[2] Carl Henry Clerk was born at Aburi, about forty-five minutes north-east of the capital city, Accra, on 4 January 1895.

His father was Nicholas Timothy Clerk[7] (1862–1961), a Basel-trained theologian and missionary, was the first Synod Clerk of the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast from 1918 to 1932[2][8][9] and a founding father of the all boys’ boarding high school, the Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, established in 1938.

[2][9] N. T. Clerk was "worried about the possible effect of unsettled, isolated life confined to the interior" of the hinterlands, on his son's upbringing and development.

[6][7] His younger brother, Theodore S. Clerk (1909–1965) was the first Ghanaian architect who planned and developed the port city of Tema.

[2] The seminary was founded by the Basel Mission in 1848, as the second oldest higher educational institution in early modern West Africa after Fourah Bay College which was established in 1827.

[2] At Tuskegee, Clerk studied the works of the American botanist, George Washington Carver who was then a research faculty member at the institute.

[2][31][32] From 1935 to 1944, he was appointed the general manager of Presbyterian Schools in the Ga-Adangme District covering modern-day Greater Accra and Eastern Regions.

[2] Additionally, at Somanya, he acquired the building for the local Presbyterian chapel and founded and robed the church choir.

[2] Like his father before him, he was elected the fourth Synod Clerk of the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast, serving as the organisation's de facto chief administrator from 1950 to 1954.

[2] He led the Gold Coast delegation and was among five representatives from Africa to the World Council of Churches' second assembly, a global ecumenical meeting held in Evanston, Illinois from 15 to 31 August 1954.

[1][2] At the opening session of the assembly, discussions were held on main topics of that era, including desegregation and interracial marriage.

Her younger brother was Nathan Quao (1915–2005), a diplomat, educationist and public servant who served as a presidential advisor to many Heads of State of Ghana.