Elizabeth Naugle was born around 1842 in Indiana to Jacob and Elizabeth Naugle. Her father was a farmer who owned $2,200 of real estate and $900 of personal property by 1860. The family lived in Jackson, Indiana, until the 1850s, when they moved to Pierce, Indiana. The 1860 census listed her as a “spinster.” She married John Purkhiser in Washington County, Indiana, on October 5, 1866. They settled in Howard, Indiana, and her husband worked as a farmer. By 1870, they owned $1,200 of real estate and $400 of personal property. She died in Indiana on August 7, 1896.