When Joanna Phoebe Merchant was born on 20 April 1759, in Woodbury, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States, her father, John Merchant Jr., was 33 and her mother, Prudence Stoddard, was 18. She married John Randall Jr. on 20 April 1780, in Amenia, Amenia, Dutchess, New York, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 6 daughters. She died on 27 January 1821, in Rutland, Vermont, United States, at the age of 61, and was buried in Wallingford, Rutland, Vermont, United States.