John C. Ise was born June 5, 1885 in Ross Township, Osborne County, Kansas to Henry and Rosena (Haag) Ise. He attended the University of Kansas and was awarded three bachelors degrees in 1908, 1910, and 1911 before pursuing a masters and doctorate from Harvard University, respectively in 1912 and 1914.

In 1916 Ise joined the faculty at the University of Kansas in the Department of Economics. He reached full professor status in 1920 and retired in 1955. Over the course of his career he authored eight books, served as president of the American Economics Association and the Mid-West Economic Association, and served on the editorial board of the American Economic Review. Sod and Stubble is Ise's best known work, recording his childhood as a child of homesteaders in Osborne County in the late 19th century. Other volumes written by Ise include Economics, Our National Park Policy: A critial History, The American Way, The United States Forest Policy, and The United States Oil Policy

Ise was also a generous philanthropist, notably supporting and for a time serving as president of the Lawrence Humane Society in Lawrence, Kansas. In 1920 John Ise married Lillie Bernhard, with whom he had one child. Ise died March 26, 1969.