John Bunyan Reeve was born on October 29, 1831 in Mattituck, New York. His parents were both devout Presbyterians, and he grew up at Shiloh Presbyterian Church under James. W.C. Pennington. He was a graduate of Union Seminary (and the first Black student) when he became minister at the Third Presbytery in New York.

In 1865, he was appointed at General Assembly and was appointed by the Home Missionary Committee to visit the American Southwest (then comprising states like Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas) where he worked to plant Black churches.

In 1870, he earned a doctorate in Divinity from Lincoln University, and shortly thereafter, he was appointed to organize the theological department of Howard University. After a fruitful life of ministry, he died in 1916.