Details of Hartley's birth are not known.

Hartley married Sarah Ellen Frankland in 1902 in the Skipton Registration District.

He had the following children from his marriage to Sarah Ellen Frankland:

- Sylvia May Brown	born on 17 December 1902 in Earby, Yorkshire.
- Lilian Irene Brown	born on 31 July 1904 in Earby, Yorkshire.
- James Neville Brown	born on 7 October 1906 in Earby, Yorkshire.
- Elsie Ann Brown	born on 24 March 1908 in Earby, Yorkshire.

Details of Hartley's occupation are not known.