Phebe Maria Burdick (maiden name: Rix) was born around 1823 in Griswold, Connecticut, to Thomas and Mary Rix. Her father was a farmer who owned $1,500 of real estate by 1850. She married John Nelson Burdick in Griswold on March 22, 1844, and they had at least three children: Frances, born around 1845; Edwin, born around 1853; and Mary, born around 1859. They lived in Brooklyn, Connecticut, and her husband worked as a farmer. By 1870, they owned $7,000 of real estate and $3,110 of personal property. She died sometime after 1880.