West Virginia

Rev. William Jackson Haydon, born on June 8, 1835, near Lynchburg, Virginia, was the third of six children. Educated in Virginia and West Virginia, he engaged in mercantile and teaching careers before moving to Missouri in 1860. A dedicated church leader, he organized schools and contributed to Sunday school missions in Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas. Haydon was ordained in 1878 and became a prominent advocate for temperance, a community organizer, and a respected Christian worker. He married Maggie C. Ford, with whom he had six children.