Crockett was born in eastern Tennessee on July 10, 1807, to David (Davy) Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) and his first wife, Mary (Polly) Finley (1788–1815). He had one brother named William Finley Crockett and one sister named Margaret Finley (Polly) Crockett. He was educated in the public schools,^[1] studied law, and then was admitted to the bar. He began his law practice in Paris, Tennessee. He married Martha Hamilton and they had fourteen children.^[2]

Crockett held numerous local and state offices before being elected as a Whig to the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Congresses; he succeeded Adam Huntsman, the man who had defeated his father in the 1835 election. He served from March 4, 1837, to March 3, 1841.^[3] Crockett was next elected by the Tennessee General Assembly to be the attorney general for the ninth district of Tennessee, and served from 1841 to 1843.

In 1843, Crockett moved to New Orleans and became a commission merchant. He was also a newspaper editor, publishing the National from May 22, 1848, and establishing the Crescent around 1847.^[4]

After moving to Memphis, Tennessee, Crockett died there the same year on November 24, 1852, at age 45. He is interred at Old City Cemetery in Paris, Tennessee.^[5]

• United States Congress. "John Wesley Crockett (id: C000920)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• John Wesley Crockett at Find a Grave