When John Henry Freeman was born on 14 May 1840, in Georgia, United States, his father, Barnabus Lynn Freeman, was 47 and his mother, Margaret Emeline McCollum, was 42. He had at least 4 sons and 2 daughters with Nancy Rachel Smith. He lived in District 465, Jackson, Georgia, United States in 1880 and Yonah, White, Georgia, United States in 1900. He died on 19 September 1911, in Cleveland, White, Georgia, United States, at the age of 71, and was buried in Zion Church, White, Georgia, United States.