Nora R. Wynne appears on the 1860 Census as the 15 year-old daughter of Richard C. and Sarah A. Wynne, a wealthy farming family in James City County, Virginia. She was the oldest of 6 children living in the household. She is enumerated on the 1850 Census with 4 older siblings, including brothers Baker, age 17 and Thomas, age 15.

Ancestry.com files indicate that Nora's father was Richard Cary Wynne and her mother was Sarah Anne Shield, Richard's 2nd wife.