When Esther Ellen Thompson was born on 22 December 1884, in Clearwater, Antelope, Nebraska, United States, her father, George William Thompson, was 38 and her mother, Phoebe Ann Ford, was 38. She married Carl Oscar Walter Carlson on 25 September 1901, in Neligh, Antelope, Nebraska, United States. They were the parents of at least 9 sons and 2 daughters. She lived in Wheeler, Nebraska, United States in 1910 and Lincoln Township, Antelope, Nebraska, United States in 1920. She died on 11 August 1954, in St. Anthony, Fremont, Idaho, United States, at the age of 69, and was buried in Drummond, Fremont, Idaho, United States.