Abigail Jane Daley was born Jan 26, 1815 in Marcellus, New York, though was raised in Larain County, Ohio. While there, she started a childhood friendship with Milo Andrus. In 1832 in Ohio, Abigail's and Milo's families were baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A year later, they were married and moved to Kirtland, Ohio.

The family moved from place to place with the early Saints of the Church. After the assassination of Joseph Smith in 1844, the family moved to Winter Quarter, Iowa. After a falling out with Milo, Abigail took her family to Utah without him in 1848. They lived in the Salt Lake Valley until 1860 when the family moved to Richmond.