William M. Standard (1823-1881) was born in Johnson County, Illinois, and married Jane Ellis (1828-1892) on May 13, 1846, in Fulton County, Illinois. The couple had six children: George W.; Perry J. (1851-1911); Almira; Harriet (d. 1861); John P. (1869-1870); and Frank. Standard was a farmer, served briefly as a rural schoolteacher, and was elected sheriff of Fulton County, Illinois, in 1857.

Standard enlisted in the Illinois Volunteer Infantry on August 9, 1862, and was assigned to duty as first sergeant of Company A, 103rd Regiment. He mustered into active service with his unit on October 2, 1862, in Peoria, Illinois. Over the course of the war, the 103rd Regiment served in the 13th, 16th, and 15th Army Corps, Department of Tennessee, and saw action in many Civil War campaigns including the Siege of Vicksburg and the Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign. During the Atlanta Campaign, Standard's unit fought at many locations in Georgia, including Resaca, Kennesaw Mountain, Ezra Church, Jonesboro, and Lovejoy's Station. His unit participated in General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea and was part of the "Grand Review" in Washington, D.C., on May 24th, 1865. Standard was promoted to first lieutenant of Company A on February 23, 1865, with rank effective from January 15, 1865. He was discharged on June 21, 1865 at Louisville, Kentucky.

Standard returned to Lewiston, Illinois, after the war. He purchased a hotel there which he renamed the Standard House. He served as proprietor of the Standard House until his retirement about two years before his death. He died in Lewiston on October 17, 1881, after an altercation with a government agent who accused him of illegally providing liquor to a hotel guest.