William Taylor Reid
A Biography by his son Edgar T. ReidMy father was William T. Reid and my mother was Mary Adelaide Cox. Father was Scotch-Irish and was born 21 July 1830, in Drumbo, County Down, Ireland, a suburb of Belfast. He was the son of John Reid and Francis White. The Scotch-Irish are descended from British Scotch Protestants who dispossessed the Catholic Irish of their holdings in Northern Ireland in the early 17th century.
Father's formal education ended when he was twelve. He then was employed with his father in the Botanical Gardens of Belfast. He soon learned the technical names of all the plants in the garden.
He was converted to Mormonism through the agency of his elder brother, John, who had returned home from England a convert. My father was baptized on January 9, 1848, by his brother John. I have never been told how my grandfather received the message of the gospel, but grandmother, who was an exceptionally small woman, and eccentric Uncle Tom would have nothing to do with it.
At age 17, my father left for Edinboro, Scotland. There he became a glasscutter and engraver. He matured early and married Jane McEwan when he was 18 years of age (Nov., 1848). He was ordained a Priest (Oct. 1848) and an Elder one month later by William Gibson. He performed some missionary labors in Scotland and Northern England and was then appointed president of the Edinboro Conference. He was also one of a group of young Mormons who met for study. Cobbet's Grammar was mastered.
In 1862, he immigrated to America and came to Utah by driving an ox team in a Church wagon train from Florence [Nebraska], on the Missouri River, with Capt. John R. Murdock of Beaver. That year (Nov. 1862), he was ordained a Seventy by William Allen and became a member of the Twentieth Quorum of Seventy.
For several years he farmed and taught school in Utah County towns. He settled first in Provo where he taught school in the 4th Ward and then, successively, in Springville, Payson, and Spring Lake Villa. In 1866, he moved to Richfield, Sevier Co. where he was among early settlers of the town. While in Richfield he was commissioned as a Major in the Sevier County Militia and served as an Adjunct under Col. Jesse N. Smith in the Black Hawk War. In response to a call from Judge Peacock, who had been a missionary in Scotland, he moved to Manti in November, 1877, to become the Clerk and Recorder for Sanpete County. At first, this was only a part-time job, so he also taught school and farmed. Father served 16 years as the County Clerk and 10 years as County Recorder. My father also served ten years as county superintendent of common schools. For over 30 years he served as the president of the Manti Co-op.
On November 22, 1869, he took a second wife by marrying one of his students, Mary Adelaide Cox. By her he had four children: Clare W., Edgar T., Mary A. and Alice. He also had nine children by his first wife, Jane McEwan. Mother was the daughter of Frederick Walter Cox and Jemima Losee - one of the large polygamy families of the Church and one of the most successful and harmonious. (The large Cox home still stands on Depot Street in Manti.) There were 27 children in the Cox family who reached maturity. Mother was the first of her family to die. She was a mild spoken woman, seldom displaying anger and then only with justification. She had a fair education for those days and took advantage of opportunities to learn more as offered. After her marriage she attended the school of Richard W. Young. With her there could be no deviation from the path of rectitude and so inspired us. Never a very strong woman, she passed to the other side at age 59.
Father served as a Sunday School teacher for 30 years and as Stake Superintendent of Sunday Schools for 10 years. He was ordained a High Priest in 1870, by Orson Hyde and set apart as a member of the Sanpete Stake High Council. From 1873 to 1875, he served as First Counselor to Bishop Andrew J. Moffat of the Manti Ward. In July, 1877, Manti was divided into two wards and father was called and ordained the bishop of the Manti North Ward by Brigham Young. He held this position until death released him on February 28, 1904. For a Reid, he died at the early age of 73. His mother was 93 when she died.
He was a man of commanding presence with a deep rich voice. His short dynamic talks often furnished the theme for conference meetings. He was 5 feet, 7 inches in height (one-half inch taller than mother) and weighed 185 pounds. He had a large muscular chest and arms which enabled him to cradle 5 acres of grain a day or scythe one and a half acres of hay.
Obituary
The Manti Messenger, Thursday, February 25, 1904
Bishop William T. Reid is very sick. He is suffering from general disability and overwork. The bishop has the sympathy and prayers of the entire community for his early recovery.
The Manti Messenger, Thursday, March 3, 1904
William T. Reid, bishop of Manti North Ward, died early Monday morning, after an illness of nearly two weeks. The bishop was attending to his regular duties up to the time of his late illness, notwithstanding his advanced age.
Bishop Reid was born in Ireland of Scotch parentage in the year 1830, and in the year 1848 married his first wife. Six children were born as a result of this union, all of whom survive the deceased.
In 1869 the bishop married Mary Adelaide M. Cox of this city. To her were born four children, one of them now dead.
Deceased joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ireland the year of his first marriage, and was a faithful missionary for many years. Though young in years and experience, he entered the work with his whole heart and was instrumental in doing much good and converting quite a number to the church. In 1860 he came over the plains from Missouri to Utah with an ox-team company and located in Utah county, where he taught school for some time.
In 1867 Bishop Reid moved to Manti. From that time up to the present he has occupied various positions of trust and responsibility. Too much cannot be said in praise of this honest, upright man. For a quarter of a century he has acted as a bishop and father to the people of this community. Unassuming in manner, he went about his work intelligently and with a meekness seldom witnessed. Every man, woman, and child in this city mourns his loss. Mormon and non-Mormon appreciated his worth and respected his many virtues. Truly can it be said that Bishop Reid is an example of a well spent life.
Funeral services were held in the Tabernacle yesterday afternoon. The building was filled. A number from outside towns were present. President Lewis Anderson presided. The choir sang "O My Father," and during the services Messers McAllister and Andelin of Provo sang a solo, and Messers Lauber, McAllister, Christopherson and Bessey sang a quartette.
The speakers were Patriarch John B. Maiben, Patriarch Hans Jensen, Aaron Hardy, Sr. of Moroni, Patriarch Henry Beal of Ephriam, Prest. McAllister, George B. Cox, Prest. G. A. Iverson, N. R. Petersen and Prest. Lewis Anderson. Prest. Anderson expressed regret that Prest. Anthon H. Lund of the First Presidency was unable to be present saying that Prest. Lund very much desired to be here but could not leave Salt lake owing to urgent and important duties there. A letter was also read from Bishop James A. Allred and others of Spring City. The speakers from President Maiben down, paid high tribute to the loyalty, devotion, and high character of deceased. The floral offerings were beautiful and bore testimony of the esteem in which the bishop was held. Peace to his soul!