Dallas Bender was born on October 20, 1847, in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, to David and Mary Bender. His father was a farmer who owned $1,050 of real estate and $1,200 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in North Beaver, Pennsylvania, and by 1870, he was working as a laborer. He never married, and he lived in his parents’ household until at least 1880. He earned a living as a farmer, and by 1930, he owned a house valued at $800. He died of acute bronchopneumonia in North Beaver on April 12, 1939.