Daniel O'Connell Dougherty, Jr., was born in 1881 in Atlanta to dry goods merchant, Daniel O., and his wife, Elizabeth Jane Smith Dougherty. He worked as a clerk in his father's business after attending Georgia Tech. Later, he married Wilhelmina Reins and had two children, Wilhelmina and Daniel O. III. During World War I, Daniel, Jr., went to France with the YMCA; and during World War II, he worked in the Marietta bomber factory. His son served in World War II.