When William Columbus Rudder was born on 19 February 1858, in Washington, Indiana, United States, his father, Hiram Sheriff Rudder, was 28 and his mother, Elizabeth Ann Hosea, was 28. He married Maude Ozella Tomlinson in November 1898, in Indiana Township, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States. He lived in Jefferson Township, Washington, Indiana, United States for about 20 years and Saltilloville, Washington, Indiana, United States in 1900. He died on 28 January 1901, in Campbellsburg, Washington, Indiana, United States, at the age of 42, and was buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery, Fredericksburg, Washington, Indiana, United States.