When James Madison Platt was born on 22 February 1855, in Indiana, United States, his father, Richard Platt, was 38 and his mother, Emeline Clark, was 30. He married Sarah Jane Redmond on 21 May 1879, in Crab Orchard, Johnson, Nebraska, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 daughters. He lived in Western Township, Johnson, Nebraska, United States for about 20 years and Western Election Precinct, Johnson, Nebraska, United States in 1940. He died on 2 April 1940, in Nebraska, United States, at the age of 85, and was buried in Crab Orchard, Johnson, Nebraska, United States.