John McPherson entered Cherokee territory as a miller and was an early settler in the Eureka Valley. In 1834 he was one of five founding members of Candies Creek Baptist Church. An active Unionist during the Civil War, he was imprisoned by the Confederates in Knoxville and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He safeguarded the Bradley County Courthouse Union flag in his home from 1861 until it was restored to its rightful place on February 10, 1864. He and his wife Ethalinda are buried in the Candies Creek Cemetery near their homestead.