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Clements was born in the small town of Morganfield in Union County in southwestern Kentucky.<ref name=congbio>"Earle C. Clements" in ''Biographical Directory''</ref> He was the youngest of two sons and four daughters born to Aaron Waller Clements (1853-1925) and the former Sallie Ann Tuley (1860-1934).<ref name=findagrave/> After he graduated from Morganfield High School in 1915,<ref name=congbio />he enrolled in the College of Agriculture at the [[University of Kentucky]] in [[Lexington, Kentucky|Lexington]], at which he played [[football]] in 1915 and 1916 for the popular Kentucky Wildcats.  

Clements was born in the small town of Morganfield in Union County in southwestern Kentucky.<ref name=congbio>"Earle C. Clements" in ''Biographical Directory''</ref> He was the youngest of two sons and four daughters born to Aaron Waller Clements (1853-1925) and the former Sallie Ann Tuley (1860-1934).<ref name=findagrave/> After he graduated from Morganfield High School in 1915,<ref name=congbio />he enrolled in the College of Agriculture at the [[University of Kentucky]] in [[Lexington, Kentucky|Lexington]], at which he played [[football]] in 1915 and 1916 for the popular Kentucky Wildcats.  

Clements' studies were interrupted by the outbreak of [[World War I]].<ref name=harrison206>Harrison in ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia,'' p. 206.</ref> In 1917, he enlisted as a private in Company M of the Kentucky National Guard.<ref name=jillson377>Jillson, p. 377.</ref> The soldiers in his company were dispatched to Camp Taylor near [[Louisville]] where he was mustered into the infantry of the [[United States Army]].<ref name=jillson377/> Clements then entered the office training school at Fort [[Benjamin Harrison]] near [[Indianapolis]], [[Indiana]],<ref name=jillson377/> from which he graduated with the rank of first lieutenant. He remained within the country as a professor of military science.<ref name=jillson377/> He reached the rank of [[Captain]] prior to his discharge from the Army in 1919.<ref name=jillson377/>

Clements' studies were interrupted by the outbreak of [[World War I]].<ref name=harrison206>Harrison in ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia,'' p. 206.</ref> In 1917, he enlisted as a private in Company M of the Kentucky National Guard.<ref name=jillson377>Willard Rouse Jillson, p. 377.</ref> The soldiers in his company were dispatched to Camp Taylor near [[Louisville]] where he was mustered into the infantry of the [[United States Army]].<ref name=jillson377/> Clements then entered the officer training school at Fort [[Benjamin Harrison]] near [[Indianapolis]], [[Indiana]],<ref name=jillson377/> from which he graduated with the rank of first lieutenant. He remained within the country as a professor of military science. He reached the rank of [[Captain]] prior to his discharge from the Army in 1919.<ref name=jillson377/>

After the war, Clements worked for two years in the burgeoning [[petroleum]] fields of East [[Texas]]. His father was a county judge and [[sheriff]] in Union County. When the senior Clements' health began to fail, Clements returned to Kentucky to help with the farm and served as his deputy sheriff. On January 18, 1927, Clements married the former Sara M. Blue (1894-1976).<ref name=findagrave/> Their only child, Elizabeth "Bess" Hughes Clements Abel (1933-2020), became the social secretary to First Lady [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Lady Bird Johnson]] and later U.S. Senator [[Walter Mondale]], who lost the 1984 presidential election to [[Ronald Reagan]].<ref name=kygovs190>Syvertsen, ''Kentucky's Governors,'' p. 190.</ref>

After the war, Clements worked for two years in the burgeoning [[petroleum]] fields of East [[Texas]]. His father was a county judge and [[sheriff]] in Union County. When the senior Clements' health began to fail, Clements returned to Kentucky to help with the farm and served as his deputy sheriff. On January 18, 1927, Clements married the former Sara M. Blue (1894-1976).<ref name=findagrave/> Their only child, Elizabeth "Bess" Hughes Clements Abel (1933-2020), became the social secretary to First Lady [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Lady Bird Johnson]] and later U.S. Senator [[Walter Mondale]], who lost the 1984 presidential election to [[Ronald Reagan]].<ref name=kygovs190>Syvertsen, ''Kentucky's Governors,'' p. 190.</ref>