When Ezra Denison Willson was born on 25 February 1830, in Fairfax, Franklin, Vermont, United States, his father, Amos Willson, was 31 and his mother, Elizabeth P. Wright, was 23. He married Anna Elisabetha Haas on 19 September 1853, in Brady Township, Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 4 daughters. He lived in Brady Township, Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States in 1860 and Pavilion, Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States in 1870. He died on 11 September 1904, in Yankee Springs Township, Barry, Michigan, United States, at the age of 74, and was buried in Bowerman Cemetery, Middleville, Barry, Michigan, United States.