Louisa R. Wheeler was born on February 24, 1843, in Salem, Massachusetts, to Asa Wheeler and Mehitable Perley. Her father earned a living as a butcher. She grew up and attended school in Salem, and her father died on June 1, 1854. She married Truman Hardy on November 26, 1863, and they had at least three children: Elizabeth, born around 1867; Arthur, born around 1873; and Henry, born around 1876. They lived in Salem, and her husband worked as a dry goods dealer. Her husband died on March 31, 1882. By 1900, she was living in her daughter Elizabeth’s household in Salem. She died on November 8, 1925.