When John Leonard Turner was born on 3 February 1887, in Wheelock, Robertson, Texas, United States, his father, William Warren Turner, was 39 and his mother, Mary Olivia Wheelock, was 24. He married Zelma Taylor Garner on 5 January 1915, in Navarro, Texas, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons. He lived in Dawson, Navarro, Texas, United States in 1930 and Justice Precinct 4, Dawson, Texas, United States in 1940. He died on 2 December 1959, in Waco, McLennan, Texas, United States, at the age of 72, and was buried in Dawson Cemetery, Dawson, Navarro, Texas, United States.