[3] His father was a U.S. Civil War veteran who served as aide-de-camp on the staff of General Marsena R. Patrick and was one of the earliest members of the New York Stock Exchange.

[4] In addition to crafting fine furniture, Bouvier had a business distributing firewood which led to his acquisition of nearly 800,000 acres of forest, some of which turned out to contain large reserves of coal.

John's father and uncles, Eustes and Michel Charles Bouvier Jr., distinguished themselves in the world of finance on Wall Street.

[6] His early education was from private tutors in the United States and in France, then he attended the Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School in New York City.

Bouvier, who also held a seat on the Exchange, kept a diary and wrote on October 29, 1929, also known as "Black Tuesday" of the 1929 crash, "XXXX Blackest Panic Day of All.

[11] Bouvier worked as a trial attorney for 40 years, specializing in contracts, testamentary law, torts, securities, and stock exchanges.

[13][14] Together, they lived at Woodcroft, an estate in Nutley, New Jersey built in 1895,[15] and, later, at 521 Park Avenue in New York,[16] and were the parents of five children: Around 1910, Bouvier bought a home on Long Island, known as Wildmoor on Apaquogue Road in the Georgica Pond section of East Hampton.

[15] He entertained many friends, including Columbia President Nicholas Murray Butler, Judge Samuel Seabury among others, on a grand scale in East Hampton and was well known in society there.

[31] He was a member of the Maryland Society of Cincinnati (admitted in 1918), the Sons of the Revolution (of which he was General-President for two terms),[32] and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.