[1] Born in Little Britain, New York, on January 2, 1804, he was the son of Mary Little (1768–1835) and Major-General James Clinton (1736–1812), a brevet major general in the American Revolutionary War.
His uncle was George Clinton (1739–1812), who served as the 1st and 3rd Governor of New York from 1777 to 1795 and the U.S. Vice President from 1805 to 1812.
His grandfather was Col. Charles Clinton (1690–1773), an Anglo-Irish colonel during the French and Indian War.
[1] He served as director of the Newburgh Whaling Company and of the Delaware and Hudson Railway.
[1] Notes Sources This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress