Morrisite.org › Roll of membership › William J. Jones
William J. Jones (1825–1909)
One of Morris’s first converts, whose capture and confinement at Kington Fort in the spring of 1862, after he left the camp, led to the writs and the posse.
- On the roll
- Jones, William J., in the 1861–62 roll of membership printed in 1886
- Born
- March 1825, Wales (Family Tree)
- Died
- 1909, Utah (Family Tree)
- Spring 1862
- Probably the William Jones whom the Morrisites captured and held in a log house at Kington Fort; chained in the log-house jail until the posse came on June 13, 1862 (Anderson, Revisited, pp. 97–100). See the cabin in Images.
- Family Tree
- FamilySearch K2W1-SRR, William J. Jones (1825–1909) (probable match). Welsh convert, emigrated 1855; Family Tree's life sketch says he joined the Morrisites in April 1861 and escaped from the fort. Wife Ann Haddock and mother Margaret, probably the Ann and Margaret Jones listed after him on the roll. Died at South Weber. Identified by editor (FamilySearch search).
- Connected names on the roll
- Jones, Ann; Jones, Margaret; Geertsen, Lars Christian; Klemgard, Peter C.; Banks, John
What the sources say
Very probably the William Jones whose departure from the camp led to the siege. One of Morris’s first converts, he left the fort in the spring of 1862, was captured with John Jensen and Lars Gurtsen by an armed party under Peter Klemgaard, and was held in a log house at the fort, chained, until June 13, 1862; the writs issued over his detention brought the posse (Anderson, pp. 97–100, 107). Revelation concerning him: Spirit Prevails, pp. 503–5. Forscutt says that in 1861 he was arrested by Constable Burton and rescued by his brethren, and that he later left the camp (Forscutt, Sketch, MS pp. 39, 44). Eardley names him as the man who went to John Banks’s wagon after the surrender (Gems, p. 28). Family Tree identifies him as William J. Jones (1825–1909), a Welsh convert who emigrated in 1855; a family life sketch there says he joined the Morrisites in April 1861 and escaped from the fort, and later testified for the defense at Burton’s trial. His wife Ann (Anne Haddock) and his mother Margaret are probably the Ann and Margaret Jones listed after him on the roll; Anderson says his wife, mother and three children stayed in the fort when he left. He farmed at South Weber from 1864 and died there in 1909 (FamilySearch K2W1-SRR, probable match).
Sources
- Anderson, C. LeRoy. Joseph Morris and the Saga of the Morrisites (Revisited). Logan: Utah State University Press, 2010. Pages cited: 97–100, 107.
- Morris, Joseph. The Spirit Prevails. San Francisco: George S. Dove and Company, 1886. Internet Archive. Pages cited: 503–505.
- Eardley, John R. Gems of Inspiration. San Francisco: Joseph A. Dove, printer, 1899. Internet Archive. Pages cited: 28.
- Forscutt, Mark H. “Sketch of Joseph Morris.” Manuscript. Church History Library, MS 702. Cited by manuscript page. Pages cited: 39, 44.
- FamilySearch Family Tree, K2W1-SRR. Consulted November 3, 2026.
Cite this page
Rogers, Eric Paul, ed. “William J. Jones (1825–1909).” Morrisite.org. https://morrisite.org/person/william-j-jones.html. Updated November 3, 2026.