When Orval Russell Adams was born on 29 October 1885, in Mercer, Illinois, United States, his father, John William Adams, was 21 and his mother, Frances Christina Moberly, was 18. He married Maud Ellen Sackman about 1907, in Missouri, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Jackson, Missouri, United States in 1935 and Blue Township, Jackson, Missouri, United States in 1940. He died on 23 November 1947, in Independence, Jackson, Missouri, United States, at the age of 62, and was buried in Independence, Jackson, Missouri, United States.