When Ellen Morandy Byars was born on 15 December 1874, in Texas, United States, her father, Joseph Jeremiah Byars, was 32 and her mother, Georgia Ann Melvina Sirmons, was 28. She married William Johnson Patterson on 19 August 1889, in Hays, Hays, Texas, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 3 daughters. She lived in Justice Precinct 4, Hays, Texas, United States for about 20 years and Justice Precinct 6, Cass, Texas, United States in 1910. She died on 5 July 1926, in Gulf, Matagorda, Texas, United States, at the age of 51, and was buried in Mineral Springs Cemetery, Joliet, Caldwell, Texas, United States.