John Lawrence

  General Notes:

In 1774, John Lawrence, at the age of 14, joined a company of Virginia Militia in Pittsylvania County as a private. He was one of 63 men under the command of Joseph Martin, which represented the only local protection from Indian attacks. In January 1777 at Chapman, Virginia, John Lawrence enlisted in the Continental Line for a term of three years. He was placed in Captain Henry Conway's Company. which was lated placed under the command of Captain Ovington. This company was a part of the 14th Regiment of Virginia Forces of Foot Soldiers under the command of Colonel Charles Lewis, until November 1778, when the unit was placed under the command of Colonel William Davies. John was sick, or wounded, at Alexandria, Virginia, in July 1777, and was transferred to the Regimental Hospital in August 1777. He was again on duty in September, "on guard" in November 1777, and "on command" in February 1778, according to his muster roll. He spent part of the winter in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania with the rest of Washington's troops. He was listed "on furlough at Middle Brook" in November 1778. His unit participated in several engagements during 1779. He was taken prisoner in the spring of 1780, during one of the unit's engagements, about the time his three-year enlistment was to have ended. He was not present to receive his discharge and service record. He was sent to England on the return trip of a British supply ship, and jailed. He was not released to return to America until after the terms of the final treaty were signed on 3 September 1783. He was subsequently pensioned for his military service.

He returned to Pittsylvania County , Virginia and remained for several years. He married and farmed there until late 1797. John purchased 220 acres on 20 November 1797 for 65 pounds. The land was located on the south side of Sandy Creek, a branch of the Dan River. He sold the same land on 8 October 1799 for 60 pounds, after he had moved his family to Wilkes County, North Carolina. Thereafter he purchased several parcels of land on both sides of Big Elkin Creek in Wilkes County. He moved his family to Jasper County , Georgia in January 1811. The land they settled, near the present day town of Monticello, was situated in lower Piedmont, between the Oconee and Ocmulee rivers -- an area opened to settlers less than a decade earlier, in 1802. John moved his family about 50 miles northwest to Gwinnett County, Georgia in about 1818. There they made their home on Pugh Creek, three miles south of Lawrenceville Georgia.

John was one of the organizers of the Friendship Primitive Baptist Church at Five Forks, Gwinnett County, Georgia, on 25 May 1833. He is presumed buried in the churchyard cemetery. Only a few yards from the church entrance, a marker was dedicated by the Daughter of the American Revolution in June 1980, to the "Revolutionary War Patriot, John Lawrence." In a deposition executed on 7 July 1828 in Gwinnett County, Georgia, in John Lawrence 's application for a Revolutionary Soldier's pension, John made the following declaration: "For the purpose of obtaining the benefits of an act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the Army of the Revolution approved on the 15 May 1828, I, John Lawrence of the County and State aforesaid, do hereby declare that I enlisted in the Continental Line of the Army of the Revolution for and during the war, and continued in its service until its termination (that is) I was taken prisoner by the enemy in the spring (I think) of 1780 and was afterwards carried to England, where I remained a prisoner until I made my escape and was unable to effect my return to rejoin my regiment till after the close of the war: -- that at the time of my being taken prisoner as aforesaid, I was a private in Captain Nathaniel Terry's Company in the First Regiment of the Virginia Line, and I also declare (according to my best recollection) that afterwards received a certificate for the reward of eighty dollars, to which I was entitled by a resolve of Congress, passed the 18th of May 1778. And I further declare that I was not, on the fifteenth day of March 1828, on the Pension List of the United States. And I do further declare than in


     

John married Behesland Smith on 3 Sep 1788 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, USA Formed 1766 From Halifax County.

  Marriage Notes:

Reference Number:120043