William L. Seran was born around 1837 in New Jersey. He married Amanda Lashley around 1860, and they had at least seven children: Sallie, born around 1862; Ella, born around 1865; William, Born around 1867; Arthur, born around 1869; Joseph, born around 1874; Perry, born around 1884; and Madge, born around 1886.
He enlisted in the Union army on August 13, 1862, and he mustered in as a private in Company H of the 12th New Jersey Infantry on September 4. The regiment took part in the Battle of Gettysburg and the Overland Campaign. In September 1864, he was promoted to 1st lieutenant in Company B of the 121st USCT Infantry. Army officials transferred him to the 125th USCT Infantry in October 1865. He eventually earned a promotion to captain, and he mustered out on October 31, 1867.
He returned to New Jersey after the war, and he moved to Sherman, Kansas, in the late 1860s. He worked as a farmer, and by 1870, he owned $2,500 of personal property. He applied for a federal pension in 1879 and eventually secured one. They moved to Nebraska by the 1880s, and by 1900, they were living in the Indian Territory. His wife died in the early 1900s.
He received an appointment as a postmaster in October 1908. In February 1913, he was admitted to the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Los Angeles, California. He was suffering from “Defective” vision and hearing, chronic rheumatism, and a “History of old injury to neck.” He died in Los Angeles on January 13, 1936.