When Ellen Nevitt Keeley was born on 26 March 1855, in Zanesville, Muskingum, Ohio, United States, her father, William Perry Keeley, was 38 and her mother, Elizabeth Ann Twaddle, was 34. She married Theodore Franks on 21 April 1880, in Zanesville, Muskingum, Ohio, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 daughters. She lived in Ohio, United States in 1870. She died on 1 May 1920, in Saint Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota, United States, at the age of 65, and was buried in Riverside, Cass, North Dakota, United States.