When Johann Willelm Altman was born on 8 March 1798, in Greensburg, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, United States, his father, David Altman, was 30 and his mother, Susanna Riegel (or Riggle), was 23. He married Anna Catharine Zundell in 1829, in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 6 daughters. He lived in Pennsylvania, United States in 1870. In 1850, at the age of 52, his occupation is listed as . He died on 28 November 1877, in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, United States, at the age of 79, and was buried in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, United States.