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Fisher, William Fredrick, Bishop of Oxford, Oneida county, Idaho, from 1877 to 1882, was born Nov. 16, 1839, at Woolwich, Kent, England, and is the son of Thomas Fredrick and Jane Fisher. He was baptized in 1848, and in April, 1854, he emigrated with his parents to Utah, crossing the Atlantic in a sailing vessel, and went by steamboat up the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to Kansas City, Mo. Elder Fisher writes: "My father bought cattle, oxen and cows, fitted up our wagons and pulled out to Weston, Mo. Our company was the last that crossed the plains that year. Our captain was Robert Lang Campbell, under whose guidance we arrived in Salt Lake City, Nov. 28, 1854. We located at Bountiful, Davis county, where I lived with my parents until the spring of 1859, when I was employed by the Chorpening Mail company. I packed mail on mules and pack saddles, for about a year, the U. S. mail being, at that time, only semi-monthly. In 1860 I kept a mail station at Gravelly Ford, on the Humboldt river, for about six months, and while there, I cooked a supper for the great journalist, Horace Greeley. From April to July, 1861, I rode the pony express from Ruby valley to Butte station, Nevada, The Indian outbreak took place all along the route that summer, commencing with the killing of Ralph Loyier and John Applegate at Dry creek, Nevada, and John Ouldcott of Simpson's Park. During that summer a good many of our brave boys were killed by the Indians; some were scalped and others were mutilated; and their bodies were in some instances burned on wood piles. I took the news of the outbreak from Roberts Creek to Schell creek, and very soon afterward the U. S. government sent two companies of cavalry out to help quell the uprising. These troops fought a great many battles with the Indians and finally subdued them. In July, 1860, I brought in the pony express from Ruby valley, Nevada, to Salt Lake City, a distance of 300 miles, in about thirty-five hours, with only sixteen changes of horses. The Indians had stolen the animals, killed the station keepers, and burned the stations down, where there should have been other changes. Later, I rode pony express for one year between Salt Lake City and Rush valley. In November, 1860, I carried the presidential election returns from Salt Lake City to Faust's station, in Rush valley, a distance of 75 miles, in 4 hours and 20 minutes. The winter of 1860-61 was noted for some very severe storms, it being a hard, cold winter. One night in January, 1861, I was eighteen hours making the ride from Camp Floyd to Salt Lake City, being lost all night in one of the worst storms I ever experienced. Jan. 1, 1861, I married Miss Millennium Andrus, a daughter of Milo and Abigail J. Andrus. In the spring of 1862 I moved to West Bountiful and lived there until I moved to Richmond, Cache county, Utah, in the fall of 1864. During the time I was employed by the Western Mail company and the pony express company, I had a number of narrow escapes from capture and death by the Indians, but a kind Providence watched over me, and I escaped without harm. I have done a great deal of railroad building in my day. Thus I had charge of the construction of the "Big Fill," built near Blue creek at "Promontory," at a cost to the C. P. Ry. Co. of about $150,000. I also had contracts on the Utah Central, Bingham Canyon, Wasatch & Jordan Valley, Utah Northern and several other railways. In 1871 I went on a mission to the Middle States, and in 1874 I commenced merchandising at Richmond, Utah. In 1876 I was called on a mission to move my family and effects to Oxford, Oneida county, Idaho. In August, 1877, I was ordained a Bishop and appointed to preside over the Oxford Ward: and I officiated in that capacity until December, 1882. In July, 1878, I moved my family from Richmond, Utah, to Oxford, Idaho, and established a general store, of which I am still proprietor. I was elected on the Democratic ticket to the office of assessor of Oneida county in 1878, and was re-elected in 1880 and again in 1882. My wife and I have raised four sons and three daughters, and have buried four sons. Our home at present is at Oxford, Oneida county. My business is ranching, stock-raising, and merchandising. I am now 62 years of age and enjoy good health."
Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4 vols. Salt Lake City 1:447 |
Biographies 
