When James Clyde Tatham was born on 23 September 1912, in Webster, Jackson, North Carolina, United States, his father, James Robert Tatham, was 41 and his mother, Adeline Cabe, was 36. He married Viva Ellen Bowman on 10 August 1935, in Snohomish, Washington, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 1 daughter. He lived in Darrington, Snohomish, Washington, United States for about 10 years and Darrington Election Precinct, Snohomish, Washington, United States in 1940. He died on 22 November 1993, in Everett, Snohomish, Washington, United States, at the age of 81, and was buried in Darrington, Snohomish, Washington, United States.