William Baruch Clagett was a Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 tidewater

Tidewater (geographic term)

Tidewater is a geographic area of southeast Virginia and northeastern North Carolina that is considered a part of the Coastal Plain. Portions of Maryland facing the Chesapeake Bay are also given this designation. The area gains its name because of the effect the area has from the changing tides of...

 tobacco farmer. In 1892, he was appointed as tobacco inspector by Governor Frank Brown; he also served as chair of the Democratic State Central Committee

Maryland Democratic Party

The Maryland Democratic Party is the state affiliate of the United States Democratic Party in the U.S. State of Maryland, headquartered in Annapolis. The current state party chair is Yvette Lewis.-History:...

. In 1894, Clagett missed election to the U.S. House of Representatives by one vote. Instead, Clagett entered politics when elected as a state senator from Prince George's County

Prince George's County, Maryland

Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....

 in 1897, serving from 1898–1901 and 1906–1910. Governor Austin L. Crothers appointed Clagett as the 21st Comptroller of Maryland

Comptroller of Maryland

The Comptroller of Maryland, United States, currently Peter Franchot, is the state's chief financial officer and is also elected by the people for a four year term. The comptroller is not term-limited. The office was established by the Maryland Constitution of 1851 due to concern about the...

, replacing Joshua W. Hering who had been appointed to the Maryland Public Service Commission

Maryland Public Service Commission

The Maryland Public Service Commission is an independent administrative agency within the state government which regulates public utilities and certain taxi cab and other passenger services in Maryland...

. Clagett died of Bright's disease

Bright's disease

Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....

 and was interred at Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church, in Upper Marlboro, where he served as a vestryman

Vestryman

A vestryman is a member of his local church's vestry, or leading body. He is not a member of the clergy.In England especially, but also in other parts of The United Kingdom, Parish Councils have long been a level of local government rather than being solely ecclesiastical in nature...

. As of March 2002, Clagett's tobacco farm, Navajo, was still in operation, by the eleventh generation of his family.