Seventh Generation

120. John PRESLEY¹⁰⁷ served in the military in 1779 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
In 1779, when the family was living back in Mecklenburg County, he entered the military service for the Revolutionary War as a substitute for John Cole who had been drafted for six months. He marched with his company under Captain Drury Ledbetter to Camden, South Carolina, and from there to Charleston where the company remained for several weeks before marching to the Savannah River. There was no fighting and the company remained in winter quarters during much of this time. Shortly after his discharge, he was drafted himself in May 1780 for three months under Captain Charles McKee. The company joined General Sumpter "near the Rocky Mount" then marched down into South Carolina and took part in the battle of Hanging Rock with the British. Once again he was discharged and returned home, but in the Fall of 1780 he went off again under Captain Jeremiah Wilson as a substitute for his brother, Peter, who had been drafted for three months. This time he marched from Mecklenburg County Courthouse down across the Pee Dee River to the Cheraw Hills where the company was stationed until his discharge.
He died after 1833 in Monroe County, Tennessee or Pitt, North Carolina. He was born in Rowan, Anson County, North Carolina.
According to a statement he himself made on his pension application John Presley was born in Rowan County, North Carolina in 1748. After the war, John lived in Mecklenburg County for perhaps ten years, then moved to Kershaw County for about fourteen years (he was in the 1790 and 1800 censuses of Kershaw County), and moved back to Rowan County for several years. According to one affidavit, he was living in Kershaw County in 1816. At some time thereafter, he moved to Tennessee to be near his children, moving back and forth between North Carolina and Tennessee. He gave these places of residence on his own pension application which he made in 1833 when he was living in Monroe County, Tennessee. Nothing is known about the wife of John Presley, whom he probably married before 1774, and before he went into the army. The census records of 1790 and 1800 reveal that he had four sons and three daughters. Most researchers agree that one of his younger sons was Dunnan Presley, born in 1780.


John PRESLEY and Elizabeth were married in 1779 in Fayette, Anson County, North Carolina.¹⁰⁸

121. Elizabeth died in Madisonville, Monroe County, Tennessee.¹⁰⁹ Children were:

	i.	Penelope Frizzell PRESLEY was born on 27 Jan 1772 in North Carolina.
60	ii.	Dunnan PRESSLEY Sr.
	iii.	Richard PRESLEY was born in 1792/93 in South Carolina.101 He served in the military in 1812.110 Name: Richard Pressley Birthyear: abt 1793 Birthplace: North Carolina, United States Enlistment Date: 7 Oct 1812 Enlistment Age: 19 He owned 160 acres (received via the military bounty land lottery) on 11 Jan 1820.111 He was described as 5'8" with gray eyes and dark hair with a fair complexion.101