Nevada politician and women's advocate Imogene "Jean" Young was born in Miami, Oklahoma, on December 28, 1929, to Daisy Adelphia (Flook) and Clarence Nathan Young. She had one brother, Byron Young. Her family moved to Joplin, Missouri, where she attended kindergarten through high school. In 1951 she graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas with a B.A. in Sociology. After graduation she worked as a recreational therapist for the American Red Cross in military hospitals until 1955.

Thomas J. Morgan was the Commissioner of Indian Affairs selected by President Benjamin Harrison in 1889. He was born in Franklin, Indiana on August 17, 1839 and was the son of Reverend Lewis Morgan, one of the founders of Franklin College. During the American Civil War, he was a brevet brigadier-general and the commander of the 14th United States Colored Infantry.