When Jesse Lee Tatham was born on 25 October 1865, in Rusk, Cherokee, Texas, United States, her father, Jonathan Franklin Tatham, was 35 and her mother, Sarah A Francis, was 18. She married Hyrum Wightman Newman on 20 December 1883, in Cherokee, Texas, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 daughters. She lived in Justice Precinct 1, San Saba, Texas, United States in 1880 and Justice Precinct 1, Cherokee, Texas, United States in 1900. She died on 18 December 1951, at the age of 86, and was buried in Rusk, Cherokee, Texas, United States.