The obituary of William C. Maples from "The Democrat," Huntsville, Alabama, November 17, 1847; Soldier of the American Revolution
"Died at the residence of his sons, in Madison County, Alabama, on the 26th ult. William C. Maples in the 81st year of his age. He was a native of Virginia and was one of the Guard at the age of 15 years on Dan River, when the Battle was fought at Guilford Court House. He emigrated to East Tennessee in the year 1796 and served as a volunteer in the War of 1812 and emigrated to Alabama in the year 1833. He had been a member of the Baptist Church for the rise of fifty years; he was a faithful and useful member of that society and filled the office of a Deacon and Clerk for the Church for a number of years; he was esteemed as a father in the Gospel, a tender husband and obliging neighbor. He departed this life in the triumph of a living faith 'In the hope of that eternal life with God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began'. He left a numerous train of connections, scattered almost from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The Athens, Tennessee and Lynchburg, Virginia papers are requested to copy."