13 November] 1838 to the family of a peasant priest in Stebliv (Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine).

His works appeared in Kievan and Galician publishing houses and periodicals such as Rada, Pravda, Dilo, and Zoria magazines.

His bibliography [uk] includes social and popular history novels, dramas, comedies, and fairy tales.

Among his most famous works are the novel Kaidash's Family (1878) and the comedy At Kozhumyaky (1875), which was later remade into the play Chasing Two Hares by Mykhailo Starytsky.

Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky died of hunger and illness on 2 April, 1918 in one of almshouses of Kyiv during the First World War.