William Fawcett was born in Malton, Yorkshire, England in 1814, and passed away in 1904. He became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on January 1, 1840, and served as a missionary that same year in Yorkshire, England. On January 31, 1846, William and Jane were sealed in the Nauvoo Temple.

Fawcett and his wife, Jane, left England in 1848 on the ship Santon with their two children. They were a part of a group of 200 converted Saints being led by Lorenzo Snow. They made their way to Nauvoo, Illinois, arriving on April 12, 1848. Two years later, he and his family made the trek across the plains to Salt Lake City, Utah, arriving on September 15, 1850.

On February 17, 1853 Fawcett was appointed Trustee, built the first school building in Salt Lake City that was in the 6th Ward boundaries, and served as counselor to Bishop Hickenlooper of the Salt Lake 6th Ward. Fawcett was sealed to his second wife, Mary Olsen on March 2, 1855. October 23, 1855, Fawcett was called to head east on the Overland Trail to meet migrating Saints. He was to help bring the Milo Andrus Company over the big mountain and return with Bishop Smoot to the Green River. January 1857, Fawcett was promoted as Captain and Adjunct of the Nauvoo Legion when the United States government sent soldiers to Utah. He guarded Salt Lake City when Colonel Johnson and his army entered the Great Salt Lake Valley, in what is now known as the Utah War. In 1861 Fawcett served on a committee to build the Union Bridge.

The first two missionaries to arrive in the St. George valley were William Fawcett and Robert Thompson. They arrived on November 25, 1861. Fawcett was appointed to be on a committee of three to help choose a site for the city of St. George. Fawcett was also chosen to be a camp authority and be in charge of a surplus herd established in Heberville. He donated $20.00 to help build the first school building in St. George. February 1862, he was called to serve as 1st counselor in the St. George 1st Ward, as well as clerk of the 1st and 2nd Ward. March 22, 1862, Fawcett was chosen and sustained as local president of the High Priests Quorum.

In 1862, he was made Water Master of the City of St. George. He was elected Justice of the Peace for the Washington Precinct on August 4, 1862, and made Secretary of the St. George Rio Virgin Ditch and Tunnel August 29, 1864. In 1865, Fawcett was on a small committee that investigated and suggested what lands should be cultivated.