Georgia:  Coweta County:  Biography of CAPT. WILLIAM D. LINCH 

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CAPT. WILLIAM D. LINCH, one of the prominent men of Senoia, was born in 
Coweta county, Feb. 19, 1840. He is the grandson of Rev. Elijah Linch, a 
noted Universalist preacher, well-known through South Carolina, and who had 
four brothers in the revolutionary war, and was of the same family as that 
Thomas Lynch, Jr., who signed the Declaration of Independence. Rev. Linch 
was a native of South Carolina and his wife was a Miss Chapman. Their son 
David was born in Newberry on Feb. 14, 1805, and in December, 1832, married 
Miss Mary Beam, a native of Fairfield, S. C., and the date of whose birth was 
the same as his own. After their marriage they set out to establish a home 
for themselves in Coweta county, Ga., making the long journey thither by 
team, much of the way through the unbroken forest, with no path to guide them 
to their destined abode. They brought with them a negro girl and two negro 
boys, who helped them in the establishment of their home and the clearing up 
of their farm. The little log cabin still stands to mark the place where 
these brave pioneers made their first dwelling place. There were seven 
children born to them, four of whom are living: Elijah O. Linch, Mrs. M. E. 
Green, Mrs. Martha Perry of Carrollton and William D. They were both members 
of the Universalist church, and closed their devoted and useful lives -- the 
father in 1862, the mother in 1891, having attained the great age of 
eighty-six years. Their son, William D. Linch, spent his early years upon 
the farm, with only such educational privileges as the old log schoolhouse 
afforded. He had little more than attained his majority at the outbreak of 
the war, and in May, 1861, he enlisted in Company A of the Seventh Georgia 
regiment, under Capt. S. W. Lee, serving out the first enlistment of twelve 
months. He at once reenlisted in the same company, in which he was elected 
second lieutenant, and after serving about a year was promoted to the command 
of the company, serving as captain for the remainder of the war. He took 
part in both battles of Manassas, the seven days' fight at Richmond, the 
battles of Malvern Hill, Cold Harbor, Knoxville, Wilderness, Fair Oaks, 
Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, and many smaller engagements, and was present at the 
surrender at Appomattox. He was thrice wounded: in the arm at Loudon, east 
Tennessee; in the shoulder at the Wilderness, and at Fort Harrison was shot 
through the neck. For three years after his return to Coweta county at the 
close of the war he engaged in farming, and then spent four years in Newnan 
in the mercantile business, after which he came back to the farm, which he 
has carried on ever since. His father left him some money and land, but he 
has added greatly thereto, and at one time owned 3,500 acres. He moved into 
Senoia in 1891, and there carried on several branches of business, although 
his farm is not neglected. He is a man of wealth and influence in the 
county, where he is widely known and respected. In 1870 Capt. Linch married 
Miss M. E. Tench, daughter of John H. and Martha E. (Gray) Tench, who came to 
Georgia from Abbeville, S. C., in 1836, and cleared up a farm in the midst of 
the forest. Mrs. Linch was born in Coweta county. Five children were born 
to Capt. and Mrs. Linch, of whom four are still living: Tench, Martha G., 
Mary F. and J. Andrew. The family holds an enviable and well-deserved 
position in the regard of the community.

Transcribed from MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA published by the Southern Historical 
Association, 1895.