Bensell married, June 7, 1871, Josephine Crissman, of Milford, Pennsylvania.
After the deaths of her children and husband Josephine returned to Milford, where after two decades of widowhood she married J. C. Westbrook in 1900.
Bensell initially studied with the artist John L. Lambdin; he and his brother Edmund also both attended and graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
As an artist Bensell was primarily a painter, specializing in portraits, landscapes, historical and "poetical genre" subjects for a wealthy clientele.
His secondary occupation was that of illustrator in the magazines and books of his day, in which he often collaborated with his brother.