Willard Glover McMullin

By Marietta McMullin Mariger

Willard Glover McMullin was born 21 February 1823 in Vinalhaven, Waldo, Maine. to Archibald and Abigail Shirley McMullin.

Willard was an educated man for his day. He trained to become a Sea Captain. However, Wilford Woodruff was sent to Maine on a mission and Willard was converted and baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He had married a Miss Mary Richards, daughter or Ruth and Josiah Richards. To them two children were born who died of an epidemic. He, his wife Mary and her sister Martha were members of a party of Saints led by Wilford Woodruff to Nauvoo.

When the Saints were driven from Nauvoo, Willard, his wife and sister-in-law journeyed westward as far as Winter Quarters, where they remained to help in the outfitting of many of the Saints from the westward trek. They also engaged in planting crops to grow and be harvested by others who would come later. Mary died during these trying times and upon the advise of Brigham Young, Willard married his sister-in-law, Martha on January 6^th 1848 They left Winter Quarters early in 1848 and must have arrived in Utah in the spring as a son, Willard Glover was born in Salt Lake City, 2 June 1848. This child died 27 Apr 1849.

A second child, Martha McMullin was born in September 1849 and only lived until 10 May 1850. Brigham Young McMullin (Uncle Brig) was born 29 Mar 1851. Then Willard Glover McMullin moved his wife and child to East Weber on the Weber River near where Ogden grew. On 5 Sept 1852 Ira Spaulding McMullin was born.

Willard Glover McMullin was called upon from East Weber to go on a mission to England. This he did and Mary Ann Holmes, an English convert born 2 Jul 1836 at Doddingham, England came over on the same ship that he returned on. She was the only one of her family to embrace the faith. She became the third a wife of Willard Glover after they arrived in Salt Lake City. She also went to East Weber to live.

David was born in East Weber 10 June 1856 to Martha Richards McMullin; and Mary Ann Holmes McMullin’s first child, Willard John, was also born so near the same time that the two boys were called twins. Records of East Weber were destroyed by fire. However, folklore tells us that Martha Richard's health was so run down from the hard struggle to live that David was a weak child.

At some time after the birth of the boys, Willard Glover moved his family to Payson, Utah. There he taught school and was the official baptizer for the community.

While in Woodruff, Utah, in the summer of 1917, Etta McMullin Mariger met a fine old lady, Mrs. Libbie Wimmer, upon seeing her name, Etta McMullin, in a book she had with her, she asked if by any chance she could be related to Willard Glover McMullin who had lived in Payson. When Etta told her she was his granddaughter she said, "He baptized me.”

Martha Richards McMullin was an expert weaver and this ability stood her in good stead in the hard pioneer times.

Willard Glover McMullin was called to help colonize Dixie, and the families arrived in Harrisburg, Washington County in December of 1862 as part of the Cotton Mission, having left their home in Payson in November. He built two large comfortable stone houses in Harrisburg for his families. One and probably both, were of two stories and both faced onto a large paved quadrangle door yard of flagstones. He also built a fine large stone milk house, perched over a ditch of running water - one of the town's sources of irrigating water no doubt.

He was a stone mason as well as a schoolteacher, and taught his two older sons Brigham and Ira the mason trade. David, the third son of Martha Richards McMullin, became a blacksmith. Martha died in Harrisburg 11 June 1867.

Willard Glover worked on the St. George Temple. Later he took his older sons out to Pioche, Nevada where they had a wood-cutting contract. Part of the time he spent in Pioche he did mason work. It seems that he had to go where work was, and be a wage earner to support his families and no doubt help in the purchase of such building materials as had to be purchased, and for home furnishings for those families.

After the opening of Silver Reef, Utah he and his boys worked there. A man named Albert Miller once reportedly said "The McMullins practically built Silver Reef, but who is here now to tell or even remember what they did." Several have said that Willard Glover and his son Ira worked on the Wells Fargo Building. The younger boys worked at mining, teaming and as cowboys along with farm work. Willard Glover helped on some of the stone houses in Leeds. He built two fine stone rooms for Richard Ashby of Leeds where Ira and wife lived the summer of 1875 while the Ashby parents were in Salt Lake City. The two stone rooms were later made a part of the fine cement block home of Willard Glover’s daughter Harriet and Thomas Sterling, who had purchased the Ashby property. Willard Glover also helped Brigham Young (McMullin?) to build his home.

Willard Glover McMullin had a custom of blessing his grandchildren when they were eight days old. In 1884 he blessed David's son, Wallace McMullin born in May; Eli's son, Willard Eli McMullin, and Ira Spaulding’s daughter, Marietta, born in August. William D. Sullivan, son of Mary Ann McMullin Sullivan born later in October 1884; Willard Glover McMullin son of Brigham Young McMullin born in December 1884; and Mary Ann Cox daughter of Abigail McMullin Cox born in January 1885 failed to get their blessing.

On 18 October 1884, after a hearty supper, Willard Glover retired and was suddenly taken violently ill, hemorrhaging from the mouth, and died before his neighbor, William Leany, could get to him. The family had a supper of fresh fish. Some wondered if a swallowed bone caused the sudden death.

Mary Ann Holmes McMullin and her family lived in Harrisburg several years, then moved to Leeds. Eli and Phoebe lived in the big old house on the east side of the yard until 1895 then moved to Leeds and later on to Idaho.

The posterity of Willard Glover McMullin follows:

Martha Richards

Willard Glover 1848-1849

Brigham Young 1851-1927

Ira Spaulding 1852-1932

David 1856-1939

Mary Ann Holmes

Willard John 09 Oct 1856

George Wesley 1859-1898

Abigail 1861-1904

Eli Glover 1864-1919

Mary Ann 1866-1935

Oscar 1868-1949

Frank 1871-1967

Harriet Centennial 1876-1929