Catherine Keller was born on June 22, 1861, in Bluffton, Indiana, to Samuel J. Keller and Melvina Wolleat. Her father was a brick mason who owned $1,200 of real estate and $200 of personal property in 1860. A decade later, the family owned $4,500 of real estate and $1,200 of personal property. Her mother died around 1880. She never married, and she continued to live with and take care of her father until his death in 1911. She remained in Bluffton for the rest of her life, and she died there of cardiovascular disease on January 30, 1930.