Charles Lewis Dering, the son of Philip F. Dering, was born at Sunbury, Pennsylvania, on December 30, 1836. His family were among the early settlers at New Diggings, Wisconsin, where they engaged in lead mining. Mr. Dering graduated from the Platteville Academy in 1855, and in 1856 entered Hobart College, Geneva, New York.
Charles L. Dering served in the Civil War in Company B, Third Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers from June, 1861, until he was wounded at Cedar Mountain, Virginia, and mustered out in July, 1863. He practiced law at Columbus, Wisconsin and after 1880 at Portage, and served in both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature.
On October 7, 1874, Mr. Dering married Sarah A. Maxwell of Waterford, Pennsylvania. When he died at Portage on April 13, 1921, he was survived by his wife and three children: Mrs. Samuel J. Nutting, Mrs. William T. Whitney, and Charles M. Dering.
