William S. Denison William S. Denison William S. Denison (17941880) was a Baptist farmer who was a major benefactor and namesake of Denison University in Ohio. William S. Denison was born in Colrain, Massachusetts on November 13, 1794 as the youngest of eight children. His family was originally from Stonington, Connecticut. Denison migrated to Ohio in 1810 settling in Putnam in Muskingum County, Ohio and then moving to Zanesville, Ohio. Denison attended Ohio University studying scientific farming methods. Denison eventually acquired nearly 1,500 acres of farmland. Denison was a longtime member of the Salem Baptist Church in Adamsville. In 1853, William S. Denison
William S. S. Willes it was organized in Lehi in 1862. During the April 1863 general conference, Willes was called on a mission to England. Upon his return, he captained a pioneer company of English and German saints that crossed the plains in late summer 1865. Willes died on February 3, 1871, at the age of 51. Note that Willes has no relation to the LDS hymnwriter William Willes. William S. S. Willes William Sydney Smith Willes (March 18, 1819 – February 3, 1871), familiarly known as Sidney Willes, was a Mormon pioneer, member of the Mormon Battalion, and a founder of Lehi, Utah.