William Archie Rousseau was born in Wilkesboro (Wilkes County), North Carolina, on November 29, 1891. As a young man, Rosseau worked as a grocery store clerk and later as a postal clerk in the local post office. In June 1918, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army and served stateside during World War I, receiving his honorable discharge in October 1919. In 1921, he was appointed a federal prohibition agent in nearby Elkin, North Carolina. He died in North Wilkesboro on June 9, 1954.