William Harris Howell Waugh was born in Ashe County, North Carolina, on December 1, 1890. By 1910, Waugh had moved with his family to North Wilkesboro (Wilkes County), where he worked in his father’s (William Hicks Waugh) store. By 1917, Waugh worked as a salesman at F. D. Forester and Co. Later in life, he owned the Gold Medal Orchard in North Wilkesboro and served as a vice president of the North Wilkesboro Savings and Loan Association. He died in North Wilkesboro on July 26, 1967.