John McDermott was born on 31 December 1835 in Upper Swan, Western Australia, Australia. He died in 1930 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. When he was 21, he married Jane Connolly, daughter of John W. Connolly and Mary Spice, on 14 December 1857 in Ellens Brook, Western Australia, Australia.

Crime: 1851 (Convicted Liverpool - Burglary - 7yrs - Unmarried - Engine Driver, Semi Lit - RC) Convict Number: 1856 (#4171) He was employed as a Wheelwright, Farmer, Carpenter and Undertaker, Greenough Flats after 1856. Immigration: Arr.: 7 September 1856 in Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia (Per "Runnymede") Ticket of Leave: 28 February 1857 Pardon: August 1858 (Conditional) He was buried in 1930 in Greenough, Western Australia, Australia (Pioneer Cemetery).