William Russell Archibald

• Military_service: Cache Mil. Dist Utah - 1865
• Residence: Clarkston, Cache, Utah, United States - 1880
• Residence: ED 74 Clarkston, Newton, Trenton Precincts Newton town, Cache, Utah, United States - 1900

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Of Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland

Christened Mar 26 1840 at Whitburn, West Lothian, Scotland

He married Elizabeth Halliday on Sept. 7, 1857 in Crofthead, Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, UK. Immigrated from Scotland to USA in 1863. Resided in Clarkston, Utah in 1880. Resided in Newton Town, Utah by 1900

Contributed By CA Ercanbrack · 2013-12-03 02:44:26 GMT+0000 (UTC) · 0 Comments

[This compilation is a combination of two short histories: one found in Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah (1913); the other written by Blanche Nielsen, D.U.P. Historian at Camp Windsor in Orem, Utah ( prior to 1963) and filed with the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Central Company at Salt Lake City.] William Russell Archibald was born on 16 March 1840 in Harthill, Lanarkshire, Scotland, a small community southwest of Edinburgh. About two weeks later, he was christened in the local church at Whitburn, Linlithgow, Scotland. He was the second son and third child of Thomas Archibald and Elizabeth Russell. The family was forced to move often in search of work. They, like many others in that area, worked in the coal mines. William—like other young men his age—went into the mines early in his life to help support his family. Once, as a very young boy, he tended his father’s few sheep—and was trustworthy and dependable as David of Old. Generally, life was very difficult for his family during William’s childhood. A few years prior to 1850, Thomas and his family were introduced to the teachings of the Mormon Church, and accepted membership. The main Church branch was located in Crofthead. William Russell was baptized when he was 14 years old. William’s father died in 1857 of typhus fever, leaving his mother—Elizabeth--a widow at age 39 years, with several children still at home. Two months before this tragic event, William had married Elizabeth Halliday--at the age of 17 years--at Harthill, Scotland. She was the daughter of Thomas Halliday of Crofthead, Scotland. Her family was also members of the LDS Church. In fact, William Russell and his wife may have met and become acquainted as they joined together at church meetings in the area. Eventually, fourteen children were born to this couple: three born in Scotland; eleven born in Utah. William and Elizabeth Archibald came to Utah in 1863. The rest of William’s family, including his mother, had preceded him to Utah. “Cottage meetings” held in William and Elizabeth’s home convinced them of immigrating to the United States and joining with family members in Utah. So in the spring of 1863, they sold their home in Scotland and, with their three children, traveled to Liverpool, England. From there, they sailed for America on the sailing vessel “Cynssure”. It took 8 weeks to reach New York, where they arrived in early July, 1863. The Civil War was raging at this time, and many people refused to give food or shelter to immigrants. William, Elizabeth, and their children were tucked into train cattle cars with many others, like sardines, to make the trip to Florence, Nebraska. William was forced to stand all the way while holding his youngest child. After arriving in Florence and waiting for several days, the family members were assigned to journey westward with the Thomas E. Ricks Company, which consisted of 60 wagons—two yoke of oxen hitched to each wagon. Fishing and hunting helped supplement the food for the travelers. William loved to hunt and anxiously awaited his turn to go out hunting. They arrived in Salt Lake Valley in October, 1863. A small adobe home located in the Second Ward became their welcoming home in Utah. William helped haul many loads of rock from nearby canyons to the Salt Lake Temple site for construction. Times were rugged and food was scare. The hides of cattle were scraped and boiled to make a clear soup—and it was very tasty and helped to fill many any empty stomach From Salt Lake, William, Elizabeth, and their children continued on to Wellsville, in Cache Valley, where they joined with the rest of William’s family members. There they settled and helped built up the area. On February 9, 1867, William and Elizabeth were sealed together at the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. At that same time and place, William married a second wife, Agnes Stuart, in a plural marriage arrangement. Later, William and his two families moved--and helped pioneer--the Clarkston, Utah, area. The threat of Indians was great at that time and constant vigilance was required by all the settlers. They homesteaded land and built homes, raising large families in Clarkston. While living in Clarkston (1874), William married a third wife—Catherine Stewart—in a plural marriage arrangement. During the 1880s federal crusade against plural marriages, William was arrested and served time in the Utah Territorial Penitentiary. However, he never would deny his loving family relationships. Altogether, William was the father of 34 children by his three wives. William died and was buried in Clarkston (Utah) in 1903, at age 63 years. He preceded his mother in death by five years (she lived to be 90 years old).

Came from Scotland to Utah in 1863.