While
researching a person's life, I find that it is often best to start with the
latest time of their life. More records will be available that occurred
closer in time. This is why I started my research for William
Wallace Haws with any death information I could obtain.
FindAGrave.com
is a great resource to find headstones of deceased people. It is here that you can find the headstone
of William Wallace Haws. Someone has also included a short life sketch and has
connected him with his spouses, children, and siblings. This is a great
resource for anyone who is seeking to start their own research for this family.
Above
is a picture of William Wallace Haw's headstone. It clearly was not constructed well, in fact, a relative went to visit this headstone and saw that it was
falling apart, so he built the supports that are being used. Through his obituary, published in The Deseret
Weekly, March 23, 1895 (seen below), we come to know that this plot of
land is part of the colony cemetery in Mexico. His obituary also contains a
detailed life sketch and reveals that his funeral was very popular, showing
that William Wallace Haws was an important man in the lives of many.
William Wallace Haws.
Colonia Pacheco, Chihuahua, Mexico, March 9, 1895.--I regret exceedingly to be under the necessity of informing you of another unexpected death in our little colony in which we are bereft of a valuable worker and faithful fellow-laborer, that of Elder William Wallace Haws, who departed this life at 8 p.m. on the 6th inst. of pleuro-pneumonia, after one week's illness. He was born in Wayne county, Illinois, U. S., February 18, 1835, and was the son of Gilbert and Hannah Haws. He was baptized by Apostle Erastus Snow in Salt Lake City, November, 1848. He located at Provo in the spring of 1849, helped to build the first old fort on Provo river, and was put on military duty when 14 years of age. He served in the fight with the Indians when Joseph Higbee was killed and several others wounded; was made captain of a company of infantry, and sent to Echo Canyon to meet Johnston's army in 1857; helped to build the fortifications and was eventually commissioned a major. He was a member of the Provo police force for twenty years. He was ordained a Teacher in 1852, a Priest September 23rd, 1855, and a Seventy January 31st, 1860. On his 59th birthday he was ordained a High Priest by Elder John Henry Smith at this settlement. He filled a short mission in 1871 to the United States and labored chiefly in Illinois among his relatives. He moved from Provo in 1879 to Arizona in response to a call for volunteers, and located on the Mogollon mountains. In December, 1882, he moved to the Gila river where he lived two years, when he moved to Mexico in company with twelve others, arriving at Casas Grandes February 10th, 1885. Elder George Lake of Colonia Dublan is now the only one left of this twelve remaining now in Mexico. He farmed for the Mexicans during that summer, and removed in December of the same year to Colonia Juarez. In the spring of 1887 he removed to Colonia Pacheco, being among the early settlers in the Corrales basin. As a pioneer he was a success, being a man of remarkable physical and endurance.
The funeral services were held at 2 p.m. on Friday, the 8th inst., in the meeting house, when comforting and instructive remarks were made by Patriarch Henry Lunt and Bishop Jesse N. Smith Jr. His son, George M. Haws, expressed his thankfulness to the Saints for their kindness to his father and family during his sickness. There was a large attendance at his funeral and a heavenly spirit prevailed. He was buried under the shade of the majestic pines of the Sierra Madras in the colony cemetery, the grave being dedicated by Elder Henry Lunt. He leaves a large family, having been the father of twenty children, eighteen of whom survive him. He was grandfather to thirty-eight children, thirty-three of whom are living, who, with a host of friends, mourn his loss. Henry Lunt.
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