William Joseph McQuiston (W. J.) was born on 19 July 1858. He married his first wife, Mary N. Holmes, on 10 June 1886. They had four children: Ethel, Margaret, Hugh, and Marion.  Ethel was born on 29 May 1887. Three years later Margaret was born on 14 November 1890. Hugh came two years after Margaret on 1 November 1892, with Marion following two years later on 17 October 1894.  

Mary Holmes died on 22 March 1908, and W. J. married Gertrude Margaret Beard on 5 June 1909.  

The McQuiston family owned a very prominent bookstore on the square in downtown Monmouth. The genealogy room of Warren Library is now in the lower level of the bookstore's building.

The McQuiston name is a very important one in Monmouth. It was through the efforts of W. H. and W. J. that the telephone lines came to the town. The first three phones in Monmouth connected the homes of W. H., W. J., and their bookstore. When W. J.'s sons Hugh and Marion grew up, they continued in their father's path and worked for the phone companies.  Hugh worked for Bell Telephone and Marion worked for another company in Illinois.