William Polk was born near Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co, NC, the eldest (along with his twin, Thomas Polk) of 11 known children born to Gen. Thomas Polk & Susanna "Sarah" Spratt. His father was born in Carlisle, PA, and his mother from Accomack County, VA. He is the grandson of William Polk II and Margaret Taylor of Whitehall, Somerset Co, MD, who also migrated to Mecklenburg Co, NC. He is the gr-grandson of William Polk I (1662-1704) who came to Somerset Co, MD from Donegal, Ireland and married Ann Nancy Knox.

William Polk was educated at Queen's College, Charlotte, NC., which he left, at the age of 17 in April, 1775, to accept a commission as Second Lieutenant in Captain Ezekiel Polk's Company of the Third South Carolina Mounted Infantry, under Col. William Thompson. He commanded several expeditions in South Carolina and was severely wounded in the left shoulder at Great Cane Break, December 22, 1775, being rendered unfit for service for eight or nine months.

On November 26, 1776, by North Carolina Provincial Congress at Halifax, Polk was elected Major of the Ninth North Carolina Regiment. In command of four companies, he marched with his division of the line into the Jerseys and joined General George Washington's Army. Polk was present with General Washington through the hardships of Valley Forge. In September of 1777, Polk and 200 of his North Carolina cavalry, escorted the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to Allentown. He returned and was present at the battles of the Brandywine and Germantown in October of 1777. At Germantown, he was shot in the mouth. In March of 1778, when the nine North Carolina regiments were consolidated, he was left without a command. Polk returned to the South, volunteered with the Militia and served as aide to General Caswell, when Gates was defeated at Camden, NJ. In the fall and winter of 1780, he fought at Guilford Court House and Eutaw Springs. Polk's total service amounted to five years and two months.

In 1783, Polk was appointed by North Carolina Legislature, Surveyor General of the "Middle District", now part of the State of Tennessee and in that capacity resided at French Lick Fort, the site of the present City of Nashville. He remained there until 1786 and was elected twice from Davidson County to the North Carolina House of Commons. In 1787, Polk was elected to the Legislature from his native county, which he represented until President Washington appointed him, in 1791, Supervisor of Internal Revenue for the District of North Carolina. Polk held this office for seventeen years, until the repeal of the Internal revenue Laws.

On October 15, 1789, the 31 year old married 21-year old Grizelda Gilchrist of Suffolk Co, VA. This marriage produced two sons: Gen. Thomas Gilchrist Polk (1791-1869) and Dr. William Junius Polk (1793-1860). The marriage ended after 10 years, with the death of Grizelda in October, 1799.

On January 2, 1801, the now 41-year old widower, married again to Sarah Hawkins, the 17-year old daughter of wealthy planter Philomen Hawkins III & Lucy Davis of "Pleasant Hill" Plantation in Warren Co, NC. Sarah became stepmother to his two sons, and together they would have 12 known children: CSA Gen. Lucious Junius Polk, (1802-1870), Lucinda Davis Polk (1804-1805), CSA General and Right Reverend Leonidas Polk (1806-1864), Mary Brown Polk (1808-1835), Alexander Hamilton Polk (1810-1830), John Hawkins Polk (1812-1813), Rufus King Polk (1814-1843), George Washington Polk (1817-1892), Eliza Hawkins Polk (b. 1820), Susan Spratt Polk (1822-1909), Andrew Jackson Polk (1824-1867), and Charles Junius Polk (1828-1831).

The Polks resided in Raleigh, where William was a Trustee of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, (1790-1834), and a Director and then President of the State Bank of North Carolina (1811-1819). During the War of 1812, Polk declined President James Madison's offer of a general officer's commission because he was a Federalist who opposed Madison's policies.

At age 61 (1819), he resigned from the bank in order to devote more of his attention to his extensive landholdings of 100,000 acres in Tennessee.

Lieutenant Colonel William Polk died at Raleigh, on January 4, 1834. He was 75 years old. His bride of 33 years survived another 9 years, passing in 1843 at age 59. They are both buried in Old City Cemetery.

His son, Rev/General Leonidas Polk was killed in the Civil War at Pine Mountain in Georgia. After the battle, General Sherman (one of the few men who had little use for the rebels and even less for the clergy), sent a tersely worded note to General Halleck, "We killed Bishop Polk yesterday and today the fighting goes well."

Of interest, Polk County in NC is named for William Polk.

Another footnote to history occurred with his son, Gen. Lucius Junius Polk who married Mary Eastin, the niece of Mrs. Andrew Jackson, the President. They were married in the White House.
∼William Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, on July 9, 1758, the eldest child of Thomas Polk and his wife Sussana Spratt. From the earliest days of rebellion against British authority, Mecklenburg had been a hotbed of revolutionary fervor, and the Polk family was very active in this cause. William's father was commander of the local militia, a rumored key player in adoption of the Mecklenburg Resolves of May 31, 1775, and later colonel of the 4th North Carolina Regiment, Continental Line.
Following their father's example, three of Thomas Polk's sons served as officers in the war against the British. The younger Thomas was killed in action serving alongside his brother William at the Battle of Eutaw Springs.

Source: Wikipedia