John Barrow was born November 19, 1785, the son of Daniel and Hannah Stone Barrow. He was born either in Surry County, North Carolina, or in Belews Creek Township, Stokes County, North Carolina. He married Amy Lee "Emma" Barrow (October 6, 1787-April 30, 1818) on February 3, 1811 in Pulaski County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of John Barrow and Nancy Holliday Barrow. John Stone Barrow's father, Daniel Barrow, and Amy Lee Barrow's father, John, were brothers, thus John and Amy Lee were first cousins. They had four children:

1. Mahala Barrow, born April 24, 1812 died February 13, 1838
2. Hannah Barrow, born June 19, 1813, died December 22, 1823
3. James Barrow, born October 11, 1814, died May 11, 1884
4. Andrew Jackson Barrow, born May 2, 1816, died September 14, 1817.

After the death of Amy, John Stone Barrow married Mary "Polly" Steele (August 20, 1792-November 16, 1853) on October 1, 1818. They got their marriage license on September 28, 1818, which date is often given as the date of their marriage. She was the daughter of Captain John Steele of Revolutionary War fame. Coincidentally, John's brother, Tyre, married Mary Steele's sister, Rebecca. John and Mary had nine children, all born in Jackson County, Illinois:

5. Sinai Barrow, born August 20, 1818, died February 26, 1896
6. Jemima Barrow, born November 6, 1820, died August 30, 1856
7. Claiborne Barrow, born March 8, 1822, died October 31, 1877
8. Talitha Barrow, born February 12, 1824, died August 9, 1896
9. Marion Barrow, born November 12, 1826, died February 15, 1894
10. Ireby Barrow, born March 23, 1828, died August 22, 1905
11. Newton Barrow, born December 4, 1829, died June 20, 1896
12. William Jasper Barrow, died October 21, 1832, died May 29, 1901
13. Eulalia Barrow, born January 10, 1835, died October 31, 1879

John Stone Barrow died on April 24, 1859, 30 minutes after 1 o'clock P.M., and was buried at the Barrow Family Cemetery, not far from Campbell Hill, Illinois. The grave stones at this cemetery were later removed to Calvary Cemetery in Campbell Hill, though the bodies probably still lie in their original graves, now unmarked, and on private land.

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Sons James and Andrew were born in Wayne County, Kentucky, as John and his family had moved there in 1813 or 1814 to join his father who had moved there in about 1800. While living in Wayne County, Kentucky, John signed up as an ensign in Captain Vickery's Company, Lt. Col. Gabriel Slaughter's 15th Regiment of Kentucky Detached Militia, and served from November 10, 1814, to May 10, 1815. According to his tombstone, he became a Captain in the 15th Regiment of Kentucky. This regiment rendezvoused at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, marched overland to the Ohio River, felled standing timber, built flat boats and barges, then floated down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans and fought under General Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans, where he distinguished himself for bravery (War of 1812). They marched overland back to Kentucky, and were discharged at Harrodsburg on May 10, 1815.
In 1817, John and his family moved to Kaskaskia, Ill, where his wife, Amy, died April 30, 1818, and where his son Andrew Jackson had died on September 14, 1817. John moved to Jackson County, Illinois, shortly after Amy's death. On October 1, 1818, he married Mary (Polly) Steele who was born in Tennessee. John was a farmer and a minister of the Primitive Baptist Church, and also was Commissioner of Public Schools of Jackson County for several years.