John was born 22 July 1854 in Henry County, Tennessee. He was the sixth child born to his parents, Pharo Summers and Eliza Paschal Summers, both born in North Carolina. John was only ten years old when his father passed away, in 1864.

John married Sarah Elizabeth (Sallie) Henderson in Henry County, Tennessee on 23 December 1875. They were married by Justice of the Peace J. L. Page. The bondsman was Aron Sanders. Their first child, Elizabeth Delorice (Liza) was born November, 1876. She married Lee G. Jordan in the last part of 1896 or the first of 1897 as their son, Thomas Jordan was born in November 1897. Apparently this marriage was not made in heaven as Liza appeared, along with her three year old son, Thomas Jordan, back at home with John and Sallie, according to the 1900 federal census.

John Stanley and Sallie Summers in Jackson, Tennessee, c. 1880.

John and Sallie's second child was Luther Davis Summers who was born 27 April 1878. L.D., as he was called, was a very serious lad and was destined to be a Baptist minister. He married Clara Belle Petty 20 May 1899, in Paris, Henry County, Tennessee. (See his information under BIOGRAPHCAL SKETCHES.

There must have been much illness in the area in 1879 as evidenced by many deaths in the Summers family that year. One to suffer death on 1879 was John's mother, Eliza Paschal Summers, who died one day after John's twenty-fifth birthday. So at age twenty-five, John had lost both his parents. It must have been a terrible year as John's sister, Susan Chase Summers, died two months before their mother and his brother, Zery D. Summers, died in November following his mother's death.

John Elbert Summers, John and Sallie's third child, was born in 1880. When he and L.D. were older and L.D. was an evangelist, John Elbert led the singing for his evangelism team. He married Mamie B.(Last name unknown) and they had twins, born dead, on 13 January 1913. John Elbert moved to Nashville, Tennessee about 1919.

Myrtle May Summers was born May 3, 1882. Myrtle May was described as a renowned artist in Henry County. She spent much of her life painting. Myrtle May married John Lewis Ellison. They had one son, John Lewis Ellison, Jr. An interesting family story is told that John Jr.'s mother, Myrtle May, named him John Summers Ellison, after her father. Unknown to Myrtle May, her husband changed John Jr.'s name to John Lewis Ellison, Jr. John Lewis Ellison was a professional soldier and sent gifts to Paris from all over the world. After mustering out of the military, he became Sheriff of Henry County, the county seat being Paris, Tennessee.

Myrtle May with her mother and her son, John Summers Ellison 23 May 1921

Lacie Ann Summers was born in January, 1887. She married Thomas Ward on September 2, 1908. She died 29 October 1940.

John and Sallie moved to Jackson, Madison Co., Tennessee sometime after 1880. While visiting his son, L. D. in Paris, he became mortally ill and died on June 12, 1908 at L.D.'s home, succumbing to consumption. He is buried at Highland Cemetery, Section 1, in Greenfield, Weakley County, Tennessee.