When William B. Reed was born about 17 September 1842, in Escott, Leeds and the Thousand Islands, Leeds and Grenville, Ontario, Canada, his father, William Reid, was 32 and his mother, Mary Beaupre, was 27. He married Elizabeth Guild about 1867, in Leeds and Grenville, Ontario, Canada. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 4 daughters. He lived in Forester, Sanilac, Michigan, United States in 1880 and Olds, Mountain View County, Alberta, Canada in 1911. He died on 16 August 1919, in Peachland, British Columbia, Canada, at the age of 76, and was buried in Peachland, British Columbia, Canada.