William Thomas Clopton of Missouri

The son of Daniel Elbert Clopton and Mary E. Brown Clopton, William Thomas Clopton was born September 29, 1880, in Cedar County, Missouri. He is a direct descendant of the first William Clopton, Gentleman, and his wife, Ann (Booth) Dennett Clopton. He married Bessie Noel, a teacher. The town of Noel in McDonald County, Missouri, was named for Bessie's family.

They had four children: William Thomas Clopton, Jr., Maurice Noel Clopton, Mary Elizabeth Clopton, and Daniel Edward Clopton.

From Missouri, Mother of the West, we have the rare opportunity to read a biographical sketch rich in personal and genealogical details.

William Thomas Clopton, county superintendent of schools since July 1927, was formerly the superintendent of Pineville Consolidated Schools in McDonald County. He was at Pineville from 1921, and under his supervision and efforts Pineville Consolidated School was organized in January 1926.

Mr. Clopton is an educator by profession, having been intensely interest in school work since early manhood, and in several communities has done much to raise the standards and efficiency of school work.

William Thomas Clopton, as a boy realized a sense of responsibility to the family and assisted his brother on the farm. He graduated from the high school at Dadesville and holds a degree of Bachelor of Science in Education from the State Teachers College at Springfield. He has also taken summer courses from the University of Colorado and the University of Missouri, where he majored in mathematics. He had charge of the mathematics department in Pineville schools. His experience as an educator began in rural districts and for two years he taught in the Piedmont High School, for five years was superintendent of Anderson Schools, and then came to Pineville.

Mr. Clopton is a member of the Christian Church and his wife is a Baptist. He is a Master Mason and is district deputy of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He belongs to the Missouri State Teachers Association. He was fond of athletics when a boy, and after becoming a teacher he played ball and other sports with his pupils until a sprained knee obliged him to stop. This spirit of working cooperation with his students has been characteristic of his entire career as an educator.

Contributed by :

Gordon Seyffert, seyffert@cctr.umkc.edu
From Missouri, Mother of the West, Vol V.,
Missouri Biography by Special Staff of Writers
The American Historical Society, 1930
Last Published in the Clopton Family Newsletter, April 1992