When William Oscar Ashby was born on 13 August 1888, in Texas, United States, his father, John Peyton Ashby, was 33 and his mother, Martha Ann "Mattie" Jones, was 25. He married Emma Frances Wilkerson on 3 November 1907, in Rusk, Texas, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 3 daughters. He died on 11 April 1973, in Henderson, Rusk, Texas, United States, at the age of 84, and was buried in Duncan Cemetery, Rusk, Texas, United States.