In 1890 John acquires land in Simcoe County where he resides and eventually has an apple orchard and apiary. In the opening years of his diaries, he is farming with his diarist father just down the road in Dufferin County and is an active member of the Orange Lodge. In 1896, lightning strikes their barn and they must rebuild with the help of neighbours. He never marries and tours western Canada. His final words in his last diary of 1934 are “I feel sick.”  He died later that year.