Dr. J. P. Easterly was born in Greene County, May 6, 1839, the son of Jacob and Margaret (Whittenburg) Easterly, both natives of Greene County, the former a farmer, born in 1802, and deceased in June, 1883. Jacob, Sr., the next ancestor, a Virginian, was a pioneer of Cocke County. The mother was born in 1803 and died in 1854, the daughter of William Whittenburg, of Greene County. Our subject was educated in Emory and Henry College, Virginia, and in 1864 began reading medicine under Dr. B. F. Bell, now of Cocke County. He began practice in 1866 in the county, and has continued eminently successful. He is an extensive farmer also, owning and cultivating 750 acres. May 24, 1866, Louise V., a daughter of David DeVault, of Greene County, became his wife. She was born April 10, 1844, in Greene County. Four of their six children are living. She died February 2. 1887, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which our subject is a local minister.
