When Joseph Pettus Ament was born on 20 October 1823, in Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee, United States, his father, George Henry Ament, was 27 and his mother, Judith Dudley Pettus, was 27. He married Sarah Jane Ruff on 12 April 1849, in Marion, Missouri, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 3 daughters. He lived in Palmyra, Marion, Missouri, United States in 1860. He died on 2 November 1879, in Muscatine, Muscatine, Iowa, United States, at the age of 56, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Muscatine, Muscatine, Iowa, United States.