William Henry Haigh

(Forward by Kent N. Cornwall)  My grandma Cornwall's adopted father is William Haigh.  Mary Alice Johanson Haigh Cornwall came to live with the Haighs  when she was a few months old after  the death of her mother.  Recently, I learned that my grandmother deeply desired to be sealed to the Haighs, as they were the only family she ever knew and she loved them dearly.  Mary's father and mother Johanson had been sealed in the Endowment House so Mary was considered "born in the covenant" and "no need to be sealed to another".  In recent years this policy has changed in the Church.  Mary Alice was sealed, by proxy, to the Haighs - her life long wish.  This sealing connects Cornwall decedents with  the Haigh lineage.

Recently a family member asked me about some documents of my father's.  In searching for them  I came across a file entitled, "Personal History of Wm Henry Haigh".  This is written in William's own words, which makes it special reading. On top of that it is  wonderfully colorful, fun and tender.  I intended to edit it to a shorter piece, to make it a more comfortable read, but ended up including the whole writing, as I found it so enjoyable.

Haigh/Cornwall
I was born on the 18th of July 1844 at Huddersfield in Yorkshire, England, a woolen manufacturing town. My father's name was Abraham Haigh and my mother's Elizabeth Cartwright. My mother died when I was young and I never remembered her. All I remember was a woman we called housekeeper. When I was about ten years old Father died and left four children, a brother four years older than myself, a sister two years older and a brother two years younger. We were not poor -Father was a manufacturer -but we could not keep things together. I do not know what became of the business but it was decided that we should be separated; the oldest boy could take care of himself but the rest of us went to our uncle's home. I got the poorest place of the lot. My uncle did not like work and would not do it, so the boys and a girl had to work and I went to school. A lady by name of Fenton paid my brother's and my school bills. I stayed in school until I was 12 years old. I then had to go to the factory and work ten hours a day. I continued to work until I was 22 years old.

My aunt with whom I lived was a Latter-day Saint and whilst I lived with them they held a cottage meeting and Joseph F. Smith and George Swan were the missionaries. That was the first I had ever heard of Mormonism. I just remember that their talk was Scriptural, but what took best with me was the story about Utah. I left my uncle and aunt and went to a place where I got better wages. I went with a young man who was a L.D. Saint to meetings but was not baptized. I sure wanted to go to Utah but could not get the money. My friend, the Mormon left me there in 1865 and I continued working until the spring of 1866 when my grandfather died and left me 100 pounds. I left work and went to see my relatives , but did not tell them about going to Utah. I quietly made my preparations and went to Liverpool, got my ticket for New York and went on board vessel. I took 3rd class and I found a pretty hard- looking bunch of people. We called at Queenstown in Ireland and took on a bunch of lousy Irish - Oh they was a rum lot! We got to New York all right. I did not know where the office of L.D. Saints was but I went with others to an Hotel and whilst there I saw a man who I had met at a conference in Bradford, England. I found out that he was waiting until the company of Saints in N.Y. was to start for Utah. I was just delighted. I got my ticket for Utah next day and we started in a day or two.

We went through Canada until we got to Detroit - cheapest route. We got down to St. Joe, then took a boat, a dirty old thing and went up the Missouri River, took another train and they was cattle cars but they took us to a place in Nebraska called Wyoming. We stayed on the bench and laid around until the ox train came from Utah. I found some nice people who came from my part of country in England, an old lady with 3 daughters. One was married and her husband was with her; another was married and had left her husband in England; the, other was single but a returning missionary was keeping company with her, so there was nothing for me but the old lady, but she was a good old soul. After waiting here about two weeks, the [wagon] train from Utah arrived. 0f all the rough wild men I ever saw I think they was the worst, swearing and had no manners at all. I hardly thought it would be safe to cross the plains with that bunch. As it happened we went with the first company which was mules with Captain Thomas Ricks from Cache Valley. We did not travel far the first day -the wagons was loaded full of mdse., no room for anything but our luggage and sleeping blankets. When we camped at night I had to rustle for wood or brush and the women did the cooking. The commissary furnished flour and bacon and perhaps a few prunes. Then after a little we make the beds all on the ground, no tents. You could not walk around much at night.

We got along fine. We made acquaintances as we traveled in the daytime. Willie Salmon, who used to work in the Temple, and his wife was in the company and about 20 in the group used to walk together. There was nothing of interest on the journey - no Indians, no buffalo - the sameness of the country - barren. As we got nearer to Utah we talked more about it and the next thing of interest was what are we going to do when we get there. I remember distinctly coming out of the mouth of Parley's Canyon and getting a sight of the valley. Everybody was talking about somebody meeting them, no-body meeting me and I got the blues. I went in the bushes away from the road and had a good cry. I suppose the dust was allover my face and I was dirty and I must have looked a fright.

It seemed so long since we had seen a city that Salt Lake City looked fine and the great Lake, but it lacked the solidity of the English towns. With the other immigrants I was looking at everybody and pretty soon I saw the man who was looking for me, Enoch Cowdell. I think we saw 'each other at the same time because we was walking together very quickly. I was relieved very much of my trouble. After looking around a little while we found our wagon and started south along the State road. It took us about an hour and a half to get home. I had been used to a pretty good home in England and this was a change. A log cabin and not much else - practically no furniture, a bed, table, and a few chairs, a family of about 10 all told. I wondered where I was going to sleep. All these things was answered in time, but oh the family was good and made me one of them. William and Mary Parker. I soon got used to their ways and started in to help. I learned to milk a cow - she pushed me over in the corral. The man and I slept in the granary, and in winter we made our bed on the floor in the house, all except Bro. and Sis. Parker. If it rained from the roof we pulled our bed out of the way.

Bro. Parker owned a threshing machine so he was away and I helped Sister Parker to herd the cow from the crops. I soon got acquainted in the Ward. We was then a part of the West Jordan Ward. Bishop Archie Gardner and we used to go to dances there. I went with the Bennions and Harkers and others. I used to dance some in England. We went one night and we used to wear a long duster over all. I remember that when they said Balance All, I swung my part- ner so fast that my coat tails stood straight out - oh and did not they laugh! I did not like the room - all the men was chewing tobacco and spitting pools. I had never seen that before, especially in a place of worship.

I was hired man for Parker in 1867 and in the winter of '67 I taught school in Taylorsvllle in a little log cabin. We built a rock school house that year and moved in after New Year's. The summer of 1868 I went to Brigham Young's woolen factory at the mouth of Parley's Canyon and lived in Taylorsvllle in the winter. I had asked Joseph Harker if I could keep company with his daughter Mary Ann, and he said yes so I started courting. In the spring of 1869 a herd of Texas cattle came through Taylorsville and they wanted a man. I could hardly ride a horse but they proffered $840.00 a month and it looked like a million to me. They put me to driving the wagon and cooking. I knew they would soon find out I could not cook. They managed tor two days, then put me on a horse to drive cattle. We was on the road and west for two months and arrived in Ruby Valley. I got work on a ranch tor $40.00 a month and got home for conference. I needed the money for we was going to get married. We was quite a way from the railroad but I got a ride. When I got to the railroad somebody told me if I was to walk to the next station, 14 miles, I should save $2.00. I got my pack and walked to the station. When I got there I was thirsty so I went to a saloon, got a glass of beer and sit down to rest and wait for the train. A couple of men was playing a game of cards and I watched them. I thought they did not know how to play so I played a few games with them, and they got the two dollars which I had saved, so I got on the train and came home for Conference.

We got married on Dec. 6, 1869 in the Endowment House. We did not have a home but Joseph S. Lindsay and I rented a farm on Cottonwood. The house had two rooms so we had one each. I had a little bobtailed cow which I got for school teaching which helped us but we had no flour. Bro. Harker gave us flour all winter and I carried it in a sack all the way from Taylorsville to Cottonwood, not all at once. We plowed and put in our crop of wheat and peas. The 12 acres of wheat came up all right and the grasshoppers hatched out and eat all of it. As spring came along Lindsay went out to Rush Valley shearing sheep and left me with it. I had a yoke of cattle but we did not ride around much. Job Barker and I rented Bro. Harker's sheep and we moved out to Rush Valley. My wife went to the sheep a little while. I did not know much about sheep but we was out of meat so I caught a wether, got it to the wagon and my wife held it down whilst I chopped his head off on the ox yoke. In the fall I left my share of lambs in the herd and went to the Woolen factory at the mouth of Parley's Canon, run by James McGhie. We stayed there five years.

We moved back to Taylorsville in the fall of 1875 and built a home. We got along until the 5th ot January, 1879, when I left home in company of Hyrum Bennion for a mission to England. I was appointed to labor in the Liverpool Conference. We had an easy way of getting along with little money. We traveled through the district and eat with the Saints and stayed all night when convenient. My wife could not send much money. She was out working and my friends helped me. President Wm. Budge had charge of the mission, a splendid man. I was pretty well acquainted with Liverpool and when a ship was leaving with Saints, he used to send me to help. I would go to the station and meet the Saints and take them to the office to get their papers. I did this work so long as I was there. My headquarters was at the home of Sister Gerrard. J. T. Gerrard's mother. I don't know that I converted many people but I baptized a few. Sister Gerrard wanted me to baptize Tom. He was 8 years old. We went out one night with 2 or 3 inches of snow to a small stream of water. A girl about 18 went along. It was dark and we undressed on the snow and I broke a little ice, then brought Tom in. His teeth was chattering, baptized him and took him out on the snow and told him to dress himself. Then I took the girl in, baptized her and we all dressed and went home, no worse for the trip. I was sent twice to the Isle of Man, a small, beatiful island where President John Taylor used to go preaching. We arrived home from the Mission Nov. 11, 1880 and brought Sister Beardshall (Duckworth) and four children to stay with us that winter.

Nothing much occurred until in 1884 when we took another member into our family' [Isabella Webster, his second wife]. I still kept with the sheep until 1889 when my wife thought she would like to go to England. We started in April and got back in September, a very nice quiet time. We was handicapped by my wife not being a good walker. They think nothing about walking from 5 to 10 miles over there. My relatives was glad to see us and was very kind to us. We enjoyed it.

I was ordained a High Priest January of 1890 by Brother Penrose and put in the Bishopric. We got along at home until 1904 when a few of my friends thought they would like to go to England. Bro. Archie Frame and his son, Archie, J. T. Gerrard and wife Jennie, James Brown from Evanston, Wyo. We started on Oct. 19, 1904 and arrived all right Nov. 4. Some went to Scotland and we all scattered returning in January 1905 well pleased with our trip. I got along very well until 1911 when I was appointed as a guide on Temple Block. An old friend of mine James McGhie from Sugarhouse Ward asked me if I did not want to go to England. We went about June. We went to Scotland and several weeks in Ireland, got back in the fall and commenced my work on the Temple Block and stayed with it until 1924 when I thought I had better stay at home and help my folks. We was all getting old and needed help. I stayed on Temple Block 13 years. I have been 3 times to Canada and one long trip on the underground way down to Arizona with Brigham Young, Jr. and S. R. Bennion, but I never found a place I liked so well as my home in Taylorsville.

ORDINATIONS & CALLINGS
I was baptized Sept. 30, 1866 in the Jordan River by Joseph Harker, confirmed by John Bennion and became a member of the Church in the West Jordan Ward under Bishop Archibald Gardner in 1866.
On Dec. 6, 1869, was ordained an Elder in the Endowment House. I was called on a mission to England and in January, 1879, left in company of Hyrum Bennion, was set apart by Pres. Wm. Budge, who had charge of the European Mission to labor in the Liverpool Conference under the direction of President James L. Bunting and later by George Crane. I was ordained a Seventy in the 115 Quorum and was set apart as assistant to Bro. A. Frame in the Sunday School in the North Jordan Ward and remained for nearly 20 years. On Jan. 9, 1890 was ordained a High Priest and set apart as 2nd counselor to Bishop Heber Bennion and served until 1907. In 1911 I was called and set apart as a guide on the Temple Block under the direction of Benjamin Goddard and served until the year 1924 - 13 years service. I have served as second counsellor to President Chillion Miller, President of the High Priest Quorum in the Cottonwood Stake, as a ward teacher in Sugarhouse Ward and North Jordan Ward ever since I was an Elder. I take pleasure in testifying to the good treatment I have always received from the Officers of the Church, Presidents of Stakes, Bishops of Wards, and general officers of the Church. I was ordained a Patriarch on December 18th, 1930 by Apostle David 0. Mckay. (84 years of age)