Phebe Doolittle (maiden name: Worth) was born around 1805 in New York to Laban Worth and Joanna Roe. Her father died around 1814. She married Loren Doolittle around 1835, and they had at least five children: Phebe Ann, born around 1836; Coleman, born around 1838; Alice, born around 1840; Silas, born on August 14, 1843; and Sarah, born around 1845. The family lived in Wolcott, New York, and her husband worked as a surveyor. By 1860, they owned $550 of personal property. Her husband died sometime in the 1860s, and she eventually moved to Dowagiac, Michigan. By 1870, she was living with her daughter Sarah, and she owned $400 of personal property. She died in Pokagon, Michigan, on April 17, 1872.