John F. Drips was born around 1839 in Pennsylvania to William Drips and Martha A. Clarke. His father was a carpenter. His family moved to Clayton, Iowa, sometime before 1856. By 1860, he was living with his older brother Andrew in South Fork, Iowa, and working as a printer, probably for his brother’s newspaper. He enlisted in the Union army on July 29, 1861, and mustered in as a corporal in Company A of the 9th Iowa Infantry on September 2. His brother served as the company’s captain. Drips fought in the Battle of Pea Ridge in March 1862, and he died near Memphis, Tennessee, on March 27, 1863.