Francis Barnum was born in Lockport, New York on the Erie Barge Canal aboard the canal boat "The McCarthy". At some point, he moved to New Jersey and worked for the Whippany Paper Mill Company. He married Ethel Lockwood in 1916 and they lived in New Jersey at that time. There are also stories of his having lived in Schenectady, New York. The 1920 US Census for New Jersey lists Frank P. Barnum living in Newark, New Jersey, together with his wife Ethel and daughter Frances (1-8/12 years old).
In Restland Memorial Park.