John immigrated to Philadelphia from Ulster in the late 1720s with four sons. Family was Scotch-Irish. The family moved to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The name of his wife is unknown, she may have died in Ireland.

They were also very much Presbyterians. The first Presbyterian pastor arrived in the Shenandoah Valley in 1740. The Church of England was the established church in Virginia, but the governor chose to practice tolerance toward the Presbyterians. The McCutcheons helped to establish the North Mountain Presbyterian Church around this time.