When John Alva Robinson was born on 12 September 1858, in Easley, Pickens, South Carolina, United States, his father, George Franklin Robinson, was 23 and his mother, Elvira Jane Griffin, was 18. He married Mourning Alice Hill about 1876, in Dacusville, Pickens, South Carolina, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 6 daughters. He lived in Township 7 Pumpkintown, Pickens, South Carolina, United States in 1870 and Dacusville, Pickens, South Carolina, United States for about 20 years. He died on 29 May 1940, at the age of 81, and was buried in Easley, Pickens, South Carolina, United States.