Ephriam Theodore Doutt was born in 1833 probably in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. He was the second known son of Absalom and Elizabeth Doutt. Little is known of his early life, but in 1855 he married Emeline Butler and they moved to Ironton, Ohio. Ironton was a boom town at the time, growing very rapidly with the growth of the pig iron industry that gave the town it's name. Ephriam was a carpenter and it was assumed he went there for the work.
By 1860, Ephriam had moved his family back to Clarion County, Pennsylvania where they lived until he died in 1882. Most of their 13 children were born there.