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…