When Rev John Lee Ames was born on 14 January 1810, in Ames Township, Athens, Ohio, United States, his father, Sylvanus Ames, was 38 and his mother, Abigail or Nabby Lee Johnson, was 38. He married Charlotte Hardaway Watson on 11 September 1834, in Greene, Alabama, United States. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Missouri, United States in 1870 and Franklin Township, Newton, Missouri, United States in 1880. He died on 17 December 1892, in Newtown, Sullivan, Missouri, United States, at the age of 82, and was buried in Neosho, Newton, Missouri, United States.