John Franklin Rixey was born on August 1, 1854 in the Catalpa district of Culpeper County, Virginia to farmer Presley Morehead Rixey and his wife the former Mary Frances Jones.
Rixey married Ella B. Barbour (1859-1946), daughter of James Barbour and his wife Fanny Thomas Beckham and granddaughter of John S. Barbour, who had likewise been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 15th congressional district.