When John Louis Polk was born on 18 October 1825, in Mississippi, United States, his father, Joel L. Polk, was 29 and his mother, Mary P. Williams, was 18. He married Thurza Ann Braddy on 26 August 1874, in Lawrence, Mississippi, United States. He lived in Beat 4, Lawrence, Mississippi, United States for about 20 years. He registered for military service in 1864. He died on 1 April 1904, in Jefferson Davis, Mississippi, United States, at the age of 78, and was buried in New Hebron, Lawrence, Mississippi, United States.