Military History In Paulding County
By: Mark Holtsberry
William Lawrence Stickney was born February 4, 1901, in Antwerp. He was the son of Walter E. Stickney, born in 1856 in Ohio, and Mary J. (Peterson) Stickney, born August 15, 1868, in Mace, Montgomery County, Ohio. The couple was married September 23, 1884, in Antwerp. They were the parents of John Sherman, born in 1887; Henry Mansfield, born in 1891; and Murial Loree, born in 1894.
In 1900, the family was living in Paulding on Harrison Street, where Walter worked as a farm laborer. The family grew with the birth of William Lawrence in 1901 and Sarah May on June 23, 1904. By 1910, the family had moved to Hicksville and was living on Arthur Street. William quit school at the end of his eighth-grade year.
On July 7, 1917, William joined Company E, 21st Ohio National Guard, out of Hicksville, serving until October 16, 1917. On the same date, July 7, 1917, he was inducted into the United States Army and reported for duty on July 15, 1917. He was assigned to Company L, 146th Infantry. On March 11, 1918, William was transferred to the Machine Gun Company, 146th Infantry.
William served overseas in the Ypres-Lys and Meuse-Argonne defensive sectors. On January 22, 1919, he boarded the ship Brest at Southampton, England, and set sail for home. He arrived in New York on January 30, 1919, and was honorably discharged on February 15, 1919.
William’s brother Henry registered for the draft on June 5, 1917. He served overseas in the Machine Gun Company, 146th Infantry, and was honorably discharged on March 21, 1919.
By 1920, William was working at the plow handle factory in Hicksville. He found adjusting to civilian life somewhat difficult. He and his brother Henry were involved in a shooting that wounded another man. According to police records, William had words with the man two years earlier over hunting rights. When they encountered each other again, an argument ensued over the same issue. William shot the man, took his money, and fled. The victim survived, but William was later found in Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana, where he was incarcerated at the Indiana Reformatory. While there, he passed the time weaving chairs.
In 1929, after serving his sentence, William—still single—was living with his parents at 2237 Oliver Street in Fort Wayne, working as a section hand on the railroad. By 1940, he was again living in Hicksville with his parents and continued working for the railroad as a trackman.
On February 18, 1941, William and a coworker were clearing snow from a track switch. The sound of other trains may have distracted him as he stepped in front of an oncoming train. He was struck and dragged approximately 200 feet. The train engineer did not see him. Coroner A. P. Hattendorf ruled his death accidental.
William was buried in Maumee Cemetery. In 1945, he received an upright military tombstone.
As a side note, William’s brother Henry was killed in a train-automobile accident on March 1, 1941. Henry was buried in Forest Home Cemetery in Hicksville.
… Until Next Time!
