When John Cleveland Ary was born on 16 July 1891, in Witcherville, Sebastian, Arkansas, United States, his father, Joseph Gilbert Ary, was 34 and his mother, Lucy Ellen Stephens, was 29. He married Emma Rachel Crawford on 25 December 1910, in Haskell, Oklahoma, United States. They were the parents of at least 7 sons. He lived in Haskell, Oklahoma, United States for about 10 years and Machire Township, Haskell, Oklahoma, United States in 1940. He died on 2 November 1960, in Whitefield, Haskell, Oklahoma, United States, at the age of 69, and was buried in Whitefield Cemetery, Whitefield, Haskell, Oklahoma, United States.