Brinegar was born in 1917 in Tucumcari in eastern New Mexico, the first child of Louise (née McElroy) and Paul A. Brinegar, Sr., who was a farmer.Oliver, Myrna (1995). "Paul Brinegar; Appeared in TV's 'Rawhide'", obituary, Los Angeles Times, March 31, 1995. Retrieved May 11, 2017.Louise Brinegar's maiden name is documented in "California Death Index, 1940-1997", Paul Alden Brinegar, March 27, 1995; database of the Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento. FamilySearch. Retrieved April 17, 2019. "The Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920", a photographic copy of original enumeration record that includes Brinegar family, Otero County, New Mexico, February 24–25, 1920. FamilySearch, archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved May 12, 2017. His family relocated several times during his childhood, first moving to Alamogordo, then to Las Cruces, and finally to Santa Fe.
