William Ferrel's father was Benjamin Ferrel who was a farmer and operated a sawmill, while his mother, whose maiden name was Miller but whose first name seems unknown, was the daughter of a farmer. William was the eldest of his parent's eight children, six boys and two girls.
ATTENTION - Automatic na salin mula sa Tagalog na bersyon William Ferrel 's ama ay Benjamin Ferrel na noon ay isang magsasaka at pinamamahalaan ng isang lagarian, habang ang kanyang ina, na ang apelyido sa pagkadalaga ay Miller na ang unang pangalan ngunit tila hindi kilala, ay ang anak na babae ng isang magsasaka.