When Sylvester Newman Hardee was born on 1 March 1853, in Buchanan Township, Page, Iowa, United States, his father, William Michael Hardee, was 37 and his mother, Elizabeth Ann Farley, was 37. He married Harriet Vesta Whittington on 4 October 1874, in Page, Iowa, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 4 daughters. He lived in Election District 7, Sheridan, Wyoming, United States in 1920 and Beckton, Sheridan, Wyoming, United States in 1930. He died on 18 August 1938, in Sheridan, Sheridan, Wyoming, United States, at the age of 85, and was buried in Sheridan, Sheridan, Wyoming, United States.