When Walter Ashby Bowles was born on 20 July 1882, in Buckingham, Virginia, United States, his father, Samuel Bernard Bowles, was 46 and his mother, Rosa Bennett Stokes, was 35. He married Lula P Groome on 6 July 1904, in Manchester, Virginia, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Richmond, Virginia, United States in 1910 and Fairfield District, Henrico, Virginia, United States in 1920. He died on 7 March 1926, in Richmond, Henrico, Virginia, United States, at the age of 43, and was buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, United States.