William Henry Clayton

William Henry Clayton, the son of Philip and Jane (McQue) Clayton, was born at Zanesville on June 19, 1841. He lived in Muskingum County for most of his early years. Upon the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, he was one of the county's earliest volunteers, enlisting April 19, 1861, in Company E, of the 3rd Ohio Infantry Regiment. After serving three months with the 3rd Ohio, he was discharged at Cheat Mountain, West Virginia. He then reenlisted on July 26, 1861, to serve for three more years with Company B of the 24th Ohio Infantry Regiment.


Headstone for William Henry Clayton

Clayton had an up-and-down career in Company B. On April 30, 1862, he received an appointment as a corporal. For an unspecified reason, he was later reduced back to the rank of private. His ardor for the Union Cause was still strong, however, so in January 1864, he reenlisted at Whiteside, Tennessee, to serve as a veteran volunteer. He served with Company F of the 18th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment upon the 24th Ohio's muster out in June 1864.

While home on furlough, William Henry Clayton married Ledora Guard on March 15, 1864. They had three children from this marriage. Eva A. was born on August 6, 1867 at Zanesville, Ohio; Philip was born October 9, 1872, in Indiana, and died two years later on his birthday; James A. was born October 28, 1874 in Indiana. Ledora, his first wife, separated with William Henry and later died in March 1877 at Worthington, Indiana.

William Henry then married Mary Elizabeth Weaver at Cicero, Hamilton County, Indiana, on July 27, 1877. They had two children. Sarah J. was born September 13, 1879. In 1885, William Henry moved his family to Butler County, Missouri, where he lived for the remainder of his life. Another daughter, Maggie Eleanora, was born January 12, 1895 in Missouri.

Three Springs Cemetery, Butler County, Missouri

Three Springs Cemetery, Butler County, Ohio from the Clayton burial plot

William Henry was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. When he died June 21, 1933, he was buried in Three Springs Cemetery, Butler County, Missouri. William Henry's second wife, Mary Elizabeth (Weaver) Clayton, died in 1941 and is interred beside him.

Biographical data provided courtesy of:

James R. Clayton
P. O. Box 1739
Snowflake, AZ 85937
Email: jclayt24@Cybertails.com

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