John Spelman was a resident of Pasquotank Precinct, North Carolina by 1688. Employed in the maritime trade, Spelman worked as a sawyer. In 1697 Dorothy Steele left her husband and hired William Lee and John Spelman to take her to South Carolina. After a group of American Indians attacked the group north of the Cape Fear, Spelman and the others changed direction, intending to flee the colony via Virginia instead. While sailing for Virginia, Spelman killed a cow to feed the group. The group eventually either returned to Perquimans of their own accord or were captured. Spelman testified before the court and was found guilty of stealing from Dorothy's husband William Steele and sentenced to thirty-nine lashes. Additionally, for killing livestock, Spelman was banished from the colony for four years.