When Malinda Elvira Reason was born on 23 February 1858, in Madison, Indiana, United States, her father, William Haston Reason, was 32 and her mother, Emily Day, was 29. She married Nathan Garrett on 22 June 1874. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 7 daughters. She lived in Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana, United States in 1920 and Washington Township, Marion, Indiana, United States in 1930. She died on 5 December 1925, in Anderson, Madison, Indiana, United States, at the age of 67.