John Battishill was born in 1804, the son of a wealthy landowner in Spreyton. He spent almost all his life in Spreyton, where he was, it seems, the only surgeon. He married Alicia Yolland from Crediton in 1871; they had two children. He never had a contract with either of the Poor Law Unions in Crediton or Okehampton. He died at his residence, Bush House in Spreyton, in 1874.