When William Sutherland was born on 18 March 1804, in Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada, his father, Silas Sutherland, was 27 and his mother, Sarah Ann Cummings, was 18. He married Nancy White on 26 August 1823, in Lawrence, Indiana, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 3 daughters. He lived in Jackson Township, Bartholomew, Indiana, United States for about 10 years and Indiana, United States in 1870. He died on 24 July 1885, in Waymansville, Jackson Township, Bartholomew, Indiana, United States, at the age of 81, and was buried in Bartholomew, Indiana, United States.