Frederick Bartell was born around 1850 in New York to German immigrants John and Augusta Bartell. The family moved to Ganges, Michigan, sometime in the 1850s, and his father worked as a shoemaker there. Bartell grew up and attended school in Ganges before beginning work as a laborer. He lived in his parents’ household until at least 1870. He married Charlotte Schmidt in South Haven, Michigan, on August 20, 1883, and their son Norman was born around 1888. The family settled in Chicago, Illinois, and Bartell worked as a steamfitter there. He died in Chicago on August 27, 1904.