Wade Allen Emberson was born on June 6, 1836 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia to Samuel Emberson and Sarah Holley Emberson.

In the 1850 census, his family had moved to Franklin County, Virginia.

On February 12, 1857, he married Easter Jane Martin the daughter of Moses Josephas Martin, Jr. and Sarah "Sally" Moses Martin who resided in the Puppy Creek area of Patrick County.

On April 1, 1862, he enlisted in the Confederacy and was assigned to Captain Fry's Orange Artillery. Much like many soldiers on both sides of this horrific conflict, he deserted on June 6, 1863 along with his brother-in-law John B. Martin on the march to Spotsylvania Court House. On October 9, 1863, he had been arrested and was in custody. He remained but then deserted again on April 15, 1864 from Frederick's Hall, Virginia. Based on the timeline, it would be safe to assume that he wanted to be home for the birth of his third child, Nancy Elizabeth who was born just five days later in Dodson. Based on logistics, it would be safe to say that he witnessed the execution of his brother-in-law John B. Martin at Frederick's Hall in January, 1864 as they were in the same artillery division. On March 1, 1865, he was dropped from the payroll of the Confederacy as a deserter.

Men deserted for a variety of reasons, many of which were common to both sides. The rigors or military life, poor food, inadequate clothing, homesickness, and concern for loved ones at home all drove men to desert. In some ways the character of the American soldier contributed to the desertion problem. Most men on both sides were unaccustomed to the rigid nature of being a soldier and the loss of personal freedom that came with being in the military proved difficult. Many soldiers saw their enlistment as contractual in nature and any perception that the government was not living up to its end of the bargain justified their departure. This reliance on the government's promise as a reason to desert would prove particularly troublesome for the Confederacy where soldiers believed their commitment to fight was based in part on the promise that their families would be taken care of in their absence.

After his departure from the Confederacy, his wife and him continued to add to their family and eventually they had twelve children.

The family resided in Puppy Creek Cove near the Smith River deep in the forest in Patrick County, VA. Wade ran a mill at this location and actually operated a distillery at that location as well. It was called Emberson's Mill. There are remnants of the mill still intact in 2021.

His wife of sixty three years, Easter passed away on June 5, 1920 and Wade passed away on March 5, 1922 at the homeplace. He was predeceased by one son, Samuel Jack Emberson who passed away in 2013. He is survived by his remaining eleven children many of whom still resided at the homeplace. He is buried at the family cemetery about one half mile north of the homeplace, high on a slope of Poor Mountain overlooking Puppy Creek that today bears his name as the Wade Emberson Cemetery.