William A Whitney volunteered during the Civil War. He enlisted in Elmira, NY as a Private with Company K, 24th Infantry regiment also known as "Oswego County Regiment," from May 17, 1861 and discharged on May 29, 1863 at Albany New York. After that he married Anna Amanda Fellows in 1864 in Ohio and then worked as a farmer in Michigan. They had four children in their home Grant Charles, Lee John, Santee Fellows and Guy William Whitney. He later was admitted to the National home located in Wisconsin in 1895 where he claimed disability due to Senile debility, heart failure, paralysis and Chronic Rheumatism due to his military service. After he died his wife Anna later checked into the home. I am still trying to locate her grave and recently was told she was not buried next to him and at this time I have been unable to locate her. I believe she would have went back to Ohio to be close to family. I am also unable to find his son Grant Charles Whitney's grave. I have revealed a 1869 record showing a Charles Whiting and Mary in Illinois where a son was born to them and later they are found on a farm in 1870 with my great grandfather, but not showing Anna his wife, which she probably stayed in Ohio shortly after their marriage until William was able to provide a home for them. The child under Charles and Mary on the census is named U.S. Grant C Whiting. Later, I could not find a Charles and Mary together in 1880, but did find Charles back with his father on his farm, without Mary or Grant. Oddly I found an 1880 census showing my Great Grandfather and Mother along with a child Grant Charles Whitney, born Illinois in 1869 and age 11. Coincidence? I think not as at no time was my grandparents EVER in Illinois. I concluded my great grandparents adopted Grant and easily changed his name, which in those days would not be hard to do. I was told by rumors of the family that William gave up his children and an uncle possibly took them in and that Guy was so angry with his father he refused to list him on his military records. I have found no evidence of this. But it would seem logical that knowing Grant was adopted and being the first son, would cause tension and resentment towards each other as children can be like that. That would explain the anger.

I have yet to find Anna Amanda (Fellows) Whitney grave. Nor have I found anything about her father Henry Fellows married to Margaret Santee an he was from Pennsylvania.