Woodbury M. Foss was born around 1804 in Barrington, New Hampshire. He married Eliza Foss on April 5, 1829, and they had at least six children: Fidelia, born around 1835; Amaziah, born around 1839; Lemuel, born around 1842; Edwin, born around 1846; Jane, born around 1848; and Sarah, born around 1852. They lived in Strafford, New Hampshire, and he earned a living as a farmer. By 1860, he owned $1,200 of personal property. He died in the 1860s.