William Thomas Van Noy

William Thomas Van Noy was born March 13, 1827 in Indian Creek, Missouri to Nathaniel and Margaret N. Tinsley Van Noy. William is a Pioneer of Richmond. William was a veteran of the Indian Wars.

History

The early life of William is unknown. In 1849, William joined a Latter-day Saints Pioneer Company to travel to California to mine for gold. While in Salt Lake City, William became very ill. He was nourished by the Saints and members of the Hendricks family. Because of this hospitality, William was converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Dec 18, 1850. That following January, William married Catherine T. Hendricks.

In 1860, the Van Noy family moved to Richmond. While in Richmond, William participated in constructing a sawmill in High Creek. He lived in Richmond until 1874, when he moved to Riverdale, Idaho. However, he continued to spend much of his time in Richmond throughout the remainder of his life.

"He also tanned hides and made shoes for his family to wear. There was much danger from rattlesnakes because they were very numerous in this country. He was a good carpenter. He made many beautiful pieces of furniture and novelties. He made a chair for John Bair, an early pioneer, (this chair is well preserved and still stands in the Richmond Pioneer Relic Hall)."

Indian Wars Service

After the construction of the Richmond Fort in 1860 and other forts in Cache Valley, the Territory of Utah created the Cache Military District on Oct 15, 1861 with Church Apostle Ezra T. Benson as Colonel. Richmond was organized as the 5th Battalion Infantry, with Thomas L. Whittle as Major, David P. Rainy as Adjutant, and Robert M. Kerr and Dana Walton as Captains. William was appointed as a Private.

On June 16, 1863, Richmond was organized into two companies of Infantry and two squads of Cavalry. William was appointed as Adjutant to Captain Thomas L. Whittle in Company K.

Family

William married Catherine Hendricks on Jan 30, 1851 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He entered the practice of polygamy in Dec of 1859 by marrying Agnes Birrell in Salt Lake City and Katherine Josephine Bagley on Feb 21, 1891 in Richmond. William fathered 31 children, with 27 living to adulthood.

Inventor

"There were indications of his being a great inventor. Following are some of them. Some of them were never finished because of his sudden death and his failure to get a patent on them. 

"A heat ventilator which was like a transom, when the room for to a certain temperature it would open and ventilate the room. He made a small wagon with a self brake on it. When it started down hill the brakes would automatically shut down. He was making a shot weighing machine at the time of his death. He invented a scale that would weigh and tally the cost at the same time, but he was unable to realize anything from it because he was not able to finance it. This invention was put on the market by an untrue friend, and with improvements it is in use today in almost every store. He had his hard earned savings taken by fraud but he was a man of determination in what he undertook to do."

Epilogue