Jennie Towar was born on December 5, 1865 in Meridian township, Ingham County, Michigan. She was the youngest child of George and Elvira Towar, who settled in Bath township in 1849 and developed a large parcel of land north of East Lansing which is called Towar Gardens. In 1886, Jennie Towar graduated from Michigan Agricultural College (M.A.C., now Michigan State University) with a Bachelor of Science degree. She married Charles S. Whitmore, a farmer, in 1889. They had one son, Maurice Towar Whitmore. Following Whitmore's death in 1899, Towar married James A. Woodard. Jennie Towar Whitmore Woodard died in 1957.

James DeLoss Towar, son of George and Elvira Towar and Jennie's brother, was born September 26, 1863. He was an early graduate of M.A.C. and a member of the first football team in 1884. James Towar taught agriculture courses at Rhode Island State College, was the agriculturalist of the Experiment Station for his alma mater, served as principal of Roseworthy Agricultural School in Australia, and was the president of the University of Wyoming for two months in 1908. In 1933, he wrote the book History of the City of East Lansing for the East Lansing Public Library. According to the introduction in his book, he was responsible for the creation of a bike path on Michigan Avenue, stretching from Lansing to the college. He began the movement to establish a district school for the community and he helped organize the city and suggested the name "East Lansing." James Towar died in 1947.