William Henry Metcalf was born around 1840 in Ohio to Joseph Warren Metcalf and Mary Ann Deming. His father was a farmer who owned $3,500 of real estate and $1,000 of personal property in 1860. He grew up and attended school in Liverpool, Ohio, before beginning work as a farmhand. He may possibly have served in the 42nd Ohio Infantry during the Civil War.
He married Sarah A. Clark in Lorain County, Ohio, on December 21, 1866, and they had at least four children: Mary, born around 1868; Ossin, born around 1870; Elmer, born around 1875; and Clark, born around 1879. They settled in Pittsfield, Ohio, and Metcalf worked as a farmer. In 1870, he owned $2,300 of real estate and $600 of personal property. He remained in Pittsfield for the rest of his life, and he died there on August 11, 1924.