When Rafael Margolin was born on December 15, 1873, in Russia, his father, Eliyahu, was 40 and his mother, Basha, was 34. He married Goldie Kivelevitz on March 26, 1895, in his hometown. They had six children in 13 years. He died on April 21, 1921, in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 47, and was buried there.