I have read much, thought much, and feel that life is too precious to be given to doctrines. Frances married James L. Gage on New Year's Day in 1829. Throughout their marriage of 35 years, James supported Frances' commitment to help others. They raised eight children. Four of their sons fought for the Union Army during the American Civil War. In the autumn of 1862, Frances and her daughter Mary traveled to the Sea Islands in South Carolina to train ex-slaves. In 1863, James Gage became critically ill and died in Columbus, Ohio. He was buried in Woodland Cemetery, McHenry, Illinois. Frances Gage suffered a debilitating stroke in 1867. She died in Greenwich, Connecticut on November 10, 1884.