Francis Rahill Hodgson was born in Newark, N.Y. on June 22, 1913. He was the son of Alfred and Jane (Rahill) Hodgson.

He married Irene Mabel Doyle on June 18, 1935. They settled in Buffalo, N.Y.

Early in his career he was employed by Dunlap. In later years he worked for Bell Aircraft in N.Y. He evntually moved along with Bell Aircraft to Ft. Worth, Tx.