When Stephen Albert Mawhiney was born on 11 April 1878, in Hickory, Missouri, United States, his father, William John Mawhiney, was 31 and his mother, Louisa Jane Bybee, was 31. He married Edna Virginia Cothern in 1898, in Missouri, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 daughters. He lived in Stark Township, Hickory, Missouri, United States in 1880 and Cross Timbers Township, Hickory, Missouri, United States for about 30 years. He died on 4 March 1943, in Cross Timbers, Hickory, Missouri, United States, at the age of 64, and was buried in Wright Cemetery, Cross Timbers, Hickory, Missouri, United States.