William Lewis Colley
William Lewis Colley was born on January 30, 1839, in Washington County, Virginia, to Christopher and Mary Colley. His father was a waggoner who owned $700 of real estate and $400 of personal property by 1860. By 1860, he was working as a day laborer in Emory, Virginia.
 
He enlisted in the Confederate army on March 15, 1862, and he mustered in as a private in Company C of the 1st Virginia Cavalry. The regiment took part in the Seven Days’ Battle, the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, the Shenandoah Valley campaign, and the Appomattox campaign. He was wounded in the Battle of Boonsboro on July 8, 1863, but he eventually recovered and rejoined the regiment. He remained in the army until at least August 1864.
 
He settled in Abingdon, Virginia, after the war, and he earned a living as a farmer. He married Augusta Henrietta Jones on November 22, 1865, and they had at least four children: Mary, born around 1867; Thomas, born around 1870; Christian, born around 1873; Lillie, born around 1876. By 1870, they owned $125 of personal property. His wife died in 1910. By 1920, he was living in his son Thomas’s household in Abingdon. He died there of arteriosclerosis on October 5, 1925.  
 
Image: William L. Colley (Richmond Times-Dispatch, 21 October 1906)
5090
DATABASE CONTENT
(5090)Colley, William Lewis1839-01-301925-10-05
  • Conflict Side: Confederacy
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Private
  • Rank out: Private
  • Rank highest: Private
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 15

  • (13956) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 1 January 186X
  • (13958) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 1 December 1861
  • (13965) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 7 September 1864
  • (13967) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 2 July 186X
  • (13968) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 10 June 1864
  • (13970) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 7 June 1864
  • (13978) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley and Sister, 20 February 1862
  • (13985) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 19 November 1863
  • (13986) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 11 December 1863
  • (13987) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley et al., 24 January 1864
  • (13988) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 29 January 1864
  • (13989) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 7 February 1864
  • (13990) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 9 February 1864
  • (13991) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 14 February 1864
  • (13995) [recipient] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 3 June 186X

People - Records: 6

  • (5090) Colley, William Lewis is the [sibling of] (5078) Colley, Thomas Wesley
  • (5090) Colley, William Lewis is the [child of] (5079) Colley, Mary
  • (5090) Colley, William Lewis is the [sibling of] (5080) Colley, Mary Jane
  • (5090) Colley, William Lewis is the [sibling of] (5082) Colley, Laura
  • (5094) Colley, Christopher M. is the [parent of] (5090) Colley, William Lewis
  • (5095) (?), Sue is the [cousin of] (5090) Colley, William Lewis

Places - Records: 2

  • (3133) [birth] ~ Washington County, Virginia
  • (358) [death] ~ Abingdon, Washington County, Virginia

Show in Map

Regiments - Records: 1

  • (753) [enlisted] [D] ~ 1st Virginia Cavalry
SOURCES

1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; Virginia Select Marriages, 1785-1940, available from Ancestry.com; Military Service Records of William L. Colley, available from Fold3.com