From "History of Wheeling City and Ohio County, West Virginia and 
Representative Citizens," by Hon. Gibson Lamb Cranmer, 1902. 

Typed by Laurie Birks Dean

pp. 481-482

William C. ETZLER, M. D., is a practicing physician and surgeon of 
Wheeling, West Virginia, and has a very good practice.  He received 
careful preparation for the medical profession and has had remarkable 
success in his work in this city.  He was born in Kirkwood, Ohio, 
January 1, 1870, and is a son of Martin L. Etzler.
	Martin L. Etzler was born in Ohio in 1841, and is a carpenter 
by trade, and a contractor.  He came to Wheeling in 1871, and has 
followed his trade up to the present time.  He married Martha Brown, 
a daughter of William Brown, who was born in Belmont county, Ohio, in 
1801, and died in 1890.  Mr. Brown was a farmer, but in his early 
days followed the Ohio River as a raftsman and trader.  He was a 
member of the Presbyterian church.  Mr. and Mrs. Etzler became the 
parents of five children, as follows:  Fred, who was born January 17, 
1872, and died in 1893; Lola, who died in childhood; Frank, who also 
died young; Nellie Blanche, born March 17, 1878, who married James D. 
Hanes, a traveling salesman for the Joseph Speidel Grocery Company of 
Wheeling, who lives at No. 35 South York street; and William C., the 
subject of this record.  Mr. and Mrs. Etzler are members of the 
Thomson M. E. church.
	William C. Etzler attended the public schools of Wheeling, and 
graduated from the Madison School in 1884.  He also attended Linsly 
Institute, and then entered the office of Dr. W. J. Bates, where he 
read medicine.  In 1888 he matriculated in the medical department of 
the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and received his 
degree of M. D., in 1891.  Immediately thereafter he began a short 
term as interne at St. Agnes Hospital in Philadelphia.  He then went 
to Pittsburg, where he associated himself in the practice of medicine 
with Dr. C. A. Wishart, at the Eliza furnaces owned by Jones & 
Laughlin.  While there he also received an appointment as visiting 
physician of the Pittsburg Free Dispensary.  He came to Wheeling in 
1893, and opened an office on Market street, where he remained two 
years.  He then moved to his present location on the Island, at the 
corner of York and Indiana streets.
	Dr. Etzler is a member of the K. of P. and B. P. O. E.  He 
belongs to the Ohio County Medical Society, of which he was secretary 
two years; the State Medical Association; and the American Medical 
Association.  He is a member of the United States board of examining 
surgeons, and is local examiner for the Virginia Life Insurance 
Company.  He has always taken an active part in politics, and is a 
strong supporter of Republican principles.  He was formerly a member 
of the Republican executive committee of the city.