When John David Gist was born in March 1859, in Franklin, Alabama, United States, his father, James Gist, was 40 and his mother, Susannah Derbin, was 36. He married Julia C. Hearn on 13 December 1889, in Colbert, Alabama, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 daughters. He lived in Chisca, Colbert, Alabama, United States in 1880 and Tishomingo, Mississippi, United States in 1910. He died on 21 March 1940, in Cherokee, Colbert, Alabama, United States, at the age of 81.