When Ella Rosalee Kirkland was born on 13 October 1899, in Dorsey, Swain, North Carolina, United States, her father, William E Kirkland, was 35 and her mother, Sarah Jane Ann Cochran, was 32. She married William Allen Crisp on 27 February 1916, in Chambers, Burke, North Carolina, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 3 daughters. She lived in Scott Creek Township, Jackson, North Carolina, United States for about 5 years and Bryson City, Swain, North Carolina, United States in 1969. She died on 22 May 1969, in Sylva, Jackson, North Carolina, United States, at the age of 69, and was buried in Swain Memorial Park, Bryson City, Swain, North Carolina, United States.