When John Rutledge Streetman was born on 17 December 1827, in Madison, Georgia, United States, his father, William Rutledge Streetman, was 25 and his mother, Nancy Mary Odom, was 18. He married Elizabeth Jane Clay on 12 September 1849, in Itawamba, Mississippi, United States. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 4 daughters. He lived in Itawamba, Mississippi, United States in 1860 and Alcorn, Mississippi, United States in 1870. He registered for military service in 1861. He died in 1910, in Burnsville, Tishomingo, Mississippi, United States, at the age of 83, and was buried in Shady Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Burnsville, Tishomingo, Mississippi, United States.