David was born on April 14th, 1850.1 David's father was Rowel Colby. His paternal grandparents were David Colby and Naomi Johnson. He had four brothers and a sister, named Edwin Livingston, Albert, Leonard, Emory and Abigail. He was the third youngest of the six children. He died at the age of 55 on March 9th, 1906.1