William W. Sanders, the father of John Overton and Joseph Leroy Sanders was
born sometime around 1839 in Jackson County Tennessee. He was the oldest
child of Elisha Sanders and Sarah "Sally" Gordon. On June 3rd, 1859, William
married Parthena Bowles in Jackson County Tennessee. They were the parents
of John Overton Sanders. Parthena died on August 25, 1859. William then
married Margaret Hix (Hicks) on April 28, 1861, also in Jackson County,
Tennessee. Sometime before August 1862, William and his family moved to
Franklin County, Illinois where his second son, Joseph Leroy was born.
William's parents and brothers and sisters also moved to Illinois about this time.

On September 26, 1862 at Camp Butler, Illinois, William Sanders joined the
Union Army. He died of typhus on April 26, 1864 in the Regimental Hospital
at Decatur, Alabama. It is not known where he was buried.

William was enrolled on the 26th day of September 1862, at Camp Butler in
Company "A", 128th Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, to serve 3 years, or
during the war, and mustered into service as a Private on the 4th day of
November 1862, at Camp Butler, in Company "A", 128th Regiment of Illinois
Volunteers. On the Regiments Monthly Return of the 9th Regiment, Illinois
Volunteers for the month of March 1864, W.W. Sanders is reported "Transferred
to Co. "G" from the 128th Illinois Volunteers, March 15th, 1864". On the
Monthly Return from May 1864, he is reported "Died of disease at Decatur,
Alabama, April 26th, 1964. (1)

(1) Letter from the Adjutant General's Office, Washington, D.C., dated
October 4, 1964. Received from the National Archives.

Many thanks to Ron Sanders for sharing William's photo and story.