When Ruth Howland was born on 27 June 1875, in Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, her father, Robert Howland, was 33 and her mother, Elizabeth Ann Gibson, was 35. She married James Miller Gawley on 30 April 1894, in Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 4 daughters. She lived in York, Ontario, Canada in 1901 and Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1911. She died on 23 April 1962, in Toronto Metropolitan Municipality, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 86, and was buried in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.