John Hershey was born on January 29, 1827, the son of Joseph Hershey and Susannah Gentzler.
He married Elizabeth Shetter, daughter of Catherine Haas and Peter Shetter. She was born on January 18, 1827. They had six children.
Of the six, Katherine Hershey married a son of George & Nancy Bentz (Andrew George), and Henrietta Hershey married a son of George & Nancy Bentz (Solomon).
John Hershey died February 7, 1897, and Elizabeth Shetter died April 22, 1874.