William Jasper Henderson Sr. (1840 - 1919)

Born 26 Jun 1840 in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Alvira Aurelia (Dickson) Henderson — married 4 Jul 1862 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, UT

Husband of Lydia Drucilla (Johnson) Henderson — married 26 Mar 1887 in Manti, Sanpete, Utah, United States

Descendants

Died 22 Sep 1919 at age 79 in Cannonville, Garfield, Utah, USA

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In 1839 Mormons bought the small town of Commerce, Illinois and renamed it Nauvoo in April 1840. William Jasper Henderson's parents had come with Mormon migrants from Missouri, and he was born on June 26.^[1] His parents both died a few years later, and their 9 children were orphaned. Two year old William went to live with his grandparents, Samuel and Elizabeth.

In 1846 Samuel left Nauvoo with his children and grandchildren and began the long journey to the Mormon settlement in Utah. From 1846 to 1849 the family lived in Pottawattamie, Iowa. On June 29, 1851 William left Kanesville, Iowa (now Council Bluffs) with his grandparents. They travelled in the Easton Kelsey Company, arriving in Salt Lake in late September or Early October. The family located temporarily in Kaysville and Salt Lake City, where William lived until in the early 1860's.

He then became one of the first settlers in Richmond in Cache County. He took an active part in the settling and pioneering of Cache Valley, including protecting the settlers there against Indian raids. He was also one of the group of Mormons who resisted the efforts of the U.S. Army to reach Salt Lake in the winter of 1857-1858.

On July 4, 1862^[2] he married Alvira Aurelia Dickson (daughter of Billa Dickson and Mary Ann Stoddard) and they had twelve children. After his marriage the family returned to Kaysville. In 1864 the family moved to Richville, where William farmed and worked to clear brush.

In 1874 he moved his family to Randolph, where he remained until the fall of 1876, when he went alone to Clifton (now Cannonville) where he made a new home to which he moved his family in the spring of the following year. He helped to develop the communities in the southern part of the state.

In 1879, soon after the Cannonville Ward was organized he was appointed as first counselor to Bishop Jonathan T. Packer and subsequently as first counselor to Bishop Ira B. Elmer. In 1884 he was ordained a Bishop and presided over the Ward until 1891.

On March 26, 1887^[3] he married his second wife, Lydia Drucilla Johnson (daughter of Seth Johnson and Martha Stratton). Lydia and William had nine children.

In 1912 William took a job as an ordinance worker in the St. George Temple, where he remained for four years. Owing to failing health he was released and returned to Cannonville, where he died early in the morning of September 22, 1919.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1956, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11677-168908-21?cc=1747615]
2. ↑ William Jasper Henderson Senior Family History, 1840-1982 (Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1983), page 3
3. ↑ U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Yates Publishing, (Ancestry.com Operations Inc).
4. ↑ Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1956, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11677-168908-21?cc=1747615]

Census

• "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNCT-7RL : 17 October 2014), W J Henderson, Utah, United States; citing p. 34, family 278, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 553,110.

• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNSJ-RZZ : 3 October 2016), William J Henderson, Cannonville, Iron, Utah, United States; citing enumeration district ED 19, sheet 329B, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 1336; FHL microfilm 1,255,336.

• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMRV-KCN : accessed 25 June 2017), William J. Henderson, Cannonville, Hillsdale, Orton, Panguitch, Tropic Precincts Panguitch city, Garfield, Utah, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 95, sheet 23B, family 330, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,683.