When John Bunyon Tillery was born on 10 March 1828, in Gordon, Georgia, United States, his father, William Tillery, was 38 and his mother, Rebecca Huckaby, was 32. He married Mary Jane Margaret Marshall in 1854, in Georgia, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 2 daughters. He lived in Fairmount, Gordon, Georgia, United States in 1860 and Fremont, Colorado, United States in 1880. He died on 28 November 1887, in Poteau, Le Flore, Oklahoma, United States, at the age of 59, and was buried in Beaver Creek, Fremont, Colorado, United States.