When John Benz Chafin was born on 1 January 1879, in Nashville, Washington Township, Brown, Indiana, United States, his father, Isaac Chafin, was 29 and his mother, Mary Catherine Woods, was 18. He married Katherine Wise on 15 September 1901, in Indiana, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Judicial Township 18, Fresno, California, United States in 1920 and Judicial Township 15, Kern, California, United States in 1940. He died on 12 November 1960, in Kern, California, United States, at the age of 81, and was buried in Bakersfield, Kern, California, United States.