John Hart Latting was born on August 17, 1838, in Manchester, New York, to John and Elizabeth Latting. His father was a farmer who owned $1,000 of real estate and $2,500 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in Manchester. By 1860, he was also working as a farmer, and he owned $6,000 of real estate and $1,300 of personal property. He married Jane Parker on February 22, 1864, and they had at least five children: Clarence, born around 1866; Clinton, born around 1867; Florence, born around 1869; Franklin, born around 1873; and Helen, born around 1876. By 1870, he owned $16,500 of real estate and $3,175 of personal property. According to an early biographer, he was a “lifelong Democrat.” He also “possessed literary ability which brought him recognition from the important agricultural journals to which he frequently contributed.” He died of stomach cancer in Manchester on September 27, 1909.