Frederick A. Katon was born on November 25, 1857, in Pittston, Maine, to Alexander and Grace Katon. His father was a farmer who owned $1,200 of real estate and $416 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in Pittston, and he married Idella Bracket around 1885. They had at least nine children: Lela, born around 1885; Willis, born around 1887; Percy, born around 1891; Lawrence, born around 1893; Myrtle, born around 1894; Idella, born around 1895; Neta, born around 1897; Edith, born around 1899; and Lee, born around 1904. They moved to Montesano, Washington, in the late 1800s, and Katon worked as a farmer. They moved to Fairview, Washington, in the early 1900s. He died of coronary sclerosis in Montesano on November 2, 1938.