Born November 11, 1799, Surry, North Carolina. Mr. Clifton married Sarah Jane French in Casey County, Kentucky about 1819. By 1830 the family had moved to Macon County, Illinois. Mr. Clifton engaged in farming. He was elected first justice of the peace. He served as a private in the Macon County Illinois Volunteers during the Black Hawk War of 1832. He was mustered out of service in May 1832 at the end of the uprising. By 1835 the family had moved to Lee County, Iowa. Mr. Clifton represented Lee county in the First General Assembly, 1846.