When Tandy Jackson Free was born on 30 March 1860, in Lawrence, Alabama, United States, his father, Isaac Jackson Free, was 29 and his mother, Martha Matilda Clark, was 25. He married Mary Ella Bailey in 1882. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 5 daughters. He lived in Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, United States in 1900 and Red Oak, Latimer, Oklahoma, United States for about 20 years. He died on 2 May 1949, at the age of 89, and was buried in Red Oak, Latimer, Oklahoma, United States.