Born during the beginnings of the Revolutionary War. Left orphaned before the war ended. Probably raised by his grandfather, probably Elijah Brown. At approximately age 16, was ward of Thomas Davis in 1793. Thomas Davis named one of his sons Daniel Croft Davis. Thomas Davis's widow was Mary Davis.

Nothing is known of his life until age 30 when he married Rebecca Pickens who was 18 at the time. Shortly after marriage, they moved to Tennessee.

In 1819 or 1820, Rebecca and William and their five children moved to Tuscaloosa County, Alabama where Israel Pickens Croft, their youngest son, was born.

In 1822, William died of a sudden illness during a trip to Mississippi to explore the purchase of land in Mississippi.

In 1825, Rebecca Pickens remarried to Meredith Moses. Meredith was 26 at the time and Rebecca was 34. She bore Meredith 3 children before she passed away in 1843. Meredith remarried and fathered several other children by his new wife resulting in a very large chain of half-brothers and -sisters for Israel Pickens Croft.