When John Hesley Newell was born on 10 October 1845, in Brecksville, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States, his father, John Newell, was 33 and his mother, Harriet N. Judd, was 27. He married Elizabeth Sophia Biddlecome on 22 February 1871. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 1 daughter. He died on 25 November 1922, in Seiling, Dewey, Oklahoma, United States, at the age of 77.