Celia Russell Hunt was born on March 3, 1836 in Fleming County to parents Rev. William Basil and Sarah "Sallie" Frisby Wilson Hunt. She was the first of three daughters for the couple. After her mother passed away when Celia was 17, she moved to Lexington to live with family at Cedar Grove. This was the home built by her grandparents Robert and Celah Russell Wilson, and where her mother had grown up. It is likely that Celia's half-brother Robert Wilson was living in the home at this time.
It was during her time living at Cedar Grove that Celia met her husband. James William Crain was working as a clerk at Shropshire's Store when the couple first met. Both were originally from Fleming County but then living in Lexington. On December 12, 1854 they were married at Cedar Grove. The couple had two children together: James Russell Crain and Sallie Rebecca Crain Garr. Celia passed away at the young age of 28, on January 2, 1865 from tuberculosis, and was buried in the Crain cemetery in Fleming County, Kentucky.
