John Francis Hemenway was born in Amber, Onondaga County, New York, the son of Lucy Francis and Seneca C.

[1][2] He married Alice Montague on April 23, 1891.

They bought the Maltby-Henley Company, the Bindley Automatic Wrench Company, Smith & Patterson, and the Windsor Hardware Corporation.

[4] He retired that year, and Landon P. Smith bought his shares in the company.

[5] He died from a heart attack in New York on January 1, 1926.