Rev. John McNaughton McKillican was born on May 24, 1824, in Vankleek Hill, County Glengarry, Ontario.

He was a clergyman. He was educated at the Congregational College in Toronto. In 1850, he was called to Glengarry Congregational Church, established in 1823 by his father William McKillican (1776-1849). He was ordained here in 1851. As secretary and travelling agent for the Sunday School Union in Montreal, he became well known throughout Quebec and the Maritime Provinces. He organized over 1,200 Sunday schools with 6,000 teachers and over 40,000 scholars. He visited ever 8,500 schools and delivered over 41,000 sermons and addresses. McKillican was a great temperance advocate and a member of the executive of the Dominion Alliance for the Total Suppression of the Liquor Traffic.

In 1854, he married Miranda Louisa Parker (1833–1920). He died on June 27, 1911, in Montreal, Quebec.