William Openshaw—Born in 1795 in Lancashire, England; Died in 1883 in Santaquin, Utah.
Information about him was collected from his gravestone in the Santaquin Cemetery, FamilySearch.org, and a biography of his wife, written by his granddaughter, Rose A. Openshaw in 1959, which was available in the Chieftain Museum.
William was a textile maker, making fabric and cloth from string and a loom. He was a mild-mannered man and was slow to anger.
William had a life in Lancashire. It was his birthplace, the birthplace of his six children, and the burial place of his late wife. Why would he leave? He was brought by his religious convictions.
Before he found missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he had found no satisfaction with the Church of England and had become resigned to live without religious satisfaction.
When he was dragged by his brother-in-law to hear the missionaries teach around 1840, he was so impressed that he rapped his cane on the ground and proclaimed, “That’s the truth! That’s the Truth!.” and with that, the Openshaw family was baptized into the restored Church of Jesus Christ.
William and his wife Ann desired to live among those who believed similarly to them, and sent two of their sons, Roger and Eli to the United States of America as forerunners.
Soon thereafter, they were able to make the journey to the USA, which had been paid for by their two sons. By some disastrous mistake, they found in Iowa that they had no wagons or oxen waiting to take them across the plains.
Undeterred, they joined a handcart company and walked the 900-mile journey. This company was led by a man named Captain Edward Martin. Yes. They were a part of the Martin Hand-Cart Company.
Finally, William survived his journey and settled in Santaquin. He set up his looms again and made cloth for the people in the area, as well as operating a small farm.