When Mary Ann Caldwell Elder was born on 9 September 1827, in Butler, Ohio, United States, her father, James Elder, was 31 and her mother, Margaret Caldwell, was 23. She married William W. Hensley on 20 February 1849, in Marion, Illinois, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 4 daughters. She lived in Marion, Illinois, United States in 1860 and Illinois, United States in 1870. She died on 22 October 1881, in Salem, Marion, Oregon, United States, at the age of 54, and was buried in Salem, Marion, Oregon, United States.