JOHN WISE PLUM was born in New Jersey on January 21, 1893 to William P. and Ella Plum, the second of three sons, coming after Rendor Plum and before William. The family appears in the 1900 Census at 901 North Front Street. William Plum was then working as a shoemaker. By 1906 he had begun working as a stationary engineer, a term synonymous with that of fireman and boiler operator, which meant that he operated the boilers that provided heat and hot water in large buildings. The 1910 Census has William Plum and his family at 901 North Front Street in North Camden. William Plum was working as a fireman in a public building. Sadly, younger brother William had died. Older brother Rendor Plum was working as a salesman in a clothing house, while John Plum had gone to work as a driver for a wholesale grocery.

John W. Plum grew up in North Camden and as a young man was a member of the Aquinas Social Club. Other members included restaurant owner Tom Kenney, Freeholder Samuel D. Payne, Police Sergeant Herbert Bott, Deputy Fire Chief William Harring, tavern owner John Daly, barber Pat Iarossi, and journalist Dan McConnell.

The 1914 City Directory shows the Plum family living at 228 Main Street in North Camden. John Plum was working as a clerk, older brother Rendor Plum worked as a salesman. 

John W. Plum had already been appointed to the Camden Fire Department when he registered for the draft on June 5, 1917. He was still living with his parents at 228 Main Street, and the family is listed there in the 1918-1919 Camden City Directory. The family had moved to 111 North 4th Street by January of 1920. By 1924 he had married Sarah Edythe Tydeman, and a daughter, Edythe, was born in 1923. John W. Plum and his wife lived lived with his parents for a time. By 1927, however, they were living at 632 North 4th Street, and his parents had moved to 414 Birch Street. The 1929 City Directory, the 1930 census, and Fire Department records from 1931 show the Plums at 630 North 4th Street. Fire Department records also show a move to  908 North 3rd Street in the 1930s. By the time the 1940 City Directory was being compiled he had moved to the apartments at 306 Cooper Street. 

John W. Plum remained with the Fire Department through at least the latter part of 1942. By the end of 1946 John W. Plum had left the Fire Department. He was still living in the apartments at 306 Cooper Street, and was then work for the city of Camden as a stationary fireman, operating the boiler systems in one of Camden's public buildings, as his father had done before him. The Plums are not listed in the 1956 or the 1959 New Jersey Bell Telephone Directories for Camden County. 

John W. Plum was last a resident of Atlantic City, New Jersey. He passed away in March of 1970. His wife joined him in 1985.