Editing Solon Borglum (section)

==Early life==

Born in [[Ogden, Utah]], Borglum was the younger brother of [[Gutzon Borglum]] and uncle of [[Lincoln Borglum]], the two men most responsible for the creation of the carvings at [[Mount Rushmore]].  Solon's [[Danes|Danish]] immigrant father James Borglum was a [[Mormonism and polygamy|Mormon polygamist]], being married to two sisters, Ida and Christina Mikkelsen.  When the family &ndash; each wife had two children &ndash; moved to Nebraska they could no longer openly be husband and wives, so Solon and Gutzon's mother Christina was listed as the family servant.  When the father moved the family again to [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] in 1871, so that he could attend medical school, the decision was made to leave Christina behind. The children were told to never talk about her again. Solon was about three years old at the time.<ref>Howard Shaff and Audrey Karl Shaff, ‘’Six Wars at a Time: the life and times of Gutzon Borglum, Sculptor of Mt. Rushmore’’, (Sioux Falls, South Dakota: The Center For Western Studies, 1985) pp. 17-20.</ref>  Solon grew up in  [[Fremont, Nebraska]] and [[Omaha]]<ref>[http://www.anb.org/articles/17/17-00086.html?a=1&n=Solon%20Borglum&d=10&ss=0&q=1 "Solon Borglum"] on the American National Biography Online (subscription required)</ref> and spent his early years as a [[rancher]] in western [[Nebraska]].<ref>{{cite journal |author= Paller, Orvill |title= I Have a Question: Artists James T. Harwood, Gutzon and Solon Borglum, and Cyrus Dallin are said by some to be associated with the Church. Were they members? |journal= [[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]] |date=October 1990 |pages= 52–54 |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1990/10/i-have-a-question?lang=eng |accessdate= 2013-02-05 }}</ref>

Solon’s father was a physician but had worked as a wood-carver, which almost certainly influenced Solon’s older brother, Gutzon, to pursue a career as an artist. Having shown little interest in formal schooling, the younger son spent his teens working on his father’s ranch near [[Fremont, Nebraska]]. He showed a talent for drawing horses, and his careful studies of their movements prompted Gutzon to encourage Solon to pursue art as a profession.