When John Bergen was born on 26 September 1746, in Roycefield, Somerset, New Jersey, United States, his father, Evert Hansen Bergen, was 29 and his mother, Jannetje Hegeman, was 19. He married Altje Rapalje about 1766, in Whitehouse, Readington, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 3 daughters. He died on 6 June 1828, in New Jersey, United States, at the age of 81, and was buried in First Reformed Church Cemetery, New Brunswick, Middlesex, New Jersey, United States.