When Russell Bryan Atkins was born on 9 September 1896, in Ouachita, Arkansas, United States, his father, Leonidas Alford Atkins, was 26 and his mother, Cora Jane Stott, was 22. He married Hattie Mae Ridling in 1924, in Ouachita, Arkansas, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son. He lived in Chidester, Ouachita, Arkansas, United States in 1930 and Red Hill Township, Ouachita, Arkansas, United States in 1940. He registered for military service in 1919. He died on 5 July 1978, in Ouachita, Dallas, Arkansas, United States, at the age of 81, and was buried in Chidester, Ouachita, Arkansas, United States.