When a mere boy, William worked on a farm. The men and boys were served lunches in the field. One day he left his half pint of ale. The mistress asked him if he did not like it. He told her he was waiting for it to become a pint the same as the men had. He did as much work as a man and thought he should have a man's portion. After that, he had his pint.
At another lunch time, the men did not eat their cheese. The boss wanted to know, "Why?". William told him the dog even would not eat the cheese, and that cheese had been used instead of wooden pegs for fastening together fences, gates, and other things about the farm. The boss called "Rover" and offered him a piece of cheese. The dog smelled it and ran away. The men had trained the dog by allowing him to smell cheese and then hitting him with it. After that, the men had better cheese for their lunches.
William married Charlotte Spencely in 1829 and they lived in Goole, England where he worked as a ship's carpenter.
In 1860 he helped build the first sawmill in Paradise, Utah. Bishop David James, and Henry C. Jackson furnished the money for this enterprise.
Source: Helen Lofthouse Tams, 15 Oct., 1946