The Stokes Family

Soon after William was born, his father died. His mother supported the family as well as she could, but eventually put her children in a 'poor house.' For many years after, William lived in the home where he was educated. Sometime during his teenage years, he left home and his job and boarded the Man of War. The crew took him in, and he worked for the boat for 12 years.

In the 1850s, missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints boarded the ship. They taught William the gospel, and he purchased a Book of Mormon from them. William was converted and was baptized into the Church on Oct 12, 1856. Soon after, he went to South Africa. While there, he met and married Mary Ann Stock on Jan 26, 1860.

The Stokes family, along with many of Mary's family, left South Africa on April 5, 1850 aboard the Alacrity and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, on Jun 18, 1860. They traveled to Florence, Nebraska on July 20, 1860 and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on Oct 5.

Soon after their arrival, the William family moved to Richmond in 1862.