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William Roberts Jones, the son of Samuel Jones and Betty Roberts, was born in Stockport, Cheshire, England, February 4, 1821. His parents died, leaving seven small children, four girls, and three boys. William, a dark haired blue-eyed youngster, had a lingering illness that settled in his feet. They were numb with a feeling of pins and needles running through them, and he could not put his feet to the floor. His father took him to every available doctor without success. One day a traveling tradesman came to see them. He noticed the boy and said he knew what was the trouble and gave them a prescription. One application helped him, but the disease had retarded the growth of his legs and left him short in stature. As a young man he spent seven years studying the art of tailoring. Later he joined the Mormon Church and in 1844 sailed for New Orleans. The voyage was made in a sailboat, which took seven weeks and three days to make the crossing. From New Orleans he went to St. Louis where he worked for five years as a tailor. With the epidemic of cholera in 1846 he worked hard with the sick, and when the war broke out with Mexico, he enlisted as a Missouri volunteer in Captain De Corkoran's regiment. After the war he returned to St Louis, but soon resigned from the army and came to Salt Lake Valley with the Mormon people. He purchased a wagon and team of oxen and proudly joined the line. On March 30, 1849, he became a citizen of the United States of America. On arriving in Salt Lake in the year 1850, they camped in the old fort, which now is the Pioneer Park on Second (now Third) West and Fourth South. He was given the choice of two lots ten by twenty rods, one where the Walker Bank and Tribune Building now stands; the other on Second South and Third West. The first lot was rocky with City Creek running through it; thus he preferred the lot on Third West on which he built a two-room house. He worked in the old adobe yard on Second South between Sixth and Seventh West making adobes for his home. When trouble arose with the Indians, he joined the militia and worked in the capacity of a minuteman. One experience, which almost cost him his life, is told when a group of men went to meet a wagon train. There was an upper and lower road, and the train was expected to come on the upper. After waiting some time, the captain of the group asked for a volunteer to go to the lower road. It was William who unhesitatingly proffered to risk his life alone, taking just his gun with him to give a signal if help was needed. The wagon train, however, came on the upper road. In the excitement of greeting the wagon train the men with provisions forgot William at his post. On arriving at camp they found that he had not returned. Men were dispatched to look for him. When he was found, he was almost dead from thirst. Within two years of his arrival here he sent for his sweetheart, Sarah Ann Wright. That same year in the fall of 1852 she arrived from England with her brother, William Wright. Sarah and William Jones were married a few days later by Apostle John Taylor in the little home built by the bridegroom, which was in the old Fifteenth Ward, and later sealed in the Endowment House. In this home were two large rooms in which they celebrated their wedding by dancing the old square dances. His wife bore him ten children, only four of which lived to maturity. When the President of the United States sent Johnson's army to drive the Mormon people out of Salt Lake, William was a guard watching over the homes that had been vacated by the people and filled with straw ready for a match to be dropped if trouble arose. The people all moved south, William's family going to Springville. Trouble did not arise, however, as the leaders of the church met the army and gave it permission to go through the city provided not one man placed his foot on the sidewalk or leave his position in line. William though small of stature, only five feet, was large of heart. His dress was neat, usually consisting of a soft felt hat, a long black coat, and trousers made of fine serge. As a young man he had a long black beard and heavy mustache, but they turned white in later years. He had courage, ever ready to serve his country and his people; also he was an active church worker being ordained April 7, 1856, an elder and in 1891, a high priest. His generosity is shone in the following story: One time when at work, his lunch consisted of a crust of bread, which he shared with a fellow worker without food. To the surprise of both the crust of bread well satisfied their hunger and they felt this was the work of the Lord. In 1891 he purchased a home at 620 South Eighth West, which put him in the Twenty-sixth Ward in which he donated a piano. Bishop Stanley spoke of his faithfulness and helpfulness he had toward the ward. He was always ready to help the sick, lay out the dead, and give to the widow and orphans. He was a good kind father, loyal partner, true to all, home, country, religion, and associates. He died at the age of eighty-six years on May 24, 1906 and was buried in the City Cemetery at Salt Lake City, May 27, 1906. With the help of his wife, William was able to accomplish many things.
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