When Clara Bissonnette was born on 22 May 1868, in Quebec, Quebec, Canada, her father, Narcisse Bissonette, was 46 and her mother, Marcelline Brosseau, was 44. She married Andrew Lyons on 1 March 1886, in Clintonville, Waupaca, Wisconsin, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 8 daughters. She lived in Friendship, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, United States in 1880 and Lakeside Township, Cottonwood, Minnesota, United States in 1900. She died on 16 March 1949, in Fairmont, Martin, Minnesota, United States, at the age of 80, and was buried in Fairmont, Martin, Minnesota, United States.