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- William Passey was born 29 December 1839 in Strensham, England, the second son of John and Ann New Passey. The Passey family was poor. John Passey was a brick layer by trade. He was respected in the community for his work ethic and his honesty. The family rented their home from the local Squire. William attended Sunday School at the village church where he learned to read and write. Two Mormon Missionaries came to the villiage of Strensham in 1850; William was 11 years old. William's mother, Ann and her sister Sarah were interested in the teachings of this new religion. John Passey said he would drown any man that tried to baptize his wife. He told her to stay away from the teachings of these men. Ann and her sister Sarah were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 20 April 1850. John wept when he heard the news. His wife persuaded him to attend the meetings held by Elders Wheeler and Lyons. He was baptized one month later on 19 May 1850. The family was fined a schilling each week for not attending services in the Strensham Church. John Passey would not turn his back on his new religion. He soon found himself out of work with the threat of being turned out of his house if he and his family did not attend the local church. John wrote to his brother Henry Passey who lived in Birmingham. Henry responded that work was plentiful there and he would send money to help the family move. William Passey often told how the family left Strensham with the clothes on their backs, some quilts and a bucket of lard! The entire family went to work. William first worked in a bakery and later in a wire factory where he learned to draw wire and run an engine. He drew some of the wire used in the first Atlantic telegraph cable. Ten years after leaving Strensham the Passey family left England on the Underwriter the date was 30 March 1860. They arrived in New York on 1 May 1860. Sarah New and her husband William Passey (a cousin of John Passey) had arrived in Boston four years earlier. Everyone went to work. William found a job working in a lumber mill in East Cambridge. The family saved every penny for the final leg of their journey to Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. William was 6 foot 2 inches tall; a handsome, healthy young man. When the Civil War broke out people on the street would stop and ask if he was going to enlist in the army. He said he did not come to America to fight in a Civil War. In the spring of 1861 accompanied by his mother's sister and her family they all started for Zion. William's older brother Thomas had left England earlier and had been in the first handcart company to cross the plains. He was already living in Utah. The Passey's joined Captain Horne's Company and William was assigned to drive the 'medicine wagon'. He had never seen oxen before but he managed. The Horne Company started their trek on 1 July 1861. John Passey was a left handed fiddle player. He furnished entertainment for the camp at the end of a weary day and many of the pioneers danced for relaxation. William loved to dance. This was a love that continued throughout his life. "The Passey family arrived in Salt Lake on Friday the 13th of September 1861. William worked in a saw mill in Salt Lake for about three years. He took out his citizenship papers during this time. William made a visit over to Cedar Fort to visit an uncle. Here he met Asenath Viola Wilcox in church. She was the daughter of Samuel Allen Wilcox and Martha Bolton Parker Wilcox. Asenath was born 1 April 1845 in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois. It was his good fortune to see Asenath again at a dance, while on his visit there. It was customary then to have half the dances "Ladies Choice". William being a stranger, stepped out of the crowd, behind the door. Asenath pushed her way through the crowd and chose him for her partner. William did not see Asenath again until the Passey family moved to Cedar Fort. In Cedar Fort William worked on the farm and freighted. He and Asenath got better aquainted and he would call to see her every Sunday evening. In 1865 they decided to get married. They were to attend Conference and be married in the Endowment House. They traveled with the Grimment Family and William helped with their herds. The Endowment House was closed for two weeks and Brother Grimment needed to get his herds to Bear Lake, Idaho. It was impossible to pasture the animals so near to Salt Lake City. William went to see Brigham Young for advice and counsel. Brigham Young said, "If I tell you what to do, will you do it?" William being obedient and without thinking answered, "Yes". Brigham Young told the young man to wait and be married in the Endowment House. Years later, William would tell this story with tears in his eyes, "The only thing I ever did that I feel sorry for is when I could not keep faith with the Prophet's counsel and keep faith with my commitment with the John Grimmett family to help move the cattle. It pays to think before you speak and don't ask for counsel unless you intend to keep it." William and Asenath were married by Edmund Ellsworth 29 Oct. 1865 in Salt Lake City. The young couple settled in Paris, Bear Lake, Idaho. William was called to be the presiding Elder for the Latter-day Saints living there. The first church meeting was held in the Passey home. The people there decided to build a meeting house which they built of logs in about thirty days. The William Passey family lived in Idaho for 15 years. The winters were brutal and crops were difficult to raise; the wheat was frozen nearly every year. Just before Christmas William was helping gather in the cattle. He had been out all day on his horse and he grew very cold and weary. He decided to go home and told his brother-in-law Adam Wilcox that he wanted to go to sleep in a hay stack that was nearby. Adam told William he would use a whip on him if he tried to rest in the hay." William was nearly frozen when he reached home. Asenath thawed his feet out slowly with cold water, warming it a little at a time. When he was strong enough to speak he asked Asenath if she would go to Arizona with him. She gave him a resounding, "Yes!" There were eight families in the train headed for Arizona. Their leader was William Kimball; the other families included William Passey, Ed Bloomer, Barney Raydell, and Henry Horne. They started on the 29th of August 1880. William and Asenath had eight children with them. They came by Cedar Fort to visit relatives, leaving Lehi the 7th of Sept. They came by way of Lees Ferry. William had two wagons and two horse teams and one cow. They arrived in the small adobe town of Mesa on 21st Nov. 1880. The Mormons had only been in Mesa for two years. William traded a harness for an acre of land to build his home on. William freighted for Mr. Hayden, owner of the Hayden Flour Mill at Tempe, Arizona. Mr. Hayden was a kindhearted man and helped the pioneers in their early struggles. He was never known to turn away a man who needed flour if he was willing to work for it. William along with many others, spent his spare time working on the canal that would bring water to their crops. The city water for Mesa came from the "Town Tank", and the settlers carried their water from there and watered their stock. The Indians in the area were not hostile and the Passey boys all learned to speak the Papago language. They kept up friendships with their Indian friends into old age. Asenath traded produce with the Indians and she would buy clay pots and baskets that they had to sell. William was called to serve as a Second Counselor to Bishop Elijah Pomeroy when the first Bishopric in Mesa was organized. Asenath was expecting her 11th child and she asked Bishop Pomeroy, "How can I get along with all these little children to feed and clothe if my husband spends so much of his time in other things?" The Bishop said, "Sister Passey, if you will support your husband in this calling, your purse will always be full and your every need will be taken care of." Asenath did support William in all of his duties in the Church. She said that her purse always was full and the cows poured milk, the hens laid more eggs and everything went as was promised. William served as counselor for nine years. The 27th of Sept. 1891 he was called as Bishop of the ward where he served for three years. He was released due to his deafness. He continued to work in the Church and held many positions. William had several business in Mesa. At one time he owned a Confection Store that advertized "homemade ice cream served after 3:00 PM." Later he was a partner in Passey-Mets Furniture Store. The store was located at 13 W. Main Street in Mesa, Arizona. William was a good carpenter. He made coffins and did embalming. He also was elected as a Councilman to A.F. McDonald, Mayor in 1883. The grandchildren loved to visit their Grandparents Asenath and William Passey. They were both remembered as loving and faithful. Lora Hancock remembered hearing her Grandfather pray at the end of the day. His prayers were a sustaining memory for her all of her life. Melbourn Passey remembered how the Passey home smelled. "The house was clean and Grandma always had something good for a little boy to eat. Grandpa had hams curing and I still remember how good they smelled." Asenath fell and broke her leg after trying to cross an irrigation ditch. She died 27 Aug. 1927 at the age of 82. William died peacefully in his sleep 3 Jan. 1929. He was 89. Both of these pioneers are buried in the Mesa City Cemetery, Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona. This information was taken from family stories, a history written by Kyle Passey Harrop, a book entitled A Visit To The Past...The William Passey Family Story and Our Legacy Vol. I, page 66-70. SOURCE: Family Search.org
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1839 - 1929 (89 years)
