Jackson Bender was born around 1844 in 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 lived in his parents’ household until at least 1880, and he married Eleanor Shannon around 1881. They had at least two children: Anna, born around 1882; and Vera, born around 1890. They lived in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and he worked as a railroad foreman. By 1930, he owned a house valued at $12,000. He died of acute bronchopneumonia in New Castle on April 26, 1933.