Who is William Pawley? 1896: William Douglas Pawley was born in Florence, South Carolina on September 7, 1896. His father was a wealthy businessman based in Cuba, and young Pawley attended private schools in both Havana and Santiago de Cuba. He later returned to the United States, where he studied at the Gordon Military Academy in Georgia. July 25, 1919: Pawley married Annie Hahr Dobbs of Marietta, Georgia. 1925: The couple moved to Miami.