When John Grant Burgess was born on 21 August 1797, in Noel Shore, Hants, Nova Scotia, Canada, his father, Edward Burgess, was 41 and his mother, Elizabeth Sanford, was 43. He married Caroline Bergen Grant about 1823, in Hants, Nova Scotia, Canada. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 2 daughters. He lived in Chèverie, West Hants, Hants, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1866. In 1866, at the age of 69, his occupation is listed as farmer in Chèverie, West Hants, Hants, Nova Scotia, Canada. He died on 3 January 1892, in Noel Shore, Hants, Nova Scotia, Canada, at the age of 94, and was buried in Cheverie United Church Cemetery, West Hants, Hants, Nova Scotia, Canada.