Francis Nuttall was born in March or April 1602 in Tottington. He was baptised on 4 April 1602 at the Parish Church of St Mary, Bury. His mother, Helen, died around 1613, when Francis was 11. His mother’s death was followed within a year by the death of his father, Thomas, in 1614. Francis was a legatee in his father’s will. Ten years later, on 7 January 1624, his brother, Richard, died. In 1630, his first child was born, a daughter, Ellen. Ellen was baptised at Bury Parish Church on 16 April 1630. This was followed by the birth of a second daughter, Mary in 1633. A son, John, was born in February 1635, followed by a third daughter in September 1637. Within a month of the birth of his third daughter, Francis died, in October 1637.