William Heaton and A Handcart Trek Mystery - Part 1

William Heaton was my great-great grandfather. I have been doing a little research into him because of some minor mysteries about his life:

• What was he doing between August, 1853, when his missionary journal ends, and March 1856 when he and his family boarded the ship Enoch Train for America?
  
• Where was William's second son, William McDonald Heaton, born, where and when did he die, and where is he buried?

William Heaton is father of Jonathan Heaton, father of Amy Heaton, mother of Jeanette Hugh, who is my mother.

1849-1853: Baptism, missionary work, marriage

William was baptized in 1849. About a year later he was ordained elder and given his Elder's License.

 

William was active as a missionary--or "Traveling Elder," as they were called--in the Yorkshire area of England for the next three years. This was the immediate area of where he was born--Little Horton, near Bradford.

Today, Little Horton looks like this:



Yorkshire is right smack in the middle of England, near Leeds and York. It is about halfway between London and Edinburgh.William traveled often to Leeds and York, but more often to the many smaller towns and villages in the area. The missionaries considered this area the "Bradford Conference".

Along the way William preached to the Beilby family, converted some of them, and married Esther Beilby.  He kept a diary for those years that is now in the BYU archives.  You can read William's Missionary Journal online here.

William's family lived in Wilsden by this time, and that is where he was ordained an elder and began preaching:



Esther's family lived in Wheldrake, a place William visited often.  In fact, as a traveling elder, he was criticized for visiting Wheldrake too often and neglecting the other areas he was responsible for.

Wheldrake today:

What next?

What I was looking into is what happened the next couple of years.  The Heatons didn't leave for America until March, 1856.  If you read the account in Esther's Children, compiled by a grand-daughter and great-granddaughter of William and Esther, no mention is made of this period--about two and half years starting in August 1853.

When Esther's Children was compiled, the

So what were the Heatons doing from the end of 1853 to the start of 1856?

Something pretty interesting, it turns out . . .

1854-1855: Conference President in Edinburgh

So, he was appointed President of the Edinburgh Conference, starting January 1st, 1854. This was missionary work, of course, but also generally being in charge of that entire "Conference" which consisted of 724 souls. In today's terms, it was probably very similar to being Stake President.

William McDonald Heaton born in Edinburgh

The whole family moved to Edinburgh, including Esther and Christopher, who was a year and a half old in 1854. The new baby, William McDonald, arrived September 13th, 1855--his birth and parents are listed in the Statutory Register of Births for Scotland that year.

The family lived at 50 Pleasance in Edinburgh, which seems to have been a "Conference headquarters" location where various Conference leaders and Elders lived over the years.

You can take a look at that neighborhood here--it must still look much as it did in 1854:

Among their neighbors on Pleasance were the Masonic Lodge and the Society of Friends.

William continued as Conference President through 1855:

In July 1855, Edward Bunker wrote:

Edinburgh Conference came off on the 24th, when we: were favoured with the society. of Elder James Ferguson and J. D. T. McAllister, from Ireland, and Elder Walter Grainger, President of the Glasgow Conference, who contributed much to our happiness on that occasion for our heavenly Father gave us much of His good Spirit, which is life, light, and salvation to those who enjoy it. The Reports from the Branches. of this Conference were also very favourable. The Saints there feel well, and realize· more the necessity of keeping the commandments of God, than ever they did in their lives. They also have a
good man to preside over them, whose heart is devoted to the cause of truth; and the Saints love and respect him very much.

We have now in that Conference three Travelling Elders, two of them we called out at our last Conference meeting, the other has laboured some time in the miniatry, and he is a faithful, worth: man' ·and would do great good in any sphere.

The total number of members is 672. They have paid to Temple Fund this quarter, £20 17s. 11d.; to P. E. Fund, £25 9s, 9d.; to Foreign Missions, £3 10s.; to clothing for Elders, travelling expenses, and the support of families, £46 15s. 9 1/2 d.; total for the the quarter, £96 13s, 5 1/2 d.

At the end of 1855 William was released as Conference President:

1856: On to America

In March, 1856 the family boarded the ship Enoch Train for America:

The Enoch Train passenger list has a few interesting details:

• The family's previous address, which (as noted above) was 50 Pleasance, Edinburgh.
  
• William, 28, is a "woolcomber," Esther, 25, is "wife," Christopher is 3 years old and William McDonald 5 months.
• Mary Mathieson, 21, "spinster" had been living with the Heaton family at 50 Pleasance in Edinburgh and was now traveling with them. See the notations on her listing--there is a whole other story--and mystery--there (Part 2, coming soon).
• This was the first group to use the Perpetual Emigration Fund for their travel--see notation for each person on the passenger list
• This was also the first group to travel across the plans via handcart
• The Heatons became part of the second handcart company, led by Daniel McArthur.  This company left Iowa just a couple of days behind the first handcart company and arrived in Salt Lake the same day.
• Note McArthur's name just above the Heatons - McArthur had been President of the Dundee Conference, very nearby Heatons' Edinburgh Conference.

The Handcart crossing and beyond

The handcart crossing must have been pretty hard on them all. Friends and relatives of Mary Mathieson and the McCleves, who traveled with the Heatons, made special notice of the fact that they didn't even recognize their relatives when they first arrived.

They moved first to Payson, then the Muddy Mission, then Long Valley, and then in 1874 joined the Orderville United Order, where William was named as the first Secretary of the Order.

Esther died soon thereafter, at age 45, during a trip to visit friends and relatives back in Payson.

In 1876, William had a short-lived marriage to very interesting character Susan Clarissa Williams (who crossed the plains in a boat) before he, too, died at age 50.

Neither of them got to enjoy their time in Orderville for very long!

Mysteries solved, unsolved--and raised 

So we have solved a few of our mysteries:

• What were William Heaton and his family doing late 1853 to early 1856? They moved to Edinburgh, where William was Conference President.
• Where was second son William McDonald born? He was born in 1855 while the family was living in Edinburgh.

But we have raised a few more mysteries:

• Who was Mary Mathieson and why was she living and traveling with the Heatons?
• Who is Susan Clarissa Williams and how does she fit into William's life?

And our primary mystery is still unsolved:

• When did infant William McDonald die and where was he buried?

 

 Sources

• Conference President appointments and reports are from the Milliennial Star, Volumes 15, 16, and 17, available online here: 
• Vol 15
• Vol 16 
• Vol 17
• William Heatons's Missionary Journal
• Enoch Train passenger list
• William Heaton on FamilySearch (requires account to view most info)