History of William Parsons Jones
HISTORY OF WILLIAM PARSONS JONES
William Parsons Jones married Elizabeth Shaw on February 25, 1858, while he was on furlough from service in the Utah Militia, which at the time was assigned to protect the Mormon settlements from the approaching US forces under General Johnson, in what history has come to call the “Utah War.” Their first home was a dugout at Kaysville furnished with a few pieces of home-made furniture.
Elizabeth was the same age as William. She was also a convert from England. In 1857, she came across the Great Plains to Utah with Israel Evans Handcart Company. Her Uncle, Al Fletcher, introduced her to William Parsons Jones and romance bloomed immediately. Their first child, William Clinton Jones, was born in Kaysville in 1859, then they moved to West Weber in the spring of 1860.
Three children were born in West Weber, then the family moved to South Weber, at the mouth of the Weber River in 1864. William and Elizabeth spent the remainder of their lives in South Weber. They had thirteen children, eight of whom lived to adulthood. Their first child, William Clinton, and their third child Ellen, died of whooping cough while the family was still at West Weber.
William was a farmer, a hard worker and a good man. Always active in the Mormon Church, he was a Superintendent of the Sunday School and later a Bishop. He also served on the community School board as a trustee.
A daughter, Annie E. Jones Peterson, wrote the following regarding her parents:
“They had thirteen children and they assisted in the work, the girls helped in the house and the boys helped with the outside work. Schools were in session from three to five months a year. The dancing parties were about the only entertainment they had. The people of the community were mostly Latter Day Saints and were an industrious, thrifty class. The only public building was a school house used for school, meetings and dancing. Many things had to be learned such as making soap from lye and grease, after making the lye from ashes.
Sheep raising was another industry. The wool was clipped from the sheep, washed and picked to get the dirt out. It was then sent to the carding mill and made into rolls, which my mother spun into threads for weaving. She afterwards wove the cloth which they called jeans and linsey, the jeans for men’s suits and the linsey for women’s and children’s clothes, also for men’s shirts. My mother did all her own sewing and knitted all the socks and stockings.
My parents struggled along, enduring many hardships. They finally built a comfortable home and raised their family. Elizabeth Shaw Jones was the mother of thirteen children, eight of whom grew up and raised families which were an honor to her name.”
History of William Parsons Jones continued
On July 9, 1891, at the age of fifty-four, William suffered a sunstroke while working in his fields. He died a few hours later. Like his father, he set a worthy example for his posterity. His wife survived him by twenty-five years, dying on December 13, 1916. She was a noble pioneer mother.
William Parsons Jones a son to Thomas E. Jones and Mary Parsons
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