Duplin County, NC - Military - John Durell/Durrall/Durrell, Private ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Durell/Durall/Durrell, John, Private, Duplin Militia Soldier drew two pay vouchers. He was born about 1749 and lived in Duplin in 1784 and 1790 and had three young males and three young females in his 1790 household. By 1800, he had moved to Cumberland Co. NC and had three more young girls and one male less that ten. His total number of children appears to be nine or ten. Son 1-David is identified in 1797 when given 100 acres in Duplin by his father. Son 2-John born 1784 in Duplin. Soldier was not found in 1810 in NC and he had moved to KY. His wife was named Martha. Soldier died in KY in 1808. The below letter was written by John Byers Heffelfinger, March 20, 1939 and Selena Parmenter 1915, soldier’s granddaughter. "My father's father, John Durall, was a Revolutionary soldier. He entered the war at the beginning and served until its close. My father's name was John. I have always understood that great-grandfather's name was John also." "My grandfather enlisted from one of the Carolinas, I think, North Carolina. Father was born after the war was over. Grandmother and her colored servants ran the farm while Grandfather was away. During the war he was home only twice. Then he had to keep hid out to keep the British from getting him. They (the soldiers) were so reduced for food and clothes, even got so barefooted that they could be tracked in the snow by blood from their feet; and at one time his regiment lived thirteen days on soup made from ox hides, that they cut up and boiled." "Grandfather emigrated to Kentucky, went on pack mules; lived there a number of years and died there. Father grew up and was married there; and several of his children were born there. Then he and his family moved to Illinois. I was born at Pittsfield. Grandmother moved to Mount Sterling, Illinois, and died there. When she left Kentucky, one colored girl refused to accept her freedom, one hundred dollars in money, a nice horse, and to stay there. She would go with Grandmother, and stayed with her till she died. This colored woman then lived to be very old, Aunt Ambert they called her. I read of her death at Mount Sterling about fifteen years ago." ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Jerome Tew ___________________________________________________________________