When Francis Sylvester Coggeshall was born on 21 December 1840, in Virginia, Cass, Illinois, United States, his father, William Henry Cogeshall, was 21 and his mother, Mary Ann Biddlecome, was 20. He married Hester Ann Dew on 13 August 1865. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 7 daughters. He lived in Havana, Mason, Illinois, United States in 1880 and Bondin Township, Murray, Minnesota, United States in 1900. He died on 30 August 1914, in Seattle, King, Washington, United States, at the age of 73, and was buried in Seattle, King, Washington, United States.