William came to the United States from England in 1850. He worked as a farm laborer in Calhoun County and lived next to John and Mary Klockenkemper and their daughter, Anna.

William served in the Civil War with Company C of the 97th Regiment, Illinois Infantry. The unit was organized at Camp Butler, Illinois and mustered in 16 Sep 1862.

The 97th was ordered to Kentucky and made its way to Arkansas by 1863 where they were involved in the assault and capture of Fort Hindman. They fought in the Battle of Port Gibson, the Battle of Champion's Hill and the Battle of Big Black River in May of 1863.

The 97th next took part in the Siege of Vicksburg in Mississippi. After that, they were moved to New Orleans and had provost duty there until May 1864.

In 1865, they were ordered to Florida and then were part of Steele's Expedition to Mobile, Alabama. The 97th helped capture Fort Blakely in Apr 1865.

In May, they were sent to Galveston, Texas and were mustered out there on 29 Jul 1865. The regiment lost a total of 233 men to wounds or disease.

After the war, William married Anna Christina "Annie" Klockenkemper on 11 Aug 1873 in Calhoun County, Illinois. He was a farmer, and they were the parents of 10 children.

At the time of his death due to heart disease, William was 80 years, 11 months and 9 days old.

He was survived by 5 sons, John Caselton, Tony Caselton, Peter Caselton, Bodie Caselton and James Caselton; 2 daughters, Molly Bailey and Carrie Funk; and extended family members.

William was preceded in death by 1 daughter, Elizabeth Caselton; and 2 infants.

William's wife, Annie, passed away in 1935 and was buried next to him.

Children: 5 sons, 3 daughters, 2 unknown.

Father of:
John William Caselton
Catherina "Elizabeth" Caselton
Peter Clarence Caselton
Antone T. "Tony" Caselton
William Martin "Bodie" Caselton
James Albert Caselton, Sr.
Mary Lavina "Molly" Caselton Bailey
Caroline Eve "Carrie" Caselton Funk

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Obituary:

William Caselton was born in England May 2, 1834. His occupation was farmer. He was in Military Services Civil War, Co. C. 97 Ill. He was married August 11, 1873 Calhoun County, Ill. Mr. Caselton died April 11, 1915; cause was valvular heart disease. He was buried in Wilson Cemetery.

His spouse, Anna Christina Klockenkemper, born October 3, 1857 in Calhoun Co. Her father's name, John Klockenkemper, mother, Mary (Snider) [sic] Klockenkemper...Anna C. died December 30, 1935 Wilson Cemetery.

(First paragraph from unknown Calhoun County newspaper; April 1915. Author of second paragraph unknown)
Note: All spelling, capitalization and punctuation marks in obituary are exactly as they appeared in the original text.