When William Rester Cockerham was born on 30 June 1912, in Ronda, Wilkes, North Carolina, United States, his father, William Martin Cockerham, was 26 and his mother, Viola Blackburn, was 24. He married Cora Susie Yarboro on 5 August 1933, in Forsyth, North Carolina, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son. He lived in Leaksville, Rockingham, North Carolina, United States in 1935 and Edwards Township, Wilkes, North Carolina, United States in 1940. He died on 10 April 1969, in Elkin, Surry, North Carolina, United States, at the age of 56, and was buried in Wilkes, North Carolina, United States.