He appears in the 1840 census for White County, Tennessee, along with a wife of about the same age, three sons, and five daughters.384 Both he and his wife are reported to have been born in Tennessee.385,386

The Gonzales County tax rolls for 1863 list a John B. Billings. Presumably this is John. B., Sr., since John B., Jr. would only have been 15 at the time.383