David Chase was born around 1843 in Pennsylvania to Joseph and Margaret Chase. His father was a farmer who owned $2,000 of real estate and $600 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in South Creek, Pennsylvania, and by 1860, he was working as a farm laborer.
He married Jeanette Chapman, and they had at least four children: David, born around 1876; Nettie May, born around 1877; Arthur, born around 1880; and Lulu, born around 1882. They lived in South Creek, and Chase worked as a farmer. By 1910, he was living in his son Arthur’s household. His wife died in 1911, and he died in 1921.