William H. Cheney
American, 1833 - 1888
BiographyWilliam Henry Cheney was born on 21 May 1833 in Manchester, Connecticut. He was the son of George Wells Cheney (1799-1841) and Mary Cheney (1801-1886). William had several siblings, including John Sherwood Cheney (1827-1910) and James Woodbridge Cheney (1838-1888).
William and his brother John went to California in 1848 looking for gold, then on to Australia, with the same goal, in 1853. They settled in Creswick, Australia. Both brothers were naturalized on 2 September 1859.
William married Sarah Grace Moyle (1842-1933), a native of Ireland whose family moved to Australia during the gold rush, in 1858. She moved back to the United States with him in 1861. They had five sons: Edward Moyle Cheney (1862-1888), Walter Bowden Cheney (1864-1913), Samuel Martyn Cheney (1866-1884), Henry "Harry" Richmond Cheney (1869-1947) and Mark Cheney (1871-1925).
Upon returning to Manchester, Connecticut, William became involved with the Cheney Brothers Silk business. He also founded the very popular Cheney Store at the junction of Hartford Road, Main, South Main, and Charter Oak Streets in South Manchester. He served as postmaster for the South Manchester Post Office, which was located in the store, for many years.
William died on 7 February 1888.
Source: Information was gathered from primary sources on Ancestry.com and FindAGrave.com, an obituary for Sarah Moyle Cheney that was published in the Hartford Courant on January 16, 1933, and a biography of John Sherwood Cheney in volume 19 of "The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography," p74-75. Cyclopaedia accessed online through HathiTrust on 3/23/2024. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015078229070&seq=160
William and his brother John went to California in 1848 looking for gold, then on to Australia, with the same goal, in 1853. They settled in Creswick, Australia. Both brothers were naturalized on 2 September 1859.
William married Sarah Grace Moyle (1842-1933), a native of Ireland whose family moved to Australia during the gold rush, in 1858. She moved back to the United States with him in 1861. They had five sons: Edward Moyle Cheney (1862-1888), Walter Bowden Cheney (1864-1913), Samuel Martyn Cheney (1866-1884), Henry "Harry" Richmond Cheney (1869-1947) and Mark Cheney (1871-1925).
Upon returning to Manchester, Connecticut, William became involved with the Cheney Brothers Silk business. He also founded the very popular Cheney Store at the junction of Hartford Road, Main, South Main, and Charter Oak Streets in South Manchester. He served as postmaster for the South Manchester Post Office, which was located in the store, for many years.
William died on 7 February 1888.
Source: Information was gathered from primary sources on Ancestry.com and FindAGrave.com, an obituary for Sarah Moyle Cheney that was published in the Hartford Courant on January 16, 1933, and a biography of John Sherwood Cheney in volume 19 of "The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography," p74-75. Cyclopaedia accessed online through HathiTrust on 3/23/2024. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015078229070&seq=160
Person TypeIndividual
American, 1859 - 1944