Josephine Clark was born around 1847 in Ridgefield, Connecticut, to William and Mary Clark. Her father was a carriage maker and farm laborer. She grew up and attended school in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and by 1870, she was working as a hat trimmer in Bethel, Connecticut. She married Eugene Adams around 1873, and their daughter Mary was born around 1880. They lived in Redding, Connecticut, and her husband worked as a carpenter. By 1930, they owned a house valued at $20,000. Her husband died in 1933, and she passed away in 1936.