John Dever

Children: George.

Other: Following is an article about him. (Actually, I think it's as much about his son, but anyway--it's still good!)

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The following appeared in "The Report of the Ohio Genealogical Society", Summer of 1975:

1827, has long been thought by descendants and others to have been a Revolutionary War soldier. From research, Mrs. Joseph A. Bachman of Greensburg, Pa., believes that this is not true, but that the father of John Dever of Scioto County, also named John Dever, was the Revolutionary patriot. For the purpose of this correction, we shall refer to the father as John Dever Sr., and the son as John Dever, Jr.

To recapitulate some of the published material which erroneously shows John Dever Jr. as a Revolutionary soldier:--

(1) "The Official Roster of the Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in the State of Ohio", compiled under the
direction of the D.A.R. of Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, 1929. =PAGE 111=

"Dever, John (Deavor), Scioto Co.,) Born Oct 20, 1746 in Va. Died Oct 10, 1827. Buried near Lucasville, but in Scioto Co., 1827. D.A.R. Lin., Vol.9. Grace Hoch, Marion, Ohio, Descendant. Further information Capt. William Hendricks Chap."

(2) "The D.A.R. Patriot Index",N.S.D.A.R., Washington, DC, =PAGE 183= "Deaver (Dever): John, born 10/20/1746 died 11/10/1827 Married Hannah Coberly, Pvt., Va."

(3) "The History of Lieutenant-Colonel John Guthery of Greene County, Pennsylvania, and of Allied Families", compiled by Mary Gray May, Godfrey Memorial Library, Middleton, Connecticut, 1956 =PAGE 23=

"Lieutenant John Dever was born in Loudon County, Virginia, October 22, 1756. His father was John Dever and
his mother was Mary Barnes. They were married in Hampshire County, Virginia. They had three children: John, James and George, all born in Virginia ... the older John was of Irish ancestry and was born October 20, 1746.*
*The date was more likely 1736." =PAGE 24=

"When John Dever, the second, was twenty years old he enlisted with the Colonial troops of the 3rd Maryland
regiment on December 10, 1776 ... The regiment was commanded by Colonel Mordecai Gist. John Dever was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant April 1st, 1777. His name is found on the muster rolls of his company for the months of August and September 1778 as 1st Lieutenant. This rank he held until his discharge on April 8th, 1779.

An old newspaper clipping says he was a soldier under Washington and was with General Gates at the time of
Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga in 1777. Six years after his discharge from the army he was married to Hannah Cubberly, in 1785.."

On page 25 === "On his gravestone is his military record and a square and a compass and this epitaph:

Lieutenant John Dever
Who Departed This Life
November 19, 1827, 71 years old."
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From what we now believe to be correct, source (1) was incorrect as to the year of birth of John Dever Jr., and the month of his death; source (2) was incorrect as to the year of his birth and as to the fact he was a private; and source (3) page 23, was incorrect as to the date of his birth, as to the number of children of John Sr. and Mary*Dever (they had 8 children), and as to the date of birth of John Dever Sr. (we lack this date) (*Mary's maiden surname unknown - per Joseph E. Bachman). Source (3) page 24 incorrectly ascribes another John Dever's
military service to John Dever Jr. Joseph E. Bachman states that Lieutenant John Dever was a different person from John Dever Sr. John Dever Jr. did marry Hannah Cubberly (or Coberly) in 1785. Source (3), page 25, quotes John Dever Jr's epitaph incorrectly. Joseph Bachman who visited the grave a few years ago, gives it as follows:

Sacred to the memory of
JOHN DEVER
who departed this life
November the 10th AD 1827
in the 61st year
of his age

This establishes John Dever Jr. as having been born in 1766, (1827-61=1766) and only 9 years old at the start of the Revolutionary War and 15 years old when General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. So it is highly unlikely that he served in that war.

Furthermore, an old family Bible gives John Dever Jr.'s date of birth as October 20, 1766. In substantiation of this, the following quotation is from a letter dated February 20, 1920, from Frank Wetzel of Burlington, Washington to Mrs. Fred Hoch, Marion, Ohio:

"Mrs. Fred Houk (sic), Marion, Ohio
Your letter of Jan. 12 -20 received and I shall endeavor to give you the dates that are in our old Bible of our
ancestors. I find John Dever born Oct. 20, 1766. Married Hannah Cuberly in 1785. She was born June 25, 1763. Their children were:"

(1) Mary b.Dec 18,1785 m.Jan 26,1800 to Benjamin Fort (or Fuert)
(2) Sarah b.Oct 9,1787 m.Nov 28,1809 to William McDowel
*(3) Elizabeth b.Jan 7,1789 m.Dec 27,1810 to Walter Wilcoxson
(4) James b.Jul 2,1791 m.Mar 16,1816 to Mary Barns(Barnes)Note 1
(5) William b.Mar 7, 1794 m.May 16,1816 to Asenatta McDugal-Note 2
**(6) Hannah b.Jan 18,1796 m.Mar 2,1815 to Joseph Guthery(Guthrie)
(7) John (III)b.Feb 10,1798 m.Sep 27,1827 to Nancy Barnes
(8) Rachel b.Sep 15,1800 Did not marry

* Grandmother of Frank Wetzel, through Sarah Wilcoxson Wetzel
** Greatgrandmother of Mrs. Fred (Grace Gray) Hoch through William Guthery and Elizabeth Guthery Gray.
[Note 1] - "Marriages of Scioto County" gives the date of marriage as Mar 6, 1817
[Note 2] - or Asenath McDougal

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Joseph Bachman has learned the names of John Dever Sr.'s children from a Belmont County, Ohio court case of 1824 contesting the land distribution 14 years after John's death in 1810. Zelma Deaver Draper had discovered the existence of the court case and Bachman went to St. Clairsville, Ohio to copy it and other records of Belmont County. Bachman says that John Dever Sr. had raised his family in Hampshire County, Virginia (now West Virginia). In 1802 Dever purchased land in Belmont County, Ohio from the Steubenville land office and then gave his address as Brooke County, Virginia (now West Virginia). Between then and 1807 he moved to Belmont County with many of his grown children and their children and died there, a widower, in 1810. His wife Mary apparently had died in Virginia before they moved.

John Dever Sr.'s children, with some vital statistics, and their places of residence in 1824 were as follows. Material
in parentheses supplied by J. Bachman for clarification:

(1) John Jr., Scioto Co., Oh b.1766; m.Hannah Cubberly, 1785; d.1827
(2) Jonathan, (had died by 1810). Known children: David, Jane Dever Owen
(3) Sarah, Belmont Co., Ohio m. Robert Willis
(4) William,(had died by 1810) Resident of Hampshire Co., Virginia
(5) Mary, Highland Co., Ohio m. John Van Pelt
(6) Abraham, Clinton Co.,Ohio (later Highland Co. m. Eliza Jenkins d.1836
(7) James, Bath Co., Virginia (Jackson Co., Ohio by 1840
(8) George, Jackson Co., Ohio b.1777 m.Mary Donnelly,1820; m.(2) per tradition, to Sally Jaynes; lived also in Bath Co., Va and Scioto Co., Ohio; he died 1847 ( George was my great-great-great grandfather.) -----------------------------------------------------------------------
This correction does not affect the status of anyone claiming descent from John Dever Jr. because his father John Dever Sr., was a Revolutionary patriot. Bachman says this was accepted by the N.S.D.A.R. at its board meeting of December 10, 1971. The March 1971 issue of D.A.R. Magazine carried the following entry on page 262, Subject: "New Ancestor Records whose records during the Revolution have been established by the Registrar-General showing State from which the soldier or patriot served".

--- DEAVER (DEVER), JOHN SR. HAMPSHIRE CO. VA --
The specific reference they accepted for his patriotic service was from page 25 of Anne Weller Reddy's "West
Virginia Revolutionary Ancestors Whose Services Were Non-Military" .. which states that John of Hampshire County rendered non-military aid.

Family Forest

The John Dever of Scioto County, Ohio, who died on November 10,