William Henderson Dancy was born on July 20, 1834 near the Reddes River in Wilkes County, North Carolina, the son of Dr. Jesse James Dancy (1804-1870) and his wife Rebecca C. Davis (1812-1883). William H. Dancy married Frances Sybil Servis on February 20, 1855 in Bourneville, Ross County, Ohio. Frances S. Servis was born on May 13, 1834 near Bourneville, Ross County, Ohio, the daughter of Charles Morgan Servis (1808-1878) and his wife Abigail Bassett (1813-1850).

The following is from Homer Eiler's Our Ancestors, A Brief Record of These Families: Dancy Servis Bassett Davis Holman Vannoy (Printed and published by James S. Dancy, Grenola, Kansas, 1928) at page 10:

"William H. Dancy was born on Reddes River in Wilkes County, North Carolina, but as a young man he, with his sister, Irene Dancy, are recorded in Clinton County, Ohio, about 1850. He married Frances Sibyl Servis near Bourneville in Ross County, Ohio, on February 20, 1855. (In 1899 William Dancy prepared a very complete family record of both the Dancy and Servis families, which was used by Homer Eiler in his 1928 booklet, Our Ancestors, A Brief Record of These Families: Dancy Servis Bassett Davis Holman Vannoy.) William and Frances lived in Ross County where their first child, Charles, was born in 1856. Their son was named after William Dancy's father-in-law, Charles Servis. The William Dancy family lived in the neighborhood of Charles Servis and also that of his sister, Irene (Dancy) Beckett. By the time of the birth of their second child, son John Lewis Dancy, on November 22, 1857, the Dancy family were in Fulton County, Illinois. The family was still in Fulton County when their fifth child, Frances Sibyl, was born on December 7, 1863."

In 1899 William H. Dancy recorded his military record as follows:

"I, (W. H. Dancy) enlisted in the Civil War in Co. H, 17th Ill, Infantry, [in May 1861] for three months, in the first call for Seventy-five Thousand men. The men re-enlisted at Camp Pyon Peoria, Ill. but I did not re-enlist as a soldier, but traveled as a spy and scout for the Union Army until 1862.

"In September, 1862, I was captured by the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry, which was commanded by Ben Olston. I, with other prisoners, was kept in the Court House lived there under guard in Manchester, Clay Co. Ky. [It is an important incident to related that he was a prisoner in the old home town of his father, Jesse Dancy lived there for several years. -- Homer (Eiler, 1928).]

"After I was paroled and liberated I returned to my old home in Lewiston, Fulton county, Ill. I re-enlisted the service as Deputy Provost Marshall, under Capt. Bill Phelps. I served in the army in the beginning of 1864, then I re-enlisted in Co. B, 132nd Ill. Infantry under Capt. T. J. Pickett and Col. W. H. Haskett, lt. Col. I was mustered out in Oct., 1864. I then re-enlisted in a new battallion that joined J. A. Mulligan's Regt., the 23rd Ill. Inf. I belonged to Co. H., Regt. Was mustered out on Sidney's Point, 3 miles above Richmond, on July 24, 1865, and paid off in Chicago, in August, 1865. Respectfully, W. H. DANCY"
[Homer Eiler, Our Ancestors at pp. 15-16.]

William Dancy does not say how long he was held prisoner after his capture in September 1862, but he was paroled and returned to his home by about March 1863 as his daughter Frances Sybil was born nine months later on December 7, 1863. Following the war and his discharge in August 1865, William Dancy moved the family to Nebraska where their sixth child, Rose, was born on December 16, 1866, in Tecumseh in Johnson County. The family resided in Tecumseh where their final three children were born, the last, Benjamin, in 1872 when Frances was 37 years old.

In March 1883, William and Frances moved for the last time to their farm near Republic, Republic County, Kansas. Both William and Frances are buried in Prairie Rose Cemetery near their old home. "After the death of his wife William Dancy lived on the farm for a while, but toward the close of his life, he spent his time with his children. He died at the home of his daughter, Abigail Dick, in Republic, Kan., on November 17, 1913." (Homer Eiler, Our Ancestors (1928) p. 16.)

On January 3, 1899, 64-year-old William Henderson Dancy dictated his family history to Bertha Ward, his almost 15-year-old granddaughter, at Republic City, Republic County, Kansas, and said it part:

"William Henderson Dancy married Frances Sybyl Servis on February 20th, 1855 on a farm called "Hellards Bottom" about three miles from Bournesville, Ohio, by Dr. Samuel Sittler of Bournesville. The license was obtained at Chilicothe, Ohio. Ten children were born as follows: Charlie, John, Abigail, Jesse, Frances, Rose, Hattie, Bula, Benjamin, and James S.

"Charlie died at the age of eight years and is buried at the Lewistown Cemetery, Fulton County, Illinois. Jesse died when nine months old, he is buried by the side of Charlie. My wife died March 8th, 1897 and is buried in the Prairie Rose Cemetery, Republic County, Kansas. John married Sophia Shellenberger and lives in Roseland British Columbia. They have two children, Grace and Willie.

"Abigail married Robert K. Dick and lives near Republic, Kansas. They have five children: Verda, Edna, Gertrude, Walter and Everst. Gertrude and Walter are now living. Frances married John R. Ward and [he] died in 1890 and is buried at Gordon, Nebraska. He left six children: Orie, Bertha, Jesse, Bula, Grace and Rose. Frances was again married to Perez Smith and they have one child, Leonard, and live near Republic, Kansas.

"Rose married Homer Eiler and now live in Pontiac, Illinois. They have one child named Julia Frances. Hattie married James Shellenberger and lives near Republic, Kansas. They have three children: Harry, Ray and Charlie.

"Ben married Oma Lacey and lives near Republic, Kansas. They have two children: Howard and Hester. James is single."