When Harold Russell Harner was born on 17 February 1901, in Fulton, Callaway, Missouri, United States, his father, Jacob Franklin Harner, was 48 and his mother, Clara Elizabeth Gingrich, was 38. He married Esther Marie Farry on 25 December 1924, in Vernon Township, Clark, Missouri, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 daughters. He lived in Center Township, Vernon, Missouri, United States in 1920 and Joplin, Jasper, Missouri, United States in 1930. He died on 1 March 1979, at the age of 78, and was buried in Webb City, Jasper, Missouri, United States.