Revolutionary War Series: Remembering John George Gall Jr.
By Waw-wil-a-way DAR Chapter and
Southern Ohio Genealogical Society
John George Gall, Jr., was born June 22, 1764, according to records found in the Christ Lutheran Church, Stouchsburg, Marion Township, Berks County, Pa.
He was the son of John George Gall and his wife, Elizabeth Catherine (Rieth/Reed). Elizabeth Catherine, the daughter of Casper Rieth, was a widow with four sons, having been married to Hermanus Batdorf, who died circa 1763.
George Gall was first married to Susannah Nichols and later to Catherine Roads.
The Gall family removed to Washington County, Md. sometime after 1770, and from there to Rockbridge County, Va. During the Revolutionary War, Gall was drafted into the Virginia militia from Rockbridge County on Jan. 10, 1781.
With his company, he marched against the British through the dismal swamp under the command of Col. John Boyer. Having been discharged, he was drafted again on Sept. 1, 1781, serving in Capt. Charles Campbell’s Virginia Company at Yorktown. Following the battle, he served as a guard taking British prisoners to Winchester Barracks, where he was discharged.
Returning to civilian life, he met and married Susannah Nicholas on Dec. 3, 1785, in Rockingham County, Va. Susannah was born Jan. 25, 1764, at the base of Peaked Mountain in Augusta County, Va., present day Rockingham County, the daughter of Jacob Nichols and his wife, Barbara Zeller.
The family resided in Rockbridge County, where 11 children were born to George and his first wife Susannah. Three were stillborn, and Barbara died when she was 4 years old. Jacob born 1787, married Margaret McCann, removed to Missouri, died 1820. Elizabeth the first born in 1789, married John Clark, removed to Adams County in 1805. They were the grandparents of the Rev. Dr. William J. McSurely, minister of the Hillsborough Presbyterian Church during the Women’s Crusade of 1873. John born in 1790, married first Margaret Hays. After her death, he married Margaret Arbogast. They lived in Barbour County, Va., now West Virginia.
Sarah born in 1792, married George Burris; the family removed to the west. George born in 1794, married Sarah Williams. Susannah born 1796, married Thomas Williams. George and Susannah married brother and sister, the children of James Williams and his wife Maria Elizabeth Legg. Barbara born around 1797, died at age 4. Michael, the youngest, born in 1799 and his mother Susannah died when he was an infant.
Susannah having died, George Gall remarried on May 27, 1800, in Rockbridge County to Catherine Roads. Catherine was born circa 1799 in Pennsylvania, the daughter of Abraham and Anna Maria Roth/Roads. The Roads family removed first to Shenandoah County and on to Rockbridge and later to Highland County. George and Catharine had 13 known children: Polly, David, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Lydia, Anna, Rhoda, Isaac, Catharine, Abraham, Sophia, Matilda and Julia A.
George Gall and family came to Brush Creek Township, Highland County, Ohio circa 1809. They came on horseback over treacherous mountain trails. The trip was long and filled with many hardships. He first appears on the 1811 census record for Brush Creek Township certified May 4. He purchased 60 acres from the estate of Thomas Lewis located in Survey 1638 on the waters of Brush Creek, June 9, 1812 and later added to that 100 acres, May 30, 1814 and 150 acres Sept. 2, 1829. He constructed a substantial log cabin home on the banks of the Middle Fork of Brush Creek, which was thought to be the first permanent abode in the area.
George made a declaration under oath in open court Aug. 25, 1832, that he was a soldier of the Revolution and certified by James Lawson, George Reed and William Keys, Highland County, Ohio Order Book No. 5, 1829-1834, page 289. George Gall, Jr. died in October 1851 and was buried in the Old Dutch Cemetery, Brush Creek Township. A very stately stone marks his grave and carries the legend: “A soldier in the War of the American Revolution. He took part in the siege of Yorktown and witnessed surrender of Cornwallis.”
– Compiled by Betty F. Crum and Pat Young, Waw-wil-a-way Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, 250 Project.