When Guy Bryan Matlack was born on June 30, 1824, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, his father, Corporal James Matlack, was 33 and his mother, Catherine Richstein, was 34. He married Sarah Corliss in Pennsylvania. They had six children in 12 years. He died on March 3, 1917, in New Jersey, at the age of 92, and was buried in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.