When Maxwell R. Ellison was born on 4 May 1899, in Alabama, United States, his father, Richard Henry Ellison, was 35 and his mother, Eugenia Ann Turner (Adams), was 38. He married Ada Mae Settles on 3 January 1944, in Florida, United States. He lived in Holt, Okaloosa, Florida, United States in 1920 and Niceville, Okaloosa, Florida, United States in 1930. He died on 15 March 1974, in Crestview, Okaloosa, Florida, United States, at the age of 74, and was buried in Baker, Okaloosa, Florida, United States.