Francis James Russell was born on September 2, 1836, in Bluffdale, Illinois, to John and Laura Russell. His father was a teacher who owned $3,000 of real estate in 1850. Russell grew up and attended school in Greene County, Illinois. He moved to Hamilton, Illinois, sometime before 1861 and began working as a lawyer. He enlisted in the Union army on May 24, 1861, and mustered in as a private in Company D of the 16^th Illinois Infantry later that day. According to his military service records, he was 5 feet, 7 inches tall, with dark hair and grey eyes. The army transferred him to the 60^th Illinois Infantry on January 1, 1864, and he probably mustered out soon afterward.

 

Russell married Sarah Ann Burkholder in Hancock County, Illinois, on January 28, 1862, and they had two children: Nellie, born around 1866; and Edward, born around 1877. Russell returned to Hamilton after the war. By 1870, he was working as a retail grocer, and he owned $1,000 of real estate and $1,500 of personal property. They moved to Monte Bello, Illinois, sometime in the 1870s. Russell died in Hancock County, Illinois, on February 18, 1900.

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