Walters, William Leigh - Biography 2

WILLIAM LEIGH WALTERS

(1835-1901)

                William Leigh Walters was born 22 March 1835 in Llanelly, Carmarthenshire, South Wales, the fourth child of Walter and Sarah Reese Leigh Walters. He joined the LDS Church at age thirteen in Wales.  William married Margaret Williams on 9 February 1855. They were the parents of nine children: Walter, Hannah, Daniel, Edward, William, Sarah Jane, John Bright, Margaret Ann, and Edmund. Margaret was born 26 December 1835, the daughter of Edward and Jane Richard Williams. William and Margaret immigrated to Utah in 1866 in order to join William’s father and family. When they arrived in Wellsville, Utah, they settled in the east part of town. Margaret died in Wellsville on 24 October 1870; and on 26 May 1873, William married Sarah Ann Stennett Poppleton in Salt Lake City, Utah. They had no children. William then married Mary Archibald Kerr Hendry in the Logan Temple on 24 January 1885 as a polygamist wife. To them were born two children: Ida and Ann.

                William was an excellent carpenter and built houses and made coffins. His workshop was a part of his home, and he had a special place for all of his tools. On the north and south sides of the shop, shelves were arranged to accommodate the staking of the coffins, one above the other, to enable people to view them and make a selection. His wife, Sarah Ann, lined the coffins and both she and his other wife, Mary, dressed the dead. He also assisted in designing the stairways of the Logan Temple. William was arrested for practicing polygamy and served time in the penitentiary. He suffered a stroke which left him an invalid for four years; he died 5 January 1901 and was buried in the Wellsville cemetery.