John Sibbald was born April 18, 1804, son of Thomas and Helen Thomson Sibbald in Interleithan, Peebleshire, Scotland. He emigrated in 1824 with his father, stepmother and nine half-siblings to Halton County, Ontario Canada where they settled briefly and then in 1825 moved to Streetsville, Ontario. John was a carpenter and joiner as was his father. About 1826 he married Lydia Douglass, daughter of John Douglass and Patience Taylor, and they lived in Streetsville until 1848 when they moved to Oxford County, Ontario. He worked at his trade for many years at this location. When his oldest daughter Matilda married, he built her home on land he owned and in his old age he lived with his daughter in the house that is still in use today by his descendants. He died June 8, 1887.
John and Lydia had eight children: Thomas, James, Matilda (mar. Richard Mayberry), Angeline (mar. James Palmer), Helen, Janett (mar. 1st James Sibbald, 2nd Nicholas French), Susannah (mar. Noah Sugden), and Mary (mar. Ben French). He adopted a son, Francis.