When Mary Bytha Tow was born on 8 January 1888, in Llano, Texas, United States, her father, Wilson Oliver "Knob" Tow Jr., was 34 and her mother, Homa Gean "Jeannie" Buffalo, was 31. She married Samuel John M Whitener on 24 June 1906, in Carter, Oklahoma, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 2 daughters. She lived in Hulbert, Cherokee, Oklahoma, United States in 1910 and Wright Township, Jefferson, Oklahoma, United States for about 20 years. She died on 30 December 1970, in Orr, Love, Oklahoma, United States, at the age of 82, and was buried in Crow Cemetery, Love, Oklahoma, United States.