Morgan Pioneer History Binds Us Together One day, William put a notice in the paper of a street meeting he intended to hold, then he went to a hotel and got a room for the night. In the evening, he heard footsteps along the hall and then the key was turned in his door and it was locked. Thinking they meant to do him violence, he put his bed and chairs against the door and waited. No one came to harm him, but they left the door locked. In the morning, he was freed. The proprietor had been bribed to lock his door till past the time for his meeting. He made another appointment for a meeting the following day, but stayed outdoors all day. When he met the crowd that night at the street corner, he told them why he didn't keep his appointment. They told him that a Mr. Hepburn came to them and said, "You see how the Mormons keep their word; they are not to be relied on. They are untruthful and undependable." Mr. Hepburn hounded William day to day, pelting him with rotten eggs and decayed vegetables, jerking his coat off from him and abusing him every way he could think of. Finally the man was rebuked by William who said to him, "If you don't stop your vile efforts against the work of the Lord, I promise you in the name of Jesus Christ that your right arm will hang limp by your side and you won't be able to use it." When William and his wife were on a ship docked at the wharf ready to sail to America, there was a large group of people assembled to see the ship sail. William called attention to a man in the crowd whose arm was shrunken and useless, hanging limp by his side. The man was Mr. Hepburn. ©19 Samuel Francis and Esther C. E. Weisbrodt Francis Samuel Francis, Sr. Judge Francis was a native of England. He was born July 3, 1830, in Trowbridge, England, and grew to manhood in that place, receiving his education in the public schools. He came to the United States with his family in 1861 and spent the first winter in Salt Lake. In the spring of 1862 he went to Farmington where he ran a carding machine. In the fall of 1863 he moved to Morgan County locating his farm on what afterwards became the site of Morgan City. His public career began in 1866, when he was elected as a school trustee and justice of the peace. With the help of his wife, he put himself through a course of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1888 at the age of fifty-eight. He carried on most of the legal business in Morgan County for many years. In 1870 he was appointed county clerk by the probate judge, and held that office for sixteen years. He served for nineteen years as county recorder and also held the office of county attorney. He was elected to the office of probate judge in 1886 and held the office for many years. Samuel Francis was elected to the Territorial House of Representatives for four years. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1895, and assisted in drafting the constitution of Utah. Mr. Francis was prominently identified with the work of the church in this county. When the Morgan Stake was organized in 1877, he was chosen as a member of the stake presidency where he served for twenty-four years. He was a counselor to President Willard G. Smith, who was succeeded by Richard Fry. He remained in stake presidency until September, 1900. After serving in this capacity for many years, he was released and ordained a patriarch. He worked to have schools run by taxation, and worked in the Legislature for the free public school system in operation today. He died May 26,1906, of pneumonia at Morgan City, Utah. Miss Esther Charlotte Emily Weisbrodt, was born June 19,1836, in Turin, Italy, the daughter of Samuel David Weisbrodt and Emily Weisbrodt. Of German Esther Charlotte Emily Weisbrodt Francis (MCHSI 76