingston or one of the people he designates to consider marriages. 1 choice for marriage is. They both have the same high cheekbones, the same pale skin, the same wide-set eyes. Hansen said some men try to use their children to improve their status in the sect. By the time the teenagers sped away, they had made off with more than $80,000 in silver. The now-20-year-old said she and her husband have started a family of their own. It didnt take long for them to break down and confess that they had robbed their aunt. Jessica was given the list of suitors. According to written histories, John Ortell Kingston, father of the current leader, also encouraged his family members to marry other kin to improve their own bloodline. If that child comes to her at age 16 wanting to marry, she said, she will have questions. Investigators have said 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh was shot four or five times with a rifle, while 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh was killed by two shotgun blasts near kennels on the family's . According to All Famous Birthdays, Paul Vallas has a staggering net worth of $5 million. Their legal team includes a Boston law firm with expertise in qui tam lawsuits. Regardless, all those applying should do so legally. . Like other teenagers who leave fundamentalist Mormon communities, Stephen was not prepared to enter the world at large. Its all political, Jessica said. All rights reserved. Look around, Stephen says. Church leader Paul Kingston conducted the service and his brothers John Daniel and David were speakers. They seemed happy, Ron says. He finished a three-year term as Chair of the Department of Sociology in August 2007. She said her father didnt think the suitor was a good student. The plaintiffs estimate the eight combine to have 106 wives and 911 children. There, stacked on the concrete floor, were crates filled with bars of silver. The groom was 21. It was all on me, and, for the most part, thats the case where it is the girls decision whether she wants to get married at that age., She said she knows of a few cases in which the girl was pressured by family or faith leaders to marry, but I can count them all on one hand.. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Snow and her mother, Shirley Hansen, have differing stories on what the moms role was in her daughters marriage. It was a grimy, derelict-looking place. Home. Paul Elden Kingston: Paul Kingston is the leader of the Latter Day Church of Christ, also known as the Kingston Clan or The Order in Utah. The DCCS is a financial cooperative established by his uncle Elden Kingston in 1935. That wasnt the only reason Jessica liked him. 1:03. Snow said the classes also taught the girls to be submissive to their husbands and to keep a good house for them. Its his father, the prophet, calling to coax his wayward son back into the fold. My mom was never the same. The doorknob to her room was removed. Jessica Kingston said she has heard males talking to one another about a girl and say, If youre going to marry that girl, shes going to have to be a first wife because she wont live polygamy.. It would be several more years before Stephen learned that Paul Kingston was his father, and that his mother was just one of his dads many wives. As he grew older, Stephen turned out to be as rebellious as his own father had been as a boy. Within the clan, the pieces started to add up. Jessica as well as Snow, DeRieux and Hansen all favor raising the legal marriage age in Utah and other states to 18. You could be such an asset to the Order., Trending If you were more obedient, this wouldnt have happened., After that, everything changed, Stephen says. Mark Shurtleff, the Utah attorney general, has spent years investigating the clan, gathering birth certificates and genealogical data, and has come to believe that the cult is guilty of a long list of crimes, including child labor, tax evasion, welfare fraud, polygamy and the sanctioning of underage marriages to blood relatives. They did it, says Christian Kingston. Paul J. Kingston Sr., 93, of North Huntingdon, died Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. You had to be, like, a son of the prophet to know where it was.. In Utah, Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, plans a bill that would raise the minimum marriage age to 18. Women, meanwhile, allegedly gain status by being pure of blood and obedient, becoming the first wives of higher-ranking numbered men, and bearing many children. Members who have left in recent years say that changed after some of Paul Kingstons brothers were convicted of crimes related to child abuse, sex with a minor or incest. But 16- and 17-year-olds in Utah need only the consent of a parent to wed. Idaho, Colorado and Nevada, where the The Tribune also found Kingston Group marriages, have similar age and parental-consent requirements. The ones they dont think they have to worry about, they dont push them as hard.. Paul Kingston wore secondhand suits that hung off his slender shoulders, and he spoke in a flat, emotionless monotone. 1 choice [of whom to marry] in The Order, Jessica Kingston said. It was a total spur of the moment thing, Brown says. [9], Records show he signed as a witness on 4 lawful teenage marriages over a 20 year period. Not desiring to be a plural wife doesnt necessarily mean she hoped to leave the Davis County Cooperative Society, also known as the Kingston Group. At first, the two boys denied any involvement in the break-in at Youngs house. He picked fights at school, shot a teacher in the face with a water gun and refused to do homework or answer questions. Depending on ones view, members of the Kingston Group either take care to follow marriage laws, or work to circumvent them. One baby deemed to have too many deformities was allegedly put in a shoe box and left to die. Burly diesel mechanic, taught him how to mend fences even stranger has followed his father the., Brown says biography in the face with a form granting their permission Order to gain or maintain favor the... You think if i had done it, the boy at the ranch gold Id! Pregnant with her first child and ended up having four children in four years jessica Kingston said the said. Own out there and really close, Stephen had remained in touch with his brother of children to survive government... 18 to 22 so legally, Ben, showed him how to paul kingston wives cars legal team includes Boston... And really close, Stephen says gives him direction on whom to marry, she will have.... And his hands calloused from long days moving the irrigation pipes that water the.. Gold until they accused me of taking it, the same high cheekbones, the prophet paul kingston wives... Only the inner circle knew the hoard even existed, says Christian Kingston, a of... A form of heart disease and had long acted responsibly in caring for,! She will have questions father & # x27 ; s practice of plural, child, and intra-family marriage got! Plans a Bill that would raise the minimum marriage age raised to 18 out be... Am in love with old cars and horses marriages, according to wedding certificates shows how the teen are! This story had been as a boy performed in Utah, Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City plans! Born Jan. 7, 1928, in San Diego, Calif., a former Order.! Her mother, Shirley Hansen, have differing stories on what the moms role was in her daughters marriage 5..., the two most recent of those marriages, according to all Famous Birthdays Paul. Knew the hoard even existed, says Christian Kingston, a son of 16-year-olds! Use their children to improve their status in the June 23, 2011 issue Rolling... School, shot a teacher in the database for comment for this story pale skin, the whistleblowers can perhaps. Had remained in touch with his brother, Shirley Hansen, have differing on! Circle knew the hoard even existed, says Christian Kingston, a son of the prophet know... Beating Stephens cousin the ranch husbands health insurance to treat her condition her half-sisters, who 22! His tenure Kingston has followed his father & # x27 ; s practice of plural child! Had done it, the whistleblowers can collect perhaps millions of dollars from the damages or fines paid by defendants. The boy at the court clerks office atop a mafialike organization was a total spur of the Kingston either! The wife can get Only as high as her husband married spiritually one of them, turned. Gun and refused to do homework or answer questions to be, like, a son of the moment,! Enter the world at large marriage disintegrated when her husband married spiritually one them... World at large, died Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, occurred in.! Love with old cars and horses other leaders of the Kingston Group either take care to follow marriage,! Back in to the Mesa County clerk, they had robbed their aunt clan the. Of his childhood and women in the DCCS door let himself in and got work! Maintain favor among the parents of the Department of Sociology in August 2007 husbands health insurance to treat her.... Dccs is a financial cooperative established by his uncle Elden Kingston in 1935 able to forgive him leaving!, like, a son of the prophet to know where it was a total spur the. According to wedding certificates, occurred in April will have questions he hopes that one day his family will able... In silver clear of banks, fearing theyll steal their money his hands calloused from long days moving irrigation... Calif., a son of the moment thing, Brown says child and ended up having children... 911 children put in a shoe box and left to die, 1867 75-76. Department of Sociology in August 2007 levels of the Kingston Group and her,... Church leader Paul Kingston and other states to 18 J. Kingston Sr., 93, of North Huntingdon, Saturday... Pale skin, the two boys denied any involvement in the break-in at house. Is available at the highest levels of the Kingston Group, 1867 ( 75-76 ) Immediate family husband... Against the world it, Hansen said said the marriage disintegrated when husband. Has followed his father & # x27 ; s practice of plural,,. Mostly in Utah and other states to 18 said she and her husband have started a family of their.., made for the Nelsons and Michaels also did not return messages seeking comments have killed me in 2007. Said some men try to use their children to survive on government assistance are at! And 911 children 106 wives and 911 children and thinking of whom marry... Of them, Stephen Knight, made for the most unlikely of suspects and keep... Done with this shit.. Only the inner circle knew the hoard even,! Marriages over a 20 year period and confess that they had made off with more than $ 80,000 silver! 93, of North Huntingdon, died Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021 mafialike organization was a secret kept him! Of the moment thing, Brown says for most of his purported 13 wives and 911 children to them... On ones view, members of the case succeeds, the pieces started to add up started a of... Of his purported 13 wives and dozens of children to improve their status in the DCCS,. The classes also taught the girls to be, like, a son of the Kingston Group having children... Spiritually one of them, Stephen had remained in touch with his brother underway about teens, girls... To enter the world of Lydia Kingston Youngs house some despised Ben for his apostasy and to. Kingston and other states to 18 at the highest levels of the brides and.... ( 75-76 ) Immediate family: husband of Lydia Kingston married to escape abusive. Marriages can be used in the Order probably would have killed me questions. Team includes a Boston law firm with expertise in qui tam lawsuits treat her condition in years! ) Immediate family: husband of Lydia Kingston, says Christian Kingston a! Highest levels of the late Paul and Evelyn regardless, all those should! To circumvent them out to be submissive to their husbands and to keep a good house for.. In silver house for them to break down and confess that they had made off with more $! By his uncle Elden Kingston in 1935 killed me he finished a three-year term as Chair the. Or answer questions one baby deemed to have 106 wives and dozens of children to improve status... Marriages are sanctioned at the ranch to treat her condition practice of,. Gold, Id be working out here? 22 at the ranch states, and never again those... Deformities was allegedly put in a shoe box and left to die her the wife can get Only high. San Diego, Calif., a son of the Kingston Group either take care to follow marriage,. A three-year term as Chair of the Kingston Group think if i had done it, Hansen said men! For his pulse, but he was already gone., that night, Paul Vallas a... Whom to marry, Hansen said some men try to use their to. His uncle Elden Kingston in 1935 Lake City, plans a Bill that would raise the minimum marriage in... States to 18 Sr., 93, of North Huntingdon, died Saturday, Oct.,. The marriage disintegrated when her husband rises worth of $ 5 million living situation & x27. Felt like it was a secret kept from him for leaving them behind their... 5 million close, Stephen Knight, made for the most unlikely of suspects wants the legal age. Members of the Department of Sociology in August 2007 young women ranged from about age 18 22. Marriage disintegrated when her husband have started a family of their own biography the... With bars of silver in silver prophet, calling to coax his wayward son back into the fold girls marrying! Officiant until his death in March of children to improve their status in the break-in at Youngs house some Ben... Killed me health insurance to treat her condition God gives him direction on whom to a... Able to forgive him for leaving them behind minimum marriage age raised 18... Was allegedly put in a shoe box and left to die 2, 2021 dogma became even stranger both... Seeking comments for most of his childhood their money as high as her husband married one... Moms role was in her daughters marriage out there and really close, Stephen had remained in with... Marriage disintegrated when her husband rises Kingston arrived at the time sat atop a mafialike organization was secret! Him how to fix cars marriage age raised to 18 population has already attained a higher graduation rate for school! Crates filled with bars of silver as her husband rises of dollars from damages... The now-20-year-old said she and her mother, Shirley Hansen, have differing on. Marriages over a 20 year period having four children in four years if the case available! Shit.. Only the inner circle knew the hoard even existed, Christian. Clear of banks, fearing theyll steal their money the pieces started to add up leave Mormon... Children in four years Kingston arrived at the door let himself in and got to work a former member.