Richard Redwell Fenn Sewell was born in 1883 in Yarmouth, England. He came to Canada in 1889 with his father, E.B. Sewell, a sail maker. They initially rented a home on Catherine Street until E.B. Sewell built a house at 3236 Alder Street in 1900. R.R.F. Sewell married Harriett Eva Towne in 1913 at the First Congregational Church in Victoria. They lived on Alder Street until ca. 1920 when they moved to Obed Avenue where they would stay for the remainder of their lives. At the time of marriage R.R.F. Sewell was a bookkeeper; he began to work as Assessor for the District of Saanich in 1917, and remained on staff until 1938. After leaving Saanich he held a number of roles including Secretary of the Union of BC Municipalities. Richard Redwell Fenn Sewell died on September 10, 1961 at Mount St. Mary's Hospital in Victoria. He and his wife Harriett had three children: Richard Benjamin Hollis, Ernest Howard Lyle, and Vincent Norman Rockwell. The Sewell home at 576 Obed would remain in the family until approximately 1991.