William Nauns Ricks (September 6, 1876September 14, 1948) was an American poet who lived and worked primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area. He published hundreds of poems, mainly in the popular press, and one collection. Born in Virginia, Ricks moved to California in 1902 following his service in the Spanish–American War. His first poem was published in a newspaper in 1902, and he settled in San Francisco in 1904. He wrote on a wide variety of subjects, including issues of nation and race. Life Early life (1876–1898) Ricks was born in Wytheville, Virginia, to Lucy Phoebe and William Ricks in the last years of Reconstruction. Delilah Beasley, in an early 20th-century biographical compendium, says he was of "mixed Indian parentage" and claims he was a "direct descendant of Powhattan" through his mother. Beasley continues:His maternal great grandfather was of Indian and Royal African blood. When quite a boy he realized that the few drops of African blood in his veins would make his life a difficult one. After seeing the lynching of a black youth he made a vow to himself that he would honor these drops of African blood by rendering service to the Negro race. Throughout his life, Ricks was affiliated with numerous fraternal associations and political causes. While a young man in Virginia, Ricks registered Black voters for the Republicans. At age 18, he moved to Roanoke, where he joined a lodge of the Odd Fellows and was elected a Noble Grand. He also belonged to the True Reformers (namesake of the True Reformer Building), which was, "[i]n the late 1880s and the 1890s, the dominant black fraternal society in Richmond and throughout Virginia". Army years (1898–1902) Ricks was an enlisted soldier in the Spanish–American War from 1898, when he joined the Army in Wytheville, to 1902, when he was discharged from a convalescent camp on Angel Island. He was evidently sick or injured while in the Philippines, as he was "invalided back" to the United States , though Daniels notes that "[i]t is not clear whether he saw combat". He was a member of Company A of the 24th Infantry Regiment, which was composed primarily of Black soldiers. Daniels observes that Ricks's military service was one indicator of an "intense patriotism" that "was manifest throughout his life". After the war, he joined the Military Order of Serpents, a fraternal society, and was elected an officer.