When John Arthur Ashbrook was born on 26 April 1902, in Russell, Kentucky, United States, his father, Berry Smith Ashbrook, was 44 and his mother, Mary Elizabeth Burden, was 41. He married Olza Gladys Smith on 26 September 1925, in Russell, Kentucky, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 2 daughters. He lived in Russell Springs, Russell, Kentucky, United States for about 10 years and Magisterial District 4, Russell, Kentucky, United States in 1940. He died on 8 October 1975, in Adair, Kentucky, United States, at the age of 73, and was buried in Russell Springs, Russell, Kentucky, United States.