Francis Berry was born at an unknown date and place. A birth date range for what appears to be his oldest child (Francis Berry, Jr.) has been noted as being between 1744 and 1755, so if Francis Sr. was born at least 25 years earlier, his birth can be approximated to have occurred sometime between 1719 and 1730 The elder Francis Berry doesn't appear in Augusta County records until 1774, but all of his brothers are first documented in Augusta County at much earlier dates (James in 1749, William and Charles in 1746),21 which might suggest that Francis Sr. was a younger brother, thus possibly pushing his birth date toward the middle of this age range, maybe more like 1725. From another point of view, Francis Berry, Jr., was married in 1775 to a woman who was born in 1754. If Francis Jr. was about the same age as his wife, and was in his mid twenties when he got married, that would place the birth date of Francis Jr. around 1750. Likewise, if Francis Sr. was about 25 years old when his first child was born, then the birth date of Francis Sr. can be approximated as being 1725. Admittedly, these analytical methods are based on approximations not documentation, but they provide the only means of estimating the birth date of Francis Berry, Sr. The location of Francis' father, the elder John Berry, prior to 1753 is unknown, so the birth location of Francis cannot be pinpointed more accurately than being either in northern Ireland, Scotland, Pennsylvania or Virginia. Based on the timing of William MaGill, Sr.'s movements and the close association of the Berrys with him , it seems quite unlikely that Francis Berry was born in Virginia.

At an unknown date and place Francis Berry married a woman named Isabel/Isabella. No last name has been documented for Isabel, although one source has suggested that her last name was McCown. While their marriage date is not known, a range of dates for the event can be established based on the same type of analysis that established an approximate birth date for Francis. Although there are numerous exceptions, it seems that most males from this time period got married in their early to mid twenties. If Francis was born in 1725, then one would expect his marriage to have occurred around 1750. Since the location of the father of Francis Berry (the elder John Berry) cannot be documented in Augusta County prior to 1753, it seems likely that Francis and Isabel were married in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania rather than Augusta County, Virginia.

Francis Berry can be traced through primary source records from 1774 in Augusta County, Virginia to 1802 in Washington County, Virginia. He moved to Washington County in 1777, and passed away there sometime between 6 August 1799 (when his will was written) and 18 March 1800 (when his will was proved). Burial was either in a local cemetery or, possibly, on the family farm. Isabel had probably passed away prior to that date, since she is not mentioned in his will. It seems likely that Isabel died in Washington County, Virginia, since she appears to have been still alive just prior to their move from Augusta County.