When James Tyson Harrell was born on 2 October 1889, in Duplin, North Carolina, United States, his father, Chauncey Harrell, was 37 and his mother, Sarah Priscilla Mallard, was 35. He married Daisy Bell Sumner on 19 February 1912, in Gates, North Carolina, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Burgaw Township, Pender, North Carolina, United States in 1900. He died on 22 January 1949, in Burgaw, Pender, North Carolina, United States, at the age of 59, and was buried in Burgaw, Pender, North Carolina, United States.