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 site is close to the center of the cemetery. It is near several graves with granite borders. He is located near his family's stones. Many of the men in the family carry the Conrad name, with all of them buried in very close proximity
Photo displayed courtesy of Gerald Adams, SC SAR
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
From the intersection of Hwy 9 and Hwy 521 in Lancaster, SC, take Hwy 9 east towards the Buford Community for roughly 7.3 miles to the intersection of Hwy 9 and Hwy 522. This is known as Buford Crossroads. Take Hwy 522 north for roughly .86 miles to the intersection of Tabernacle Rd (State Road 29-83.) Turn right onto Tabernacle Rd and follow it for roughly 4.2 miles to the church on the right
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Author: Conrad A. Plyler, Jr.
Conrad A. Plyler Soldier South Carolina Militia Ancestor of Compatriot Conrad A. Plyler, Jr. Sons of the American Revolution 180465
Conrad A. Plyler, Sr., served in the Revolutionary War as a private soldier. He was a volunteer from “men of the country,” partisans (State Troops) who joined the militias during the war, and who fought in limited actions under militia commanders. In May 1780, the British under General Lord Cornwallis defeated the Continental Army at the Battle of Waxhaws and drove the Continentals out of South Carolina. In the absence of the regular army, American leaders: Francis Marion (The Swamp Fox), Andrew Pickens (The Wizard Owl), and Thomas Sumter (The Gamecock) formed militia groups to harass and destroy British supply lines to British garrisons in SC.
Sumter was successful in the northern part of the state, Marion in the South, and Pickens in the Piedmont. Eventually, the Continental Army under General Horatio Gates, moved South from North Carolina and attacked the British outpost at Camden on August 16, 1780. Cornwallis’ forces soundly defeated Gates. After that battle, Cornwallis detached his cavalry Commander. Lieutenant Colonel Banastre (The Butcher) Tarleton and 350 troopers to seek out and capture Sumter, who was known to be operating in the area. Tarleton divided his forces, and with 160 cavalry, surprised Sumter and his 450 or so infantry and mounted horsemen at Fishing Creek, killing 150 and capturing 300. The militiamen, of whom Conrad was one, never had a chance. Tarleton’s men surprised Sumter’s pickets, and no alarm was given. The militiamen were swimming in the creek and taking their ease, having no idea of Tarleton’s intentions until too late.
Conrad was wounded in the hand and arm and was taken prisoner, but managed to escape that night. No more is known of his service, and it may be that that part of the militia was simply disbanded.
Conrad Plyler was born in 1752 to His father, Henry Pliler (sic), who had come to America in 1735 from Rotterdam, Holland and via Cowes, England and landing at Philadelphia, settled first in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. There Conrad was born, along with his four brothers. Eventually, the family moved South to the Carolinas, and owned land in Mecklenburg County, NC and Lancaster County SC. Nothing is known of Conrad’s childhood, but the families who settled these lands were almost always farmers.
Conrad married Mary Ann Funderburk, and the Plylers and Funderburks have stayed close to this day. Mary Ann was the daughter of German immigrant Hans Devauld Funderburk, who also served as a sutler, supplying food and material to Sumter’s army. They had five sons, and lived near Lynches River and Otter Creek (sometimes Polecat Creek) in upper Lancaster County, SC. Conrad applied for a pension in 1823 at the urging of two friends with whom he served in the War, who vouched for his honorable service. It is known that he spoke broken English (German was his first language), read little except his German Bible, and could not write. His pension application bears his X mark. Conrad A. Plyler, Sr. died in 1837 in Lancaster SC at the age of 85. He is buried in the cemetery of Tabernacle Methodist Church with a VA headstone. Four of his descendents are buried alongside him.
Patriot Conrad, who fought for America’s Independence, gave his name to seven descendants. Conrad Jr, his son; Conrad III, his grandson; Conrad IV a grand nephew; Conrad, his Great-Great-Great Grandson and father of Compatriot Conrad Plyler, to Compatriot Conrad himself, to his son and his grandson.
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