Ellen Maude Cherrill was born on August 25, 1843, in Illinois to Adolphus and Elizabeth Cherrill. Her father was a clerk who owned $1,500 of real estate and $250 of personal property. She grew up and attended school in Carthage, Illinois. She married James B. Cahill on January 29, 1862, and their daughter Maude was born around 1866. Her husband worked as a collector for the Internal Revenue Service, and by 1870, they owned $500 of personal property. He died on January 9, 1874. By 1880, she was living with her sister Emily in Chicago, Illinois. She eventually returned to Carthage, and she died there on January 22, 1890.