John was a son of James Bennett and his wife Ellen of Euxton, Lancashire, England. He crossed the Atlantic with his parents and siblings on the ship Sheffield in 1841. At the time of the 1850 federal census he was living in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. A Biography of James Bennett, which is a secondary source, states that the family came to Utah in 1852 with the Warren Snow Company.  Further research is needed to confirm this information. John received a Patriarchal Blessing from John Smith at Salt Lake City on 31 January 1853 and a Church ordinance at Salt Lake City in 1856. In the Territorial census of the latter year as well as in the 1860 federal census he was in Davis County.  John died at Kaysville and he is buried there.  An obituary can be found in Journal History of the Church, 7 December 1902, 3.