William Allen Sydnor was born in Henrico County, Virginia, on August 20, 1864. Sydnor moved to North Wilkesboro (Wilkes County), North Carolina, shortly after the town’s founding in 1893. He was the co-owner of Spainhour-Sydnor, a dry goods store in that over the years expanded into a regional chain. He died in North Wilkesboro on February 23, 1934.