William Wall
History of
WILLIAM WALL
Came to Utah in October, 1863 with the Thomas E. Ricks Company
Born 12 September 1812 – Horsley, Gloucestershire, England
Died 16 February 1889 – Glenwood, Utah
Married to Sarah Sansom – 26 September 1836
at Berkley Church, Horsley, Gloucestershire, England
WILLIAM WALL was born 12 September, 1812 at Horsley, Gloucestershire, England. He was the son of James Wall and Sarah Elliot Neale. He had two brothers and three sisters, who were called by their last names, Aunt Ball and Aunt Dunn, who lived in Horsley; and Aunt Cottle, who lived and died in France. It is thought that his brother, John, went to Australia and remained there. One of his brothers went to sea and was never heard of again.
A legend in the family was that William Wall was named for an Uncle William, said to be one of Queen Victoria’s ministers, who was wealthy, and William was said to be his heir, as his uncle was not married. But William joined the Church of Jesus Christ and came to Utah; the money was put in chancery, and he never took any steps to get it. William said that he never wanted to have any of the money of his wealthy uncle. He made this statement: “It is harder for a rich man to get into heaven than it is for a camel to get through the eye of a needle.” But, [a granddaughter] always said that [William's] uncle was Lord William Wall and she always thought she would get some money from that source.
William was a thrifty and hard-working man. In his earlier life he worked in a stone quarry. He learned and followed the trade of a stone mason; that is, a contractor and builder. A story is told, on one occasion, while working alone in the quarry he heard a voice say to him, “Wall, get out of here.” Thinking that someone was playing a joke on him, he paid no attention. But after the third or fourth time of repetition, he hurried and obeyed the command. Immediately there was a disastrous explosion, and he would have been killed had he not heeded the “still, small voice”, and by listening to it, he was helped on many an occasion.
He, being a builder, built many lovely homes, including the one in which they were living when they came to America. William was a charitable man, and much of his work he did for charity. He never would press those whom he worked for, and his wife had to collect his wages. He thought they knew that they owed him, and would pay if they could without his asking for it.
William Wall married Sarah Sansom, the daughter of Richard Sansom and Sarah Brinkworth, at the Berkley Church in Horsley, Gloucestershire, England, 26 September 1836. They [and two of their children] accepted the Gospel and were baptized in 1844 and became members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [As they came of age the rest] of their children were baptized in the Church. Two (Emeron and Rose) died at an early age. Fanny, was baptized March 21, 1851 by Alfred Clifford and confirmed by her father William Wall
Their children are as follows: Joseph Laban, born 29 July 1838 at Horsley; Sarah Emily, 8 February 1840 at Bristol; Fanny Maria, 13 February 1842 at Horsley; Dorcas Elizabeth, 14 April 1844 at Horsley; Francis George, 3 May 1846 at Horsley; Celia, 4 May 1848 at Horsley; Emeron, born 4 November 1850 at Bristol and died in 1860; Rose, born 15 December 1853 at Bristol and died in 1854; Henrietta, 27 March 1855 at Bristol.
They lived in a double house or duplex, as they are now called. We might also call it an apartment house. In this house the family lived in one apartment, while the other one was occupied by Ambros Shore and his family. There is an excellent, enlarged picture of this home, of which copies have been made for members of the family. It was about one-half mile from the city, across from Wash-pound Bridge. The road which passed it was a main highway, leading from Horsley to Stroud Waters. The stone in this house was of light tan color from a quarry in which William worked.
