Fayette Barrows was born around 1816 in Connecticut to Robert and Clara Barrows. He married Sarah H. Reynolds in Mansfield County, Connecticut, on September 21, 1841, and they had at least eight children: Rolinto, born on July 2, 1843; Ozro, born around 1847; Clarissa, born around 1849; Joseph, born around 1852; Judson, born around 1854; Bradley, born around 1856; Eleazer, born around 1858; and Jennie, born around 1861.
They moved to Smithfield, Rhode Island, in the early 1840s, and by 1850, they were living in Providence, Rhode Island. Barrows worked as a “milk dealer” there. The family moved to Johnston, Rhode Island, in the 1850s. By 1860, Barrows was working as a farmer, and he owned $1,500 of real estate. A decade later, he was working as a laborer in Scituate, Rhode Island, and he owned $200 of personal property. They moved to Hopkinton, Rhode Island, in the 1870s, and Barrows worked as a peddler there. He died in Rhode Island on April 27, 1881.