When John Farrington Cahoon was born on 19 October 1839, in Montrose, Lee, Iowa, United States, his father, William Farrington Cahoon, was 25 and his mother, Nancy Miranda Gibbs, was 22. He married Margaret Sharp on 29 September 1862, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States. They were the parents of at least 9 sons and 5 daughters. He lived in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States in 1839 and Salt Lake, Utah, United States in 1850. He died on 21 June 1910, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States, at the age of 70, and was buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States.