William Young Black – In The Queens Service
William Young Black is your 4th Great Grandfather
William Young Black was born August 20, 1784 at Lisburn, Antrim County, Ireland where He spent his early years following in the footsteps of his father learning to be a hosier. When he turned seventeen he joined the British army and for the next twenty years he served Her Majesty the Queen of England as a soldier in the Seventy-Second Regiment of the British Army, also called the Duke of Albany’s Own Highlanders. After serving the first two years in Ireland he was sent to South Africa where he fought against the Dutch at the taking of the Cape of Good Hope. From there he went to a station in India where, after a few years, he was sent to fight the French in a battle that liberated the “Isle of France, now known as Mauritius Islands. When Isle de France was secure, he was sent to Madras India and from there to Bengal, East Indies’.
William returned to England where he was discharged in 1821. When he got home to Ireland. he found that his Mother, Brothers, and Sisters had all died. Living with his father was a Methodist Minister and his daughter, who was also a Minister. In 1822 he married the daughter, Jane Johnston, joined the Methodist church and continued working as a hosier.
When his father passed away, in 1834, the business had failed. He, Jane, their three sons and a daughter moved to Manchester, England. While there they heard about a church that caught their attention. they attended a meeting where they heard a Mormon Missionary speak. Shortly after, the family joined the LDS church. William was soon ordained a Priest and sent to Ireland with Brother John Taylor as the first LDS missionaries in Ireland. Brother Taylor did not stay long but sent a Brother Curtis to be William’s companion. Over a period of two years, he and his companion established two LDS branches.
Jane and the children left for America and arrived in Nauvoo in 1840 while William was still on is mission in Ireland. William followed two years later. On the 11th of May, 1845, William was ordained a High Priest by order of President Brigham Young. When the Saints were driven out of Nauvoo the Black’s moved across the river into Iowa where they spent the next few years. In 1850 they left Iowa for the trek across the plains by ox team to the Salt Lake Valley in Utah.
After a short stay in Salt Lake, on order from President Brigham Young, the family relocated to what is now known as Spring City, Sanpete county, which had been abandoned because of Indian depredations a year earlier. In 1861 the family was asked to be part of a group to settle, what is now know as, Springdale, the entrance to Zion’s National Park. He remained in Southern Utah until the time of his death, which occurred January 28, 1873, A.D., at Rockville, Kane County, Utah.
Interested in more, click on one of the following:
William Young Black 1784 – 1873 – Biography
Military Experience – An account of William’s military experience
Coming to America – William crossing the Atlantic.
Crossing the Plains – From Nauvoo to the Salt Lake valley.
Brigham Young’s Colonizer – Settling Spring City and Springdale.
William Young Black Lineage
John E. Black
Reuben E. Black b 1901 d 1981
Nephi Black b 1870 d 1959
George Black b 1823 d 1850
William Young Black b 1784 d 1873