A native Texan, Frances E. Clayton studied genetics at the University of Texas, receiving her doctorate in 1952. After a brief stint at Texas, she settled at the University of Arkansas, where she spent the remainder of her career. Clayton's research centered on speciation and evolution of Drosophila, concentrating on Hawaiian populations. From 1962 through the mid-1980s she worked in close concert with Hampton Carson.
From the guide to the Frances E. Clayton papers, 1940-1996, 1940-1996, (American Philosophical Society)