William was born on April 20th, 1837 and his baptism took place on May 28th, 1837 in Grahamstown. William's father was John Phillip Camm and his mother was Charlotte Frances Lucas. His paternal grandfather was Peter Camm and his paternal grandmother is <Unknown>. He had two brothers and four sisters, named John, Charles, Isabella, Charlotte, Sarah and Jesse. He was the third oldest of the seven children.