Elizabeth Smith was born around 1848 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, to Robert and Sarah Smith. Her father was an English immigrant who earned a living as a tailor. The family eventually moved to Newport, Kentucky, and she married George W. Shipman on December 18, 1867. They had at least five children: Samuel, born around 1868; Robert, born around 1871; Mabel, born around 1872; William, born around 1876; and Mary, born around 1879. They lived in Newport, and her husband worked as a “pipe moulder.” They moved to Addyston, Ohio, in the late 1800s. By 1910, they were living in Miami, Ohio. A decade later, they were living in their daughter Mary’s household in Cincinnati, Ohio. She died there on August 16, 1928.