Isaac Eckley was born around 1820 in Pennsylvania. He moved to Ohio by the 1840s, and he married Emily Burkingham on April 25, 1848. They had at least two children: Elizabeth, born around 1849; and William, born around 1851. They lived in Mechanic, Ohio, and Eckley worked as a blacksmith. They moved to German, Ohio, in the 1850s, and he earned a living as a day laborer. By 1860, he owned $35 of real estate and $40 of personal property.
He enlisted in the Union army on August 1, 1862, and he mustered in as a private in Company I of the 67th Ohio Infantry on August 10. He was wounded in the leg in the Battle of Fort Wagner on July 18, 1863, and the injury was slow to heal. He received a furlough in January 1864, and doctors in Ohio removed three inches of bone from his leg. He apparently rejoined the regiment that spring, but he was wounded again near Chester Station, Virginia, on May 10, 1864. He was discharged on June 28, 1864.
The family moved to Dover, Ohio, in the 1860s, and Eckley earned a living as a farmer. He applied for a federal pension in October 1864 and eventually secured one. By 1870, he owned $900 of real estate and $100 of personal property. His wife died in the 1870s, and he married Elizabeth Scott on April 16, 1878. He moved to Gratiot County, Michigan, in the 1880s, and he died on October 14, 1886.