| Life fact | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | William Daniel Staples |
| Born | November 16, 1907, in Staunton, Virginia |
| Parents | Waller Redd Staples and Olivia (Trout) Staples |
| Spouse | Mary Elizabeth Macdowell |
| Primary family locality | Roanoke, Virginia |
| Principal roles | Lawyer, editor, and public-relations director |
| World War II service | Military-government and civilian-supply assignments, 1943-1946 |
| Religious affiliation | Episcopal Church |
Genealogy of William Daniel Staples
This genealogical account was constructed from the family information contained in the biography below. No relationships or life facts have been added from outside sources.
William Daniel Staples was born November 16, 1907, in Staunton, Virginia. He was a son of Waller Redd Staples and Olivia Trout Staples. His father was a lawyer who served as a judge of the Hustings Court in Roanoke. The biography supplies no earlier ancestry for either parent.
On November 23, 1937, in Roanoke, William Staples married Mary Elizabeth Macdowell. She was a daughter of Walter G. Macdowell and Alice Miller Macdowell. The biography does not mention any children.
Family outline
- William Daniel Staples
- Father: Waller Redd Staples
- Mother: Olivia (Trout) Staples
- Wife: Mary Elizabeth Macdowell
- Father: Walter G. Macdowell
- Mother: Alice (Miller) Macdowell
Source
This biography appeared in History of the Shenandoah Valley: Family and Personal Records, Volume III (Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., 1952), pages 16-17.
Verbatim biography
The following is a faithful transcription of the original biography. OCR errors have been corrected against the printed page images, but the original wording, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and factual claims have not been rewritten.
WILLIAM DANIEL STAPLES—It is with a broad background of business and professional activity that William Daniel Staples has come to his present position as director of public relations with the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company of New York. His family is a well-established one of Roanoke; and although Mr. Staples presently centers his activities in New York City and Douglaston, Long Island, he has retained his deep interest in his native state.
Mr. Staples was born November 16, 1907, in Staunton, Virginia, the son of Waller Redd and Olivia (Trout) Staples. His father was a lawyer, including among his professional activities service as judge of the Hustings Court in Roanoke.
William Daniel Staples attended public schools in the city and county of Roanoke between 1914 and 1921, then was a student at the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, from 1921 to 1925. He followed his high school studies with four years at Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, where he received the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1929. Afterward when he decided to study law he entered the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where he remained between 1932 and 1935, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Meanwhile he had spent three years between 1929 and 1932 with different publishing companies as an editorial reader. These organizations included The John Day Company, Richard R. Smith, Inc., and Bobbs-Merrill, all in New York.
After graduation from law school, Mr. Staples became a member of the firm of Showalter, Parsons, Kuyk and Staples of Roanoke. Continuing with them from 1935 to 1941, he then spent one year as a member of the legal staff of the War Production Board, in Washington, D. C. From 1946 to 1948, he was assistant executive secretary of the American Pulp and Paper Association, in New York. Then in 1948, he assumed his present duties as director of public relations with the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company, in New York City. Mr. Staples’s activities have been many-sided. In the 1930s the law firm of which he was a member served as council to the Liberty Trust Company and the Colonial American National Bank, both of Roanoke. During World War II, Mr. Staples held numerous special assignments in connection with the military government and civilian supplies, chiefly with the SHAEF in Sicily, London, Paris and Frankfort between 1943 and 1946. Mr. Staples is a member of the Episcopal Church.
William Daniel Staples married, November 23, 1937, in Roanoke, Virginia, Mary Elizabeth Macdowell, daughter of Walter G. and Alice (Miller) Macdowell.