WILLIAM CLAYSON
He was born in the village of Wilby, near Wellingborough, Northampton shire, England, Feb. 9th, 1840. He was the son of Thomas and Fanny Esson Clayson. His father was a farm laborer, and his mother a farm house servant, but like many of the English converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were of the best class of English peasantry.
William was their second child but their first son, and was put to light farm work at a very early age. When he was ten years of age, while working on a threshing machine feed table forking train to the feeding, one of the pitchers accidentally pushed him and his left foot was caught by the cylinders and was so mangled, one half of it had to be amputated, leaving it similar to a club foot.
When he regained his health and strength from his accident, he apprenticed to learn the shoemaking trade. It was about this time he also started to learn to play the flute, and took lessons in Wellingborough from a good teacher and musician named John Hornsby. While working in the shoe shop in Wellingborough, he heard of the Mormons and their religion.
While his parents attended the Established (Episcopal) Church, they were not communicants, and William, up to this time had not given much serious thought to religious matters. He was rather inclined to make fun of the ministers and preachers.
When William and his sister Emma heard of the Latter-day Satins, they became interested. They investigated, and were converted, and William was baptized by Elder Mark Lindsey, on May 26, 1855. His sister was baptized a few months before him. His parents were much opposed to their joining the Mormons, and his mother said to them, “That if they felt they must be baptized, she wished they would be baptized into a decent Church.
But afterward his parents and the rest of their children (four boys: Thomas, Eli, Nathan, and John) joined the church and emigrated to Utah. Soon after William was baptized, he was called to accompany the Elders laboring in Wellingborough and vicinity, one of these Elders was Aleck Sutherland father of George Sutherland, who was a member of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
In 1859, William was ordained an Elder and was called to preside over the Wilby branch, and it was about this time he became acquainted with Susan Moulton, whose father, John Moulton was president of the Irchester branch in a nearby village. Their acquaintance ripened into love, and they became betrothed. Early in 1861 William was released as president of Wilby Branch, and sailed from Liverpool for Utah on a sailing ship, in April 1861. It took about three weeks sailing to get to New York, then from New York to Florence (Omaha) Neb. They came by rail, then by ox teams across the plains and mountains to Salt Lake City. While on this part of his journey he would play his flute for the emigrants to dance in the evenings while camped for the night. The company he traveled with arrived in Salt Lake City in Sept 1861.
Soon after arriving in Salt Lake City, he started south with some other emigrants for Parowan, intending to there start a home for himself and his promised wife Susan Moulton. When the company got to Payson he was met by an old friend and shipmate, Jesse Tye, who persuaded him to stop in Payson and work in the George W. Hancock Shoe Shop.
In a few months he was made foreman and worked at this trade of shoemaking all the rest of his life, most of the time having his own shop or in connection with a partner. Some of his partners were John Butler, Father Marsh, Henry Terrort, William G. Ostler, Thomas P. Cloward and Andrew Thurstrup who also worked for him many years.
By Sept. 1862 William had saved $500 dollars, but soon after was taken very ill with inflammatory rheumatism, and was quite helpless for some time, and all his savings were used up within the next year. He was taken care of at the Hancock home part of the time, and then William Heaton and his wife took him to their home and nursed him back to health and strength, enough so he could work again, and so he could write to his parents, and sweetheart in England.
In the meantime, Susan Moulton and his brother Thomas and sister Emma had decided to emigrate to Utah. They arrived in Salt Lake City in the fall of 1863. They immediately came to Payson and William Clayson and Susan Moulton were married December 16, 1863 by William Heaton, and in 1866 were remarried in the Endowment House. Three children were born to them, William Jr. May 10th, 1865, Fanny Aug. 1st 1867 and Charles who died in infancy about 1869 or 1870.
During his first years in Payson he played the flute in the ward choir also he played for dances and theaters. He was appointed ward chorister in Dec. 1865 and continued so until his death in 1887. He married Selina Heaton as a plural wife in Sept. 1865. He had four or five piece orchestra that was very popular for dances and theaters until the Payson Opera House was built in 1883, when it was increased to nine pieces.
Under the direction of Bishop John B. Fairbanks and his first counselor Orwell Simons the Payson Brass Band was organized July 1st 1869 with William Clayson as president and leader, but a teacher, a Swiss musician from Manti was engaged as a teacher for three weeks, while William was learning to play the cornet. He was also leader of their organization until his death. In 1805 he had turned the orchestral work over to younger musicians.
During his early years with the orchestra it was sometimes necessary to have special music for some of the plays presented by the home dramatic companies and he would have to arrange this music and sometimes compose some for the orchestra, and also composed one hymn tune for the ward choir and one march for the band. None of his music was ever published.
Soon after Joseph L. Townsend came to Payson in the seventies. They were called to act as Assistant Superintendents. in the Payson Sunday School. Brother Townsend as 1st counselor and William Clayson as 2nd counselor and chorister. It was soon after this and about 1876 0r 1877 that Brother Townsend started writing Sunday School Hymns. Some of these he brought to William Clayson to have them set to music and he composed music for eight or nine of them, six of which are in the Deseret Sunday School Book. The others are in other books now out of print.
But in reality, his greatest work was his teaching music to the young people of Payson and thereby creating a musical culture that was far reaching to the benefit of Payson and also to the church, from the fact many of his students and those that worked with him were able to go with the work both in Payson and in other communities.
William Clayson was ordained a seventy Dec. 28th 1864, and ordained one of the Presidents of the 46th Quorum Sept. 19th 1886. From 1879 until 1882 he was a member of Payson City Council when he was disqualified by the Edmunds Law. He was also water master over the “Clayson Ditch” for many years.
He married his third wife Sarah A. Sheffield of Brigham City in 1876. There were no children born to his two plural wives. His wife Susan died Oct. 15th 1883. His death was July 28th 1887, caused from Brights disease. His wife Selina died Dec. 1915 and Sarah Dec. 3rd 1928. William and all of his wives are buried in the Payson City Cemetery.
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