William P. Weeks was born on October 16, 1834, in Illinois. He married Mary E. Crist on May 24, 1856, and they had at least nine children: Wesley, born around 1857; Lilly, born around 1860; Carrie, born around 1864; Burr, born around 1866; Lee, born around 1868; George, born around 1870; Esther, born around 1872; David, born around 1874; and Cora, born around 1876. They lived in Lockport, Illinois, and he worked as a farmer. By 1860, they owned $200 of personal property. They moved to Cedar, Iowa, in the 1860s, and by 1870, they owned $1,200 of real estate and $300 of personal property. They moved to Center, Kansas, in the 1870s, and he died on April 7, 1895.