Benjamin Wygant was born around 1821 in Pennsylvania. He probably married a woman named Sara in the early 1850s, and they had at least three children: Richard, born around 1852; William, born around 1853; and Caroline, born around 1857. The family lived in Cleveland, Ohio. By 1860, Wygant was working as a grocer, and he owned $400 of personal property. He died sometime after 1864.