When John was three years old, his father became minister of Colinsburgh Relief Church, near Kirkcaldy, a congregation which had seceded from the Church of Scotland; but he soon moved on to a larger congregation in Hawick, where he remarried and had more children.
Kapag John ay tatlong taong gulang, ang kanyang ama ay naging ministro ng Colinsburgh relief Church, malapit sa Kirkcaldy, isang kapisanan na may seceded mula sa Simbahan ng Scotland; ngunit siya inilipat sa lalong madaling panahon sa isang mas malaking kapisanan sa Hawick, kung saan siya remarried at nagkaroon ng mas maraming mga bata.