When James Andrew Downard was born on 1 March 1863, in Utica, Van Buren, Iowa, United States, his father, Ephraim Ivan Downard, was 31 and his mother, Margaret Brown Payne, was 29. He married Luella Huffman on 7 July 1891, in Fairfield, Jefferson, Iowa, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 1 daughter. He lived in Frontier, Nebraska, United States in 1900 and Cassia, Idaho, United States for about 10 years. He died on 3 January 1925, in Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States, at the age of 61, and was buried in Ogden City Cemetery, Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States.