Sarah S. Stokes was born around 1843 in New Jersey to Israel M. Stokes. Her father was a shoemaker who owned $2,000 of real estate and $100 of personal property in 1860. Sarah grew up and attended school in Trenton, New Jersey. She married Alexander C. Yard in Trenton on January 10, 1865, and they had at least two children: Elizabeth, born around 1866; and Anna, born around 1869. By 1870, they owned $24,500 of real estate and $5,000 of personal property. Sarah died in Trenton on October 6, 1874.