When Betty Jane Bates was born on 28 August 1870, in Amherst, Virginia, United States, her father, Reuben Bates, was 30 and her mother, Polly Henson, was 25. She married James Mayo Wheeler on 17 July 1898, in Amherst, Virginia, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 3 daughters. She lived in Pedlar, Amherst, Virginia, United States for about 30 years and South River, Rockbridge, Virginia, United States in 1930. She died on 10 June 1963, in Buena Vista, Virginia, United States, at the age of 92, and was buried in Oronoco, Amherst, Virginia, United States.