Jonathan Pope was born in 1789 in Vermont and came to Upper Canada in 1802 where his stepfather, John Sly was engaged as a woodcutter and charcoal burner for the Lansdowne iron works.

Pope was a private in the Flank Company, 2nd Regiment Leeds Militia commanded by Captain John Struthers and was called to duty at Gananoque in July 1812 where he served until the spring of 1813. Jonathan Pope and his wife Jerusha Lawrence settled in Leeds Township where they raised a family of nine children. Pope died in 1849 in his 61st year.