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.
The old original stone is in German and, while worn, is readable
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
From interstate 209 (Interchange Road), go north a Gilbert Road. The cemetery is about 400 feet north at the corner of Gilbert Road and Long Mountain Road and is visible from the street
Author: Mark Andrew Davis
Johannes “John” Serfass was born on 20 March 1752, in Philadelphia, the son of Philip Servas and Maria Catherina Altomus, German immigrants. The Philip Serfass family moved from Philadelphia to Gilbert, Chestnut Hill Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, about 1753. By 1755, they had fled from there following attacks by Native Americans and were lodged at Nazareth, along with dozens of other refugees from the fighting. The following spring, Fort Norris was constructed at the abandoned Serfass farm. However, the family decided to move back to Philadelphia. They returned to Chestnut Hill Township in 1763.
John Serfass married Susanna Hone about 1773. Their known children were:
John was born on 3 July 1774.
Hannah was born on 6 February 1780.
Susanna was born on 21 January 1782.
Christina Elizabeth was born on 12 August 1786.
Adam was born on 8 January 1789.
Mary Catherine was born on 13 February 1799.
Joseph was born about 1790.
George was born on 20 February 1791.
Thomas was born about 1795.
Sarah was born on 19 Jul 1804.
Peter was born on 15 September 1805.
David was born on 8 July 1806.
There may be additional children who are not documented or did not survive to adulthood.
During the American Revolution, John served in the Chestnut Hill Township Company of Captain John Gregory of the Fourth Battalion of the Northampton County Militia, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Kern. John appears as the Company Clerk on the Company Roll, dated 14 May 1778. The Company Rolls dated 25 September 1780 and 22 April 1782 shows John was among the Third Class privates.
John died on 11 July 1825 and was buried at Salem Church Cemetery, also known as Gilbert or Old Chestnuthill Church Cemetery, located north of the village of Gilbert at Chestnut Hill Township, in present-day Monroe County, Pennsylvania.
United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783. Micropublication M246, roll 81. Washington: National Archives.
Find a Grave.com, digital record, Find A Grave (http://www.findagrave.com: accessed 25 July 2020), memorial for Johannes “John” Serfass, Find A Grave Memorial # 53860024, Gilbert, Pennsylvania.
Berger, Dale E., Origin and early history of the Serfass family of Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania. Oreland: Self-published, 1999.
Sons of the American Revolution, National Society, Louisville, Kentucky. Primary application of Paul Francis Davis, National Number 154790.
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