John Berry was born in 1743 as indirectly documented by Augusta County, Virginia court records related to the determination of John’s legal guardianship after his father’s death. His place of birth is uncertain, as well, but is most likely either Lancaster County, Pennsylvania or Augusta County, Virginia. The reason for the uncertainty is the lack of documentation for this early stage in John Berry’s life, and the existence of a smattering of information on the whereabouts of his maternal grandfather, William MaGill. The marriage of John’s father (James Berry) and his uncle (William Berry) to two daughters of William MaGill (Jane and Elizabeth), as well as John Berry’s eventual marriage to Jane Campbell, a daughter of Hugh Campbell and Esther MaGill, the latter being a sister of both Jane and Elizabeth MaGill, highlights a fairly close relationship between these Scotch-Irish families, the Berrys and MaGills. Consequently, knowing the location of the MaGill family prior to their move to Augusta County, Virginia, and approximating the timing of their move to Virginia most likely defines the location of the Berry family, which allows an assessment of the place of John Berry’s birth, but therein lies a thorny and complicated issue
John Berry 1743 Birth: 1743, Augusta Co., Virginia (or Antrim, Northern Ireland) Death: August 15, 1789, Washington Co., Virginia Burial: Greenspring Church Yard, Washington Co., Virginia, Religion: Presbyterian Father: James BERRY (~1716-1772) John was a Lieutenant in the Washington Co. Militia in 1777.

Spouses: (Sarah) Jane CAMPBELL Birth: 10 Apr 1743, Augusta Co., Virginia, Death 27 Sep 1833, Abingdon, Washington Co., Virginia, Burial Greenspring Church Yard, Washington Co., Virginia

Father: Hugh CAMPBELL (~1714-
Children: Hugh (1764-1859), William (1766-1850), Sarah (1768-1810), Nancy (1772-
It is of some interest to note that two years later John Berry, along with several other Washington County residents of the Wolf Hills settlement (Thomas Berry, Samuel McChesney, McCauley, McFerrin and James Gilliland) were sued in Washington County court for plunder that occurred during the King’s Mountain Campaign. This lawsuit not only documents their participation as members of the Overmountain Men who pursued and defeated Col. Ferguson, but it also appears to indicate their involvement in some of the post battle looting and plundering of Tory (Loyalist) and Whig (Patriot) homes on the return trip. James Gilliland was a next door neighbor of John Berry. Thomas Berry, a relative, lived nearby, and William McFerrin and Samuel McChesney were next door neighbors in the same area.

Another court record notes that the plundering, at least in the case of John Berry, appears to have consisted of the acquisition of a hog by an element of the Washington County militia under his leadership. A further closeness of these men is indicated by the fact that three of John Berry’s children married children of John Gilliland and William McFerrin. The Washington County militia suffered the highest casualties in the battle, so it is not a great surprise that some of these men are listed, who lost their neighbors, friends and relatives, were among the revenge-seeking plunderers. John Berry made out his will only two months later, in December of 1780, so it is tempting to conclude that he may have been wounded, possibly somewhat seriously, during the King’s Mountain battle.

Washington County Judgement Book 1, page 14 John Ried for the Commissioners of the Kings Mountain Plunder Dr. Writ vs Johnston & Berry: suit against Thomas Berry, John Berry, Samuel McChesney, McCauley, McFerren, Billingsley Gibson, William Willox and James Gilleland

At the very least, he suddenly became acutely aware of his imminent mortality and made a determined effort to ensure the financial support and schooling of his children after his presumably imminent demise. At that time, he and Jane were the parents of three teenagers, the oldest being about 17, and four sub-teens, the youngest, of which, was about a year old, so he certainly had a houseful of rather young children. James Berry 1690 was the guardian of John Berry 1742, orphan of James Berry 1716, complains of John Jones, in whose custody the orphan is, that he abuses him. John Jones married Elizabeth MaGill after the death of James 1716-1749. John Berry proved his services as a soldier in America in the war between Great Britain and France under Major General Jeffrey Amherst. He was granted certificate for 50 acres agreeable to the King's Proclamation, 1763.

John Berry and MaGill Family Connection John Berry was born in 1743 as indirectly documented by Augusta County, Virginia court records related to the determination of John’s legal guardianship after his father’s death. His place of birth is uncertain, as well, but is most likely either Lancaster County, Pennsylvania or Augusta County, Virginia. The reason for the uncertainty is the lack of documentation for this early stage in John Berry’s life, and the existence of a smattering of information on the whereabouts of his maternal grandfather, William MaGill. The marriage of John’s father (James Berry) and his uncle (William Berry) to two daughters of William MaGill (Jane and Elizabeth), as well as John Berry’s eventual marriage to Jane Campbell, a daughter of Hugh Campbell and Esther MaGill, the latter being a sister of both Jane and Elizabeth MaGill, highlights a fairly close relationship between these Scots-Irish families, the Berrys and MaGills. Consequently, knowing the location of the MaGill family prior to their move to Augusta County, Virginia, and approximating the timing of their move to Virginia most likely defines the location of the Berry family, which allows an assessment of the place of John Berry’s birth, but therein lies a thorny and complicated issue.

As noted in William Magill’s biographic essay, he was born in either Scotland or Northern Ireland, and by the mid to late 1720’s had immigrated to Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Based on Virginia militia and county court records, he moved to Augusta County, Virginia sometime between 1742 and 1745, where he remained for the rest of his life. Since he doesn’t appear to have left many tracks, William MaGill, Sr.’s journey from Bucks County, Pennsylvania to Augusta County, Virginia can be reconstructed only from a few scattered pieces of reliable data connected by a general understanding of the conditions that prevailed in this part of the American colonies during this particular time period. It seems quite probable that, when he left Bucks County, William MaGill, Sr. took the main road from there to the Lancaster and/or Carlisle area, where there were thriving Scots-Irish communities. He most likely stayed in these areas, at least for a while, and this could be where he encountered the Berry family, as well as the widow, Margaret Gass, who would become his second wife. Alternatively, the Berrys and MaGills might already have been together. Margaret Gass is one of the connecting puzzle pieces. She had been widowed in 1734 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and in 1738 can be documented as living just west of the Susquehanna River in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Another important puzzle piece is the 1742 Augusta County Virginia militia records. Based on the absence of any Berry or MaGill family members in the 1742 Augusta County, Virginia militia list, it is reasonable to conclude that neither the Berrys nor the MaGills had yet arrived in the area and that Margaret Gass and William MaGill must have encountered each other in Pennsylvania sometime between 1738 and 1745, the latter being the date when William MaGill was first documented in Virginia. However, one of William MaGill’s son in-laws, Hugh Campbell, was already in Augusta County by 1742, since he appeared in the 1742 Militia List, so it is quite possible that the rest of the extended family group was not far behind. As noted above, two of William MaGill, Sr.’s daughters married two Berry brothers sometime in the late 1730’s, so it appears that the Berry family was in close proximity to Margaret Gass and William MaGill, Sr. at this time, and that all of them were probably in the Carlisle area. Carlisle lay astride the Great Wagon Road, the main north/south emigrant route running the entire length of a great elongated valley between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Allegheny Mountains to the west. With the opening of the Beverley and Borden Grants in Augusta County, Virginia in the late 1730’s and early 1740’s, there seems to have been a general exodus of Scots-Irish from the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania area to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and it is not difficult to imagine William MaGill, Sr. participating in this movement. It was probably not long after the 1742 militia list was drawn up that the Berrys and MaGills arrived in the area – probably in late 1742 or early 1743, but certainly between 1742 and 1745. Consequently, while not firmly documentable with primary source records, the weight of the indirect evidence suggests a birth place of Augusta County, Virginia for John Berry.

Around 1763 or 1764, John Berry married Jane Campbell, daughter of Hugh Campbell and Esther MaGill, in Augusta County, Virginia. Esther MaGill was another daughter of the Scots-Irish immigrant William MaGill who settled along the North Shenandoah River in Augusta County, Virginia. By 1743 Hugh Campbell is known to have been living in Augusta County, Virginia near the North Shenandoah River. No documentation of Jane Campbell’s birth date and place have been found, to date, so information must be derived indirectly from other sources. Jane was baptized in the spring of 1743 at the Tinkling Springs Presbyterian Meeting House in Augusta County, and that date is probably quite close to her birth date. She was also, quite likely, close in age to John Berry, her husband, who was born in 1742 or 1743. Consequently, Jane’s birth date and place can be indirectly ascertained as taking place about 1743 in Augusta County, Virginia. Jane probably grew up on the Campbell family farm near the North Shenandoah River in northern Augusta County. It seems logical that the homestead of James Berry, the Father of Jane Campbell’s future husband, John Berry, was also nearby, but no land ownership records can be found for this James Berry in Augusta County. This could mean that he was a squatter, and did not actually own any land yet, or that he rented his settlement site. It was not an uncommon practice for early Scots-Irish settlers to occupy open land without bothering to immediately acquire legal ownership. Alternatively, he could also have been living near the rest of the Berry family.

The core of early Berry settlement in Augusta County was a bit farther to the south of the MaGill/Campbell homesteads in the southern part of the Beverley Grant and northern part of the Borden Grant, and it is equally likely that the James Berry family was living in this area. What is known with certainty is that when James Berry unexpectedly passed away in 1749, his estate was handled through the Augusta County courts, so the only certainty is that he was living in Augusta County, Virginia at the time of his death.

Since there were multiple marital connections among the Berry, Campbell and MaGill families, and a relatively small group of Scots-Irish immigrants living in the area, it is not too surprising that the children of the intermarriages of these families would also find their mates from this pool of people. It is known with certainty that the MaGills and Campbells were adjacent neighbors, but it is only logical conjecture that leads to the conclusion that the James Berry family also lived nearby. Of additional interest is the fact that both James Berry (Jane’s future father in law) and William MaGill (Jane’s maternal grandfather) died in 1749.

John was born in 1743 in Augusta County, Virginia,one of three known children and three known sons of James and Elizabeth Eleanor (Magill) Berry.
In 1763, when he was about twenty years old, he married Sarah Jane Campbell in Augusta County and they had eight known children, five sons and three daughters:
Elizabeth Berry Moore (1771 - 1838),
Francis,
Anthony,
Hugh Berry (1768-?)
Sarah Berry Moore (1768 - 1876) (twin to Hugh); Sarah (Berry) Gilliland
William Berry
Nancy Berry
John Berry, Jr.
Thomas Berry
James Berry
Jane Campbell (Berry) McFerrin
Lieutenant John Berry fought on the Patriot side in the American Revoultionary War, in the Battle of King's Mountain.
John died before 15 Aug 1786 in Washington County, Virginia, and is buried in Green Spring Cemetery, Green Spring, Washington County.[1]
Miscellany
John was orphaned by 15 March 1758[2]James Berry, guardian of John Berry, orphan of James Berry, complains of John Jones, in whose custody the orphan is, that he abuses him. John Berry, orphan of James Berry, aged 15 years, chose McGill his guardian.
John Berry proved his services as a soldier in America in the war between Great Britain and France under Major General Jeffrey Amherst.-- Granted certificate for 50 acres agreeable to the King's Proclamation, 1763.
He received a land grant on 11 February 1774 on Wolf Hill Creek in Fincastle (later Washington) County.[3]
John was a Lieutenant in the Washington County militia in 1777. He was at the Battle of King's Mountain in 1778.[4]
He owned some of the earlier iron works in Washington County.
John was a Presbyterian.[5]
Will
John wrote his will on 10-11 December 1780 and it was probated on 15 August 1786 in Washington County, Virginia:
I, John Berry of Washington Co., do desire that the small portion of goods that God has pleased to bless me with should be disposed of in the following manner (to wit) that so much be sold as will pay all lawful debts of such things that can be best spared. Second, that my possession of land be held and improved for the support of my wife and small children until they be grown up to labor for the support of themselves and then to be valued and each of my sons and wife having an equal share which shall be paid by the two eldest unto the two youngest my wife having still having her choice whether to demand her share in money or retain her claim in land. Third, as for my household furniture to be equally divided between my wife and Sarah and Nancy. Fourth, after choice being made of two head horses and two milk cows for the better support of my family (Made by my wife) The residue to be sold and divided between my wife and children observing one third to be added to my wife and each of my daughters over and above the portions of my sons A bond of nine pounds eight shillings to be paid in hard money on old trade by Wilas Enyart to be collected and applied for the use of schooling my children.
Whereunto I set my hand this tenth day of December One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty.
At a court held for Washington Co., August 15th 1786.
This last will and Testament of John Berry, deceased was exhibited in Court and proved by oaths of John Dorand and Samuel Magee who made oath to the handwriting of the said deceased and ordered to be recorded.
Teste: John Campbell[6]
From Findagrave.com
John Berry
Birth: 1743, Northern Ireland; Death: 1786, Washington County, Virginia. A
Originally Created by: Wayne Durham
John Berry is my 5th Great Grandfather. Our family bible says he was born in Antrim, Northern Ireland. He came here through Pennsylvania when he arrived in America. He settled in Virginia. He fought on the Patriot side, in the Battle of King's Mountain, (The Southern Campaign) in the
American Revoultionary War. His rank was Lieutenant. He was married to Sarah Jane Campbell. He had 11 children: Elizabeth, Francis, Anthony, William, the twins,Hugh and Sarah, Nancy, John Jr., Thomas, James, and Jane Campbell Berry. From Anita Hursh

Family links: Spouse: Sarah Jane Campbell Berry (1743 - 1833); Children: Sarah Berry Moore (1768 - 1876), Elizabeth Berry Moore (1771 - 1838).
Burial: Green Spring Cemetery, Green Spring, Washington County, Virginia, USA.[7]
Citations
Sources
Source: S138 Media: Website Abbreviation: INET - FAMILYWEBSITE - BERRY -Jim- Family of Augusta/Wahington-20071108 Title: Berry Family of Augusta/Wahington Author: Berry, James L. Publication: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~langolier/WC_TOC.HTML#CNTC CONT Created 15 Feb 2000 by Reunion, from Leister Productions, Inc. Date: 08 Nov 2007
Source: S146 Media: Electronic Abbreviation: Berry Family GenForum #234 Title: Thomas Berry b1718IRus1740's m a BUCHANAN and a WARD Author: Loughlin, Marie Publication: #234 4/19/1998 15:20:48 Repository: #R22 Call Number: 234 of 3176
Source: S147 Abbreviation: Gordon Aronhime Papers.Southwest Virginia Card File Title: Gordon Aronhime Papers.Southwest Virginia Card File Author: Aronhime, Gordon, comp. Repository: #R11 Library of Virginia -- Archives and Manuscripts.
Wayne Durham, maintained by William D Berry, “John Berry,” Findagrave.com. Record added Apr 03, 2009. URL: https://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=berry&GSiman=1&GScid=50451&GRid=35477231&. Accessed 4 Sept 2017 by Patricia Prickett Hickin
Source: S71 Type: Book Title: John B. McFerrin, A Biography Author: G. P. Fitzgerald, D.D. Publication: Publishing House of the M. E. Church South, Nashville, Tennessee 1893
Source: S74 Type: Newspaper Title: A Trip by the Book Agent to Washington County, Virginia Author: John Berry McFerrin Date: Dec. 4th, 1859 Media: Newspaper letter Periodical: The Nashville Christian Advocate Place: Nashville, Tennesse Date: 15 Dec 1859 Page: p. 2 Source Locality: Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, Tennessee
Source: S95 Type: Book Title: A Reminiscent History of The Ozark Region Author: various Publication: Goodspeed Brothers, Chicago, 1894 Repository: O. C. Bailey Library, Hendrix College, Conway, Arkansas URL: http://www.accessgenealogy.com/scripts/data/database.cgi?file=Data&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=0029817
Source: S96 Type: Court Records Place: Augusta County, Virginia Title: Order Book Volume: vol. XVII Page: p. 227 Date: November 22, 1782 Media: Internet Repository: Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia - Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800 by Lyman Chalkley Complete in Three Volumes Volume: vol. I Page: p. 464 URL: http://www.rootsweb.com/~chalkley/