William John Clarke was born in Raleigh, North Carolina on August 2, 1819. A captain during the Mexican-American War, he later established a law practice in Raleigh. He served as the Comptroller for the State of North Carolina from 1850 to 1855. He later served as a colonel in a Confederate regiment during the Civil War, but supported the Republican party as a U.S. judge following the war. He died in New Bern, North Carolina on January 23, 1886.