Albert Burr was born around 1818 in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, to Phineas Burr and Thankful Hicks. He married Sarah C. Rawson on April 28, 1842, and they had at least four children: Franklin, born around 1846; Frederick, born on November 6, 1847; Reuben, born around 1849; and Henry, born on November 20, 1857. They lived in Northbridge, Massachusetts, and Burr worked as a shoemaker. By 1850, he owned $2,000 of real estate. A decade later, he owned $2,300 of real estate and $300 of personal property. He died of heart disease in Northbridge on January 24, 1900.