Son of Gilberth Haws and Hannah Whitcomb. Married Barbara Belinda Mills, December 1, 1853, in Provo, Utah. Married Martha Barrett, November 8, 1875, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Married Gertrudis Guarneros, March 1, 1888.

William 's parents were baptized in 1842 in Illinois . They started west in 1847 , spending the winter in Mt. Pisgah, Iowa . They went to Winter Quarters in 1848 and came west in the Lorenzo Snow Company. William was baptized in City Creek a month after their arrival. The following March, 1849 , the family got a call to go to Provo to help settle the area. William helped his father by caring for the stock and the farm after their arrival. During the winter, the Indians stole lots of the stock and there was a fight with the Indians, in which William became involved. He helped build the first old fort on Provo River and then helped build the new fort where Provo is now. In 1851 , the family moved over the Provo River about a mile and started farming. The next year, William met his future wife and they got married. They lived with Barbara 's parents for three years until they could get their own home. The grasshoppers made things difficult the first two years, but they survived. When word came of Johnston 's Army, William was made captain and sent to Echo Canyon . He was soon made major. In 1858 , William sold his home and purchased another lot where he built a house. He was called on a mission in 1871 . Upon his return, he sold his home and worked for the Salt Lake Police. In 1879 , he took his two wives and children and went to Arizona . From there he took his second wife to Mexico , hoping to send for the rest of his family. He married a third wife and stayed in Mexico . He died of pneumonia in Mexico .