When Thomas P Atkinson was born on 23 July 1843, in Sackville, Westmorland, New Brunswick, Canada, his father, William Atkinson, was 30 and his mother, Phebe Campbell, was 33. He married Ruth Elizabeth Simmons on 11 March 1865, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 5 daughters. He lived in Grouse Creek, Box Elder, Utah Territory, United States in 1880 and Lyman, Fremont, Idaho, United States in 1910. He died on 20 September 1928, in Rexburg, Madison, Idaho, United States, at the age of 85, and was buried in Sutton Cemetery, Madison, Idaho, United States.