When Jay Luther Quackenbush was born on 29 December 1827, in Montgomery, New York, United States, his father, Abraham N. Quackenbush, was 33 and his mother, Eveline Wemple, was 31. He married Sara Jane Waite on 2 December 1859, in Pontiac, Oakland, Michigan, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, United States in 1880 and Whatcom, Washington, United States in 1900. He died on 27 May 1906, at the age of 78, and was buried in Bellingham, Whatcom, Washington, United States.