John was born in Monroe, Orange County, New York on February 20, 1836. He arrived in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 10, 1857, and went to work for William Murphy as a harness maker. He later went into business for himself and became only the third harness maker in the Minnesota Territory. His partner was John Conover, but the partnership didn't last long. Conover sold out in 1860 and left John alone in the business. John was living in Hassen Township, Hennepin County, Minnesota, when he joined the Battery on March 6, 1862. He was 28 years old, stood 5' 7" tall, had hazel eyes, light hair and a sandy complexion.                 John's job with the Battery may have saw him fixing a lot of harnesses as he was listed as Battery Artificer. Army life was hard on John's health as he was left sick at Winchester, Tennessee on August 17, 1863. He returned to the Battery and re-enlisted in March of 1864. He was again left sick in the hospital at Nashville, Tennessee, on June 8, 1864. His health evidently did not improve. He was discharged for disability on February 16, 1865. The certificate listed "consumption of more than eight months" in duration as the cause for discharge.                 John returned to Minneapolis and went back to his trade of harness making. John was first married to Marry Millett, but divorced her in 1872. Continuing in the harness making business, John took a partner, L. Christleib, in August of 1874. John also took another kind of partner that year, he married Francis Elizabeth Peet on September 23rd. They had two children, Paul B. and Mabel.                 In 1883, John was receiving a pension of $14.00 per month. His disability was listed as "lung dis. & pleurisy". At the 1890 census, John was living on Central Avenue in Minneapolis. John had traveled to the home of his son in Winnipeg, Canada, when he died there on March 26, 1917. John's body was brought back to Minneapolis and buried in the family plot in Lakewood Cemetery.