When Shadrack H. Gentry was born in 1793, in North Carolina, United States, his father, Abednego Gentry, was 35 and his mother, Elizabeth Brooks, was 27. He married Polly Jacks on 14 October 1810, in Surry, North Carolina, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 6 daughters. He lived in Whitepost, Beaufort, North Carolina, United States in 1820 and Surry, North Carolina, United States for about 20 years. He died on 21 November 1853, in Yadkin, North Carolina, United States, at the age of 60, and was buried in Hamptonville, Yadkin, North Carolina, United States.