When Jonathan Irish was born on 29 December 1749, in Republic of Vermont, his father, Jesse Irish Sr., was 37 and his mother, Mary Albee, was 39. He married Deborah Wilbor in 1769, in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 6 daughters. He died in 1832, in Peru, Clinton, New York, United States, at the age of 83, and was buried in Tinmouth, Rutland, Vermont, United States.