When Josiah Jacob Whiteker was born on January 28, 1842, in Harrison, Kentucky, his father, Hezekiah, was 24 and his mother, Hannah, was 24. He married Arbell Taylor on August 12, 1861, in Cincinnati, Ohio. They had six children in 16 years. He died on September 8, 1923, in his hometown, having lived a long life of 81 years, and was buried there.