John and his son Robert were both farmers in Ballymena. His grandson, John, ran a carting business in County Antrim. The younger John married Matilda Gaston and together they raised a family of eleven children. Although some of the children remained in the Ballymena area, in time, six of these would emigrate to Canada between 1920s and 1950s settling in the area around Hamilton, Ontario. Still later, a few would return to Northern Ireland.