Dr. William B. Conway was born in Ellerslie, Virginia, in 1845. Conway studied at Virginia Military Institute for a year, but left school to enlist as a private in Company C, 4th Virginia Cavalry. He served through the war, and afterwards studied medicine under the tutelage of Dr. Alfred Taliaferro at Culpeper Courthouse. He then studied at Washington University in Baltimore and graduated in 1869. Upon graduation, he left Baltimore to practice medicine at Mount Vernon Iron Works in Rockingham County, Virginia. Julia and William were married in 1870 and settled for a time in Blacksburg where William became a surgeon for the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech). They had five children: Daisy, Alfred, William, Archie, and Mary, all of which, except William, reached adulthood. Julia died in 1916. William died in College Park, Georgia, in 1920.

Julia Ellen Thomas was born in 1848 in Blacksburg Virginia the daughter of Colonel William Thomas. Julia and William Buchanan Conway were married in 1870 and settled for a time in Blacksburg where William became a surgeon for the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech). They had five children: Daisy, Alfred, William, Archie, and Mary. Julia died in 1916.