Signatures were also compared of the three witnesses who signed the will: Joseph F. Smith, David McKenzie and James Jack. Six originals of Smith's signature were used for verification.

Dated Nov. 4, 1873, the 12-page will details monetary allotments left among 18 of Young's wives and 47 children when he died on Aug. 29, 1877, at age 76.

After Young's death, the will was contested between his family and the LDS Church.

"It was not always clear what belonged to the church and what belonged to the family," Bench said.

The family of James Clifford McNally, a Salt Lake probate attorney and judge during the late 1800s, sold the will along with 29 other historical pieces the family has acquired, such as a manuscript dealing with Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Other documents included a variety of commission papers for the positions McNally held as U.S. ambassador to China and Belgium. McNally's certificate to be a probate lawyer in Utah was also in the grouping, but only sold for $475.

Lucas said it is not known how McNally, a non-Mormon, acquired Young's will. Most of the McNally family currently resides in Pennsylvania.

And for aspiring LDS history collectors, Lucas said it is possible Young's will could be back on the market someday. Recently, Alderfer sold a rare Benjamin Franklin document that the auction house had sold 10 years earlier.

"You see a lot of that, particularly at this realm," he said.

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E-mail: astowell@desnews.com