William Henderson Dickson was born March 22, 1850 in Morse, Iowa. He was the third son of Billa and Mary Ann Stoddard Dickson. The parents joined the Church and immigrated to Utah. The incident happened while the family was living in Davis County and is related by Mr. William H. Dickson as follows:
My small companion and I were playing on a hay stack, because of strong winds that blow there, the stack had been propped and held in place by poles propped up with two-tined pitchforks, of which the handles were resting on the ground, and the tines pointing upward.
After playing some time we became tired and decided to get down. I, boy like, thought I would keel off, but in so doing