When James Paul Artrup was born on 24 December 1902, in Fairfield, Clay, Nebraska, United States, his father, William Franklin Artrup, was 29 and his mother, Ella Johnston, was 21. He married Martha Grace Snyder on 8 August 1922, in Geneva, Fillmore, Nebraska, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons. He lived in Edgar, Clay, Nebraska, United States for about 10 years and Marshall Township, Clay, Nebraska, United States in 1940. He died on 13 August 1978, in Fairfield, Clay, Nebraska, United States, at the age of 75, and was buried in Fairfield, Clay, Nebraska, United States.