Who is the real B.H. Roberts of the LDS Church! Was he a poverty stricken kid; a miner; scripture specialist; historian, missionary; Tramp; General Authority and elected to Congress.

Brigham Henry Roberts was born in England, and later known only as B.H. Roberts. In 1866, he left the British Isles along with his sister to follow a Mormon Wagon Train to Utah. Their mother  "may" await their arrival in the Utah Territory. On their own, they walked barefoot- which may have contributed to B.H. Roberts acquiring the stubbornness to hold fast when the rough got tough. In those days, kids were expected to work, especially if you are poverty stricken without parental care. He found work in the local mines, and became a rowdy ruffian in his adolescence. However, he had the inner desire to read, study and later became known as the "intellectual leader of the LDS Church" and considered as such long after his death. He gathered pioneer journals and historical items connected with Utah and his church, then became a very impassioned speaker, and wrote several books including the still studied "History of the Church". Some of his "great oratorical" speeches incited riots, as did his candid disclosures of Utah history, which brought him both respect and censure. He was elected to the United States Congress, but never seated-as he was a Polygamist, and Federal Law prohibited him from serving. He was also a General Authority of the LDS Church, being called by Mormon leader John Taylor and commonly called the "Defender of the Faith". However, he resisted giving up polygamy, so he spent 5 months in the Utah Territorial Prison(now Sugar House Park of Salt Lake), but later pardoned by U.S. President Grover Cleveland. He was still influential enough to get a waiver for the maximum age of 40 to join the U.S. Army and this 60 year old headed to France during World War One. He was assigned as a Chaplain in the 145th Artillery. Now for the rest of the story and his possible connection with people of Nephi, Utah, USA. For the past fifty years, our family has been trying to piece together photos and documents in the family since 1856. One of our photos has now been positively identified and authenticated by a well known owner of LDS  and Utah history books and documents. The attached photo is none other than B.H. Roberts. And now for the tough query-Why would a General Authority of the LDS church dress in "Tramp" type clothing, rather than the fancy duds of other big wigs of the LDS church of that era. Also, how did some body in the Nephi Jones family get the photo! We have a theory, but only an educated guesstimation(that is a new Jones word). We know that B.H. Roberts was on an LDS mission in the Southern States for ten years. While in Tennessee, an anti-Mormon mob gathered and killed two LDS missionaries. B. H. Roberts knew how to cloth himself as a Ho-Bo; so disguised himself as such, and able to secure the tortured dead men and bring them back to Utah for their families. This writer, and others speculate that General Authority B.H. Roberts was a rebel of sorts, and found it "fun" to dress up as he did, and had this rare and highly sought after photo taken next to the Tabernacle  before the completion of the Salt Lake Temple. Early Nephi Jones folks and Wm. Fisher Tolley was well known to Porter Rockwell; Brigham Young and John Taylor, so we speculate that is how our family came into possession of this photo from 130 years ago, or perhaps B.H. gave it to Vic Jones, who was severally wounded in France during WWI, where B.H. Roberts may have been visiting wounded Mormons.