Donne's father died suddenly in 1576, and left the three children to be raised by their mother, Elizabeth, the daughter of John Heywood, epigrammatist, and a relative of Sir Thomas More.

多恩的父亲在1576年猝亡，留给他的母亲三个孩子抚养。他的母亲是讽刺诗人约翰·海伍德的女儿，也是托马斯·摩尔的亲戚。