William S. S. Willes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1819-03-18)March 18, 1819 |
| Died | February 3, 1871(1871-02-03) (aged 51) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Territorial militia captain City councilman |
| Spouse(s) | Lucinda Alzina Lott (1852) Docia Emmerine Molen (1857) |
| Children | 11 |
William Sydney Smith Willes (March 18, 1819 – February 3, 1871), familiarly known asSidney Willes,[1] was aMormon pioneer, member of theMormon Battalion, and a founder ofLehi, Utah.[2]
Willes was born inJefferson County, New York. In 1846, he marched as a member of the Mormon Battalion (private, Company B).[3][4] In 1851 he arrived in Lehi, Utah.[5] In 1852, he married 18-year-old Lucinda Alzina Lott, daughter ofCornelius Lott. They had 10 children together. Five years later Willes began practicingplural marriage when he married 24-year-old Docia Emmerine Molen. They had one child together, but then divorced. Docia married Lucinda's older brother in 1862. Willes did not take any additional plural wives.
Willes participated in the early political and civic life ofLehi, Utah. In 1853, he served on the firstcity council[6] and was captain of the Lehi division of theUtah Territorymilitia, theNauvoo Legion, in which he was involved in theWalker War[7] and theUtah War.[8] He later served asAlderman[9] and in a variety of other positions,[10] including on the 1865 Lehi Library Association.[11] He was a member of the LDS Church's sixty-eighth quorum ofSeventy when it was organized in Lehi in 1862.[12]
During the April 1863 general conference, Willes was called on a mission to England.[13] Upon his return, he captained[14][15] a pioneer company of English and German saints that crossed the plains in late summer 1865.[16]
Willes died on February 3, 1871, at the age of 51.