William Pelton was born around 1813 in New York. He married a woman named Ermena, and they had at least three children: Emily, born around 1839; William Rollin, born on May 7, 1841; and Mary, born around 1842. They lived in Mina, New York, and Pelton worked as a farmer. By 1860, he owned $3,600 of real estate and $800 of personal property. He died sometime in the early 1860s.