When John D Dunagan was born on 16 August 1799, in Jackson(Hall), Georgia, United States, his father, Ezekiel Dunagan, was 28 and his mother, Lydia Ann Brown, was 23. He was the 4th child born to this family. He married Martha Harlan on 17 March 1828, in Jackson, Georgia, United States. They were the parents of at least 7 sons and 6 daughters. He died on 10 August 1857, in Whitfield, Georgia, United States, at the age of 57, and was buried in Dunagan Cemetery, Rocky Face, Whitfield, Georgia, United States.