Born in Samoa, died in Cowley: The amazing life of William Kenison

It all began with a voyage gone wrong.

In 1864, Captain David Kenison and his wife, Mary, set sail from New Zealand with dreams of reaching New Orleans and starting a freighting business on the Mississippi River. With one tiny baby, the young family was eager to begin a new life in America -- but fate had other plans.

When their ship reached the Samoan Islands, the crew mutinied, seizing control of the vessel and putting all the passengers ashore to await rescue. By the time another ship arrived   -- nearly a year later -- the Kenisons had already fallen in love with the islands and decided to stay.

Kenison, industrious and adventurous, built a new life there. He opened a store and blacksmith shop on the island of Savai‘i, where islanders gathered to trade and talk. He constructed schooners and began transporting people and cargo -- mostly copra, or dried coconut -- between Savai‘i and Upolu. His ships and shop became well known throughout the region, and for many years, the Kenisons thrived in their unexpected Pacific home.

Born at sea

It was during those years in the islands that the Kenisons had 12 more children, including child number 10, a son named William, born, literally at sea on October 12, 1881, as the family traveled the Pacific waters near Samoa. His birth at sea foreshadowed a life that would never stay still for long.

As a child, William lived surrounded by palms and ocean waves, but when he was 9, his parents decided he should go to America with a Mormon missionary named Twitchell, believing he would have better opportunities there. He was raised in Escalante, Utah. As tropical and lush as Samoa had been, Escalante was dry and barren.

When William was only 18, he joined a new adventure, this time with the early Mormon colonists who came north to settle the Big Horn Basin. He helped construct the Sidon Canal, cooked for railroad crews and became one of Cowley’s early settlers, known for his good humor, work ethic and strong faith.

Mission to Samoa 

and the girl on the line

In 1906 that same faith sent him back to Samoa, this time as a missionary. While spending the night in San Francisco waiting for his ship, disaster struck. At 5:12 a.m. he was jolted awake as the building shook and nearly collapsed. Escaping into the street, he witnessed the great San Francisco earthquake. For two days and nights, he helped fight fires and rescue people trapped in the rubble before finally catching his ship into the Pacific.

While William was in Samoa, a bright young woman named Mattie Wardell moved to Cowley from Parowan, Utah. Mattie loved books and music and was known for her beautiful singing voice. Her father was a beekeeper, and her mother was admired for her fine sewing and knitting skills.

When telephone service reached the Big Horn Basin, Mattie became Cowley’s first telephone operator. From her post at the switchboard, she knew every voice in town. She connected calls, took messages, handled emergencies and earned the community’s trust by knowing just about every bit of gossip that passed through the wires. When William returned from Samoa, he quickly fell in love with the young woman, and the two were married in 1910.

Tragedy and resilience

Work was difficult to find in those days, and by 1915 William and Mattie had a daughter named Klella. They were trying to make a living on a rough farm west of Cowley when tragedy struck. One winter day, while William was working in the mountains, their house caught fire and baby Klella was killed.

The Cowley Progress Newspaper reported the town’s deep sympathy: “The grief of the young parents is heart-rending,” the paper wrote, urging the community to help rebuild and comfort them. “Every effort possible will be done to comfort the distracted parents and help them at the same time with means to rebuild their home.”

The fire prompted calls for a volunteer fire department, noting that while townsmen fought valiantly, Cowley lacked the equipment and organization to prevent such losses in the future.

By 1919 things were improving for the Kenisons. They welcomed two sons -- Elburn in 1915 and Ivan in 1917. Farming was better, and William had started a dairy.

The Spanish influenza epidemic

On October 12, 1918, the Deaver Sentinel warned, “Influenza Cases Continue to Spread.” Within weeks, more than 7,000 cases were reported across Wyoming. Schools and businesses shut down, and classes at the University of Wyoming were canceled for much of the winter.

The Cowley Progress later told of James Wilson, a man so desperate for relief from the pain of the influenza that he tried smoking the leaves of every plant he could find, finding comfort only in the leaves of mullein plant. His story reflected the desperation and resourcefulness of those who faced the epidemic with little more than faith and home remedies.

That winter was harsh. Families across the Big Horn Basin isolated at home, church services were held privately and nearly every public gathering was canceled.

Early in March, as the days began to lengthen and a hint of green returned to the trees, heartbreak struck again. The entire Kenison family fell ill with influenza. Two-year-old Ivan was the first to pass, followed soon after by his mother, Mattie. William, though critically ill with pneumonia, somehow survived, as did their 4-year-old son, Elburn.

The Cowley Progress mourned the tragedy: “Today the mortal remains of the lovely young mother lie by the side of her dear little girl which burned to death a few short years ago,” the paper lamented. “Verily, in the midst of life we are in death.”

Mattie died on March 12, 1919, she was only 27.

Endurance and renewal

Left with only his son Elburn, in 1920 William married Ethel Monk, and together they began to rebuild a life that had been marked by sorrow. Together they had three more children. They farmed west of Cowley and became known for their hospitality and steady faith. William continued as a dairy farmer, active in his church and community -- a quiet symbol of endurance in a place that had seen its share of hardship.

When William died in 1965 at the age of 83, the Lovell Chronicle called him “a pioneer dairy farmer of Cowley.” But his story, and his family’s story, was far larger than that simple line.

Born on the ocean, tempered by loss and defined by faith, work, and endurance, William Kenison represented the best of those who came to build lives in the Big Horn Basin. He saw the world from the deck of a schooner in the South Pacific and from behind a plow in Wyoming dust, carrying the same courage in both places.

From the waves of Samoa to the wind of Cowley, William Kenison’s life traced the long arc of pioneer endurance. And though his grave lies far from the sea where he was born, his story still ripples outward, reminding us that sometimes the greatest journeys end right where the heart finally finds home.

Editor’s note: The author is interested in learning more about William, Mattie, Ethel and their children. If you know more about their story, please contact the Chronicle.