Jean-Louis Vignes was born to Jean Vignes and Elizabeth Cato on April 9, 1780, in Béguey, a village downriver from Cadillac, Gironde near Bordeaux, France.
On 21 Pluviôse Year X, or February 10, 1802, Jean-Louis Vignes married Jeanne Simon, who was the daughter of Etienne Simon and Marie Laillou.