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.
Author: David Walter Powell
John Roe was born about 1759 likely in Southern New York or upper New Jersey. In his pension affidavit of 1820 he declares he enlisted as a private in the 3rd New Jersey Regiment under Captain Richard Cox and Colonel Dayton of the Maxwell’s Brigade in 1779 in Morris County, New Jersey. Examination of the September 1778 muster roll of Captain Cox’s Company shows John Roe actually enlisted on September 4, 1778 for a period of enlistment of 3 years and was shown present in ”Elizabeth Town”, NJ on October 16, 1778. In his pension affidavit of 1818, he stated he served in the western campaign under General Sullivan and afterward he was detached from his regiment in 1781 where upon he served under Lafayette until the capture of Cornwallis when he was discharged near Yorktown. He further stated he was in the battles of Springfield, NJ and Old Jamestown, VA. Examination of muster and pay rolls reveal that John Roe was present at Wyoming, PA in June 1779 which was the starting point of General Sullivan’s Western Campaign against the Iroquois Nation in Central New York. He appears Captain Dayton’s next muster roll in Camp Easton, in October 17, 1779, the end point of the campaign. In 1780, John Roe is found under Richard Cox’s Command as part of the 1st N.J. Regiment. A return of December 1781 shows John Roe was discharged in the month of September in 1781 although he claims to have stayed with the regiment until Cornwallis surrendered. During his wartime service, John Roe found time to marry Susannah More (Moore) on March 25, 1779 at the Presbyterian Church in West Field, NJ. She said that when John returned to duty, she was left in care of her aged mother and as her residence was near the British lines she suffered great hardships and “ancity of mind” about ‘her’ husband. After the war John Roe and his wife lived in Essex County, NJ until 1784 when they moved to New York City, then to Fayette County, PA in 1790 and finally in 1796 they settled in Harrison County, VA (now WV). They had several children including Clarissa Roe, born June 18, 1782, Lewis Roe, born August 23, 1784, Elizabeth Roe, born April 7, 1778, Edward Roe, born May 18, 1791, John Roe born April 7, 1788 and James Roe, born February 1, 1797. John Roe died in Harrison County, VA on September 29, 1829. After his death his wife also filed for a pension during which she had some difficulty in proving her marriage. Eventually she was granted a pension for John Roe’s service by an act of Congress on March 3, 1839. In 1840 Susannah Roe was living with her son James Roe in Harrison County, VA.
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