William Nash Everett was born on December 29, 1864, in Rockingham, North Carolina. Everett was the proprietor of a hardware store in his native Rockingham (the Everett Hardware Co). During World War I, he served as the food administrator for Richmond County. He was also a democratic politician, winning election to the state senate in 1916 and taking his seat in the 1917 session under Governor Thomas W. Bickett. During the Bickett administration, Everett championed tax reform, improvements to state institutions, and women's suffrage. Everett went on to become the North Carolina Secretary of State, which position he held until his death in Raleigh on February 7, 1928.