John was a linen-draper. He and his wife were married at Godfrey Atherton's home in Bircursteth, England. They lived in Great Sankey, England. According to Besse's Sufferings, John and Godfrey Atherton, Thomas Hickock and Joseph Coppeck incited a riot and were imprisoned in 1683. He had at least two children named Nathaniel and Rachel. He might also have had a son named Thomas whose offspring came to PA in 1714. (Booker, Onda Minshall Minshall Ancestry In L.Dudick files)