Absalom Hanks Markland was born in Winchester, Kentucky on February 18, 1825. After attending law school he worked in the U.S. Pension Office as a clerk from 1849 to 1852 before starting his own legal practice in Washington, DC. He later returned to civil service, working as a clerk for the congressional pension committee and later in the post office department under presidents Lincoln and Grant. He died in Washington, DC on May 18, 1888.