Papa's Grandfather, William Heaton, was the first in his area to join the Church. He was 22 and with his brother, Jonathan and two Beilby brothers formed the Weldon Branch with a 3 others in 1849. He was asked to work in the English countryside for two, 1 1/2 years each.  Christopher and Thomas died of fever with only their sister, Mary, making it to Salt Lake Valley.

In 1852, Esther, their younger sister and William had Christopher Beilby Heaton. He had great fatih and healed a child who had had many convulsions by the laying on the hand and prayer. He had many converts at their time and when his fist son was born.

When Esther's second boy was 3 weeks old, they left England for the Great Salt Lake Valley. Their baby, William McDonald, was only 3 weeks old. They had a delay in Iowa City while waiting for handcarts to be made.

Later crossing the Plains, William's faith and prayer revived Isaiah Bower's boy who had been left for dead. He was pushed in the car tuntil they caught up with the First  Company and his parents.  

When William Heaton became too ill to go on, Mo Arthur would not wait, or let Esther.  The captain knew they had to make so many miles each day or face snow in the Rockies in which case they would all perish. Esther could not sleep and asked Mary Ann McClere to go back to find and help pull him into camp. They continued in this manner until William could walk without their support. They did find snow, their shoes and supplies were gone.  Brigham Young rushed wagons with supplies whe nthe first company told of their plight.  They reached Salt Lake, September 27, 1856. Mr. McClere and William's namesake were buried at the end. Mary Ann helped her mother with the seven children her father left.

The Heatons settled in Payson. Papa's father, Jonathan Heaton, named for his grandfather in England, was born there in a year. Within the twelve years 3 more sons were born. William served a four year mission in Scotland and brought his widowed mother, Frances O Dwyer Heaton to Payson where she was buried when sixty-eight. Esther was also buried there when 45. (William was buried in Orderville at 50.)

In 1868 the Heatons were asked to resettle in the Muddy. Brigham visited seven settlements now under unfriendly Nevada rule. He planned to petition to have them returned to the Great State of Deseret, but they voted to abandon their 2 year effort. Gentiles and Indians laid claim to anything of value. They stopped six months at Moccasin Springs before joining Bishop Stark at Mount Carmel. 

Esther died when Jonathan was eighteen, and they were north for his endowments. Alvin was 15, Wilford 13 and Fred (who Papa was named for) only 9. Their father died in 1877, the same years as Brigham Young's death, and two years later. Three years before Brigham Young had organized a United Order in St George and had John R Young, a nephew, start one at Orderville. He visited Orderville the year he died where the Heatons had moved and Charles O'Carroll had asked to join the group after helping establish Heber City and having ten children there. He and Kezia Giles Carroll had had two before in Provo, and 2 after they moved to Orderville. Three of their girls married three of William and Esther Beilby Heaton's sons. Wilford Wilde Heaton married Emma Palmer and Christopher Beilby Heaton, born in England, married Margaret Ann Esplin. The Heaton boys worked under Christopher in the United Order until it broke up. That and the Carroll family helped them survive pioneer life while establishing fields, small town, ranches with the sheep and cattle business in Southern Utah and the Arizona Strip.

Jonathan had worked with sheep, lumber, the cotton farm and in 1883, Christopher Heaton was over his brother at the Moccasin farm. He was also a missionary for the Indians around there.