John H. Love was born in Wilmington, North Carolina on March 6, 1854. A graduate of Livingstone College with a doctorate in divinity, Love was the former pastor of the Metropolitan A. M. E. Zion Church in Washington, North Carolina. Throughout the course of his career, he additionally served congregations in Charlotte, Concord, Wadesboro, New Bern, and Goldsboro, among others. He died on March 24, 1936 in Washington, NC.