The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: VA
Qualifying Service: Patriotic Service
Spouse: (1) Barbara Rueger/Reger; (2) Elizabeth Harness Children: John R; Jacob; Barbara; Mary Magdalen; Judith; Anthony Reinhart; Elizabeth; Anna; Susannah; Judith;
gravestone photo used with permission of Diane Flanagan, as submitted by Eric Templeton, #210167
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
Photo: 1 of 1
Author: Jeffrey Keith Brooks
John Rohrbough, the son of Johann Reinhart Rohrbach and Margaretha Elizabeth Wentzel, was born in 1740 in Hochstadt, Germany. John left Germany with his family aboard the ship "Ranier", Henry Browning Master, and arrived in Philadelphia in late September 1749. He signed the usual qualifying oaths on 26 Sep 1749. Soon after his arrival he settled in Alsace Twp, Berks Co., Pennsylvania.
He married Barbara Reuger, daughter of Antoni Reuger Jr. and Catharine Shook, possibly about 1760 in Hampshire Co., Virginia. It is not certain when John Rohrbough went to South Branch Valley in Virginia and is always found as Johann (the German spelling) or John Rohrbough. He purchased 400 acres in the South Branch Valley from William and Ann Green, surviving joint tenants, for 50 lbs. This land was part of a 2,464 acre tract patented 23 Oct 1750 to Wood, Green and Russell, and lies about four miles north of the present boundary between Hardy and Pendleton counties in West Virginia. John's log cabin was located close to the South Fork, also called Moorefield River, at the point where a small stream known as Rohrbaugh Run intersects the Moorefield River. About two miles further south is another stream called Rodabaugh Run, at which intersection the land of an Adam Rodabaugh was located.
The Rohrboughs are mentioned in the list of persons giving aid to the American Revolution. This claim was received 15 May 1782 in Hampshire County: "John Rorebaugh -- pasturage and corn for Militia marching to the Carolina" John may have also served in one of the companies of Rangers from South Branch Valley, as many of the men did, but few lists of these companies have survived. On 29 Sep 1784 George Washington records in his diary: "Washington staid all day with John Rudibort. He rested himself and his horse." (George Washington Diaries 1748 - 1799, edited by John C. Fitz Patrick, p. 314) He also records that the next day he went by a very rough road up over the Shenandoah or Great North Mountain into the Shenandoah Valley. This road follows close beside Rohrbaugh Run, and still exists today.
The 1786 tax list shows John with only 300 acres, this figure probably refers only to the valley land suitable for farming or grazing. He continued to add regularly to his land over the years, and on one occasion sold several acres to John Reuger, his wife's brother. In 1786 Hardy County was created from part of Hampshire County, and the area where John Rohrbough lived was included in the new county. In 17 Nov 1786, John Rorabough, was appointed to the Grand Jury of the new Hardy County.
The date of Barbara Reuger-Rohrbough's death is not known, but she is believed to be the 'Barbara Rorebach', who together with her two brothers, John Reuger and Mailen Reager, witnessed a will dated 14 Feb 1795. John Rohrbough's second wife's name is given as Elizabeth Harness, daughter of Michael and Elizabeth Harness, and was also referred to as 'Widow Harness'. Elizabeth died about 1814 in Hardy County.
John Rohrbough's will written in Hardy County, State of Virginia, is dated 12 August 1818. John died 30 Oct 1821.
Author: Peter Thomas Baron Jr.
Patriot John Rorabaugh, the patriot ancestor of Stephen, Frank and Leonard Rohrbough, supported the cause that led to the declaration of American independence from Great Britain in 1776 and the founding of the United States of America.
Stephen, Frank and Leonard Rohrbough are direct descendents of John Rorabaugh (baptized as Johann Conrad Rorbach). John was born in July 31, 1740 in Hochstadt, Germany 8 miles east of Frankfurt am Main. He was one of three siblings born to Johann Reinhard Rorbach and Anna Margaretha Koch. In 1749, at the age of 9, he immigrated with his family to America first settling in Berks County, northwest of Philadelphia, PA. In 1760, he married Barbara Rueger (born in 1740 in Tulpehocken PA), daughter of Antoni Rueger and Catharina (Schoch) Rueger who had emigrated from Switzerland in 1731. John and Barbara settled in Augusta (now Hardy) County in 1761 close to where Barbara's family had settled earlier. On May 29,1761, John bought 400 acres in South Branch Valley in Augusta County for 50 British Pounds from William and Ann Green. The deed was marked delivered June 1767.
During the American Revolution John had the interesting distinction of being a Patriot and a Tory. He was under indictment with thirty other participants in the 1781 Claypole Rebellion - an ill-fated Tory uprising. All eventually received clemency. During the War, John provided "pasturage and corn for the Militia marching to Carolina". In May 1782 in Hampshire County, John filed a claim in Special Court whereby he received 10 shilling and 6 pence. It is likely that John served with one of the many militias in the area but few records survived. The provision of supplies is the basis for membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution and SAR.
John died on his farm on October 30,1821. The homestead is located on the South Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River near the present village of Milam, WV (about 15 miles south of Moorefield). The land was part of large tracts of land acquired by wealthy land speculators under patents in the 1740s and 1750s that subdivided acreage selling it to new settlers of the Virginia frontier. The homestead today includes over 3000 acres, a family farmhouse and a family cemetery containing approximately 40 graves.
Nimrod Judy married Mary Ann Rohrbough in about 1836. She inherited the Rorabaugh homestead and they lived there the rest of their lives. The homestead has remained in the Judy Family continuously since then. Today, Mr. and Mrs. George Judy own the Judy Farm, which primarily produces poultry.
A headstone was erected by the descendents of Patriot John Rorabaugh in May 2005. The grave was marked with an SAR Marker on June 4, 2005.
Send a biographical sketch of your patriot!
Patriot biographies must be the original work of the author, and work submitted must not belong to another person or group, in observance with copyright law. Patriot biographies are to be written in complete sentences, follow the established rules of grammar, syntax and punctuation, be free of typographical errors, and follow a narrative format. The narrative should unfold in a logical manner (e.g. the narrative does not jump from time period to time period) or have repeated digressions, or tell the history of the patriot's line from the patriot ancestor to the author. The thinking here is that this is a patriot biography, not a lineage report or a kinship determination project or other report published in a genealogy journal. The biography should discuss the qualifying service (military, patriotic, civil) of the patriot ancestor, where the service was rendered, whether this was a specific state or Continental service, as well as significant events (as determined by the author) of the patriot's life. This is the entire purpose of a patriot's biography.
Additional guidelines around the Biography writeup can be found here:
Send your submission1, in a Microsoft Word compatible format, to patriotbios@sar.org for inclusion in this space 1Upon submission of a patriot biography, the patriot biography becomes the property of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and may be edited to conform to the patriot biography submission standards.
Additional Information:
DAR cites
PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED WITH AT LEAST ONE PREVIOUSLY VERIFIED PAPER - SEE ANCESTOR’S FULL RECORD
NO PROOF THAT BARBARA REGER AND ELIZABETH HARNESS WERE THE WIVES OFTHE PATRIOT OR MOTHERS OF HIS CHILDREN. 6/2022
Hardy Co., VA was created from Hampshire Co., in 1786 and named for Virginian, Samuel Hardy
