When William Henry Doty was born on 7 March 1793, in Sharon, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States, his father, Dr. Ezra Doty, was 25 and his mother, Damaria Hamlin, was 26. He married Elizabeth Jane Kenney on 2 April 1818, in Juniata, Pennsylvania, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Monongalia, Virginia, United States in 1850 and Greene, Pennsylvania, United States in 1860. He died on 4 February 1866, in Adel, Dallas, Iowa, United States, at the age of 72, and was buried in Dallas, Iowa, United States.