Hon. John Simcoe Saunders was born in 1795, in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

He was a lawyer, legislator, and public servant. After a higher education at Oxford and Lincoln’s Inn in England, Saunders returned to Fredericton where he was called to the bar in 1819. Finding his profession unrewarding, he returned to London to study law. In 1828, he published a successful book The Law of Pleadings and Evidence in Civil Actions. In 1830, he returned to Fredericton and enjoyed for many years several public offices. In 1833, he was made a member of both the Executive and the Legislative Council, and in 1834, became advocate general. From 1840 to 1843, Saunders held the lucrative post of surveyor general. He became a provincial secretary in 1845. Until his death he continued to play a minor official and political role, serving as clerk of the circuits until 1867, senior justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and president of the Legislative Council until 1878.

In 1828, he married Elizabeth Sophia Storie (1801–1879). He died on July 27, 1878, in Fredericton, New Brunswick.