When John Tooley was born about 1853, in Indiana, United States, his father, John J Tooley, was 33 and his mother, Margaret Lydia Feagley, was 24. He married Martha Dailey on 24 December 1894, in Vanderburgh, Indiana, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons. He lived in Owen Township, Warrick, Indiana, United States in 1860 and Hart Township, Warrick, Indiana, United States in 1870. He died on 15 January 1936, in Evansville, Vanderburgh, Indiana, United States, at the age of 83.