Lieut. John H. Range Sr. ^{1 2}

   FamilySearch ID: LC8Y-Z4B.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Military on 5 Apr 1778: Revolutionary War: Lieutenant in Amstetter's Regiment. ³

2. Lottery Warrant No. 511 - Land received for military service in the Revolution on 17 May 1785 in Tionesta, Forest, PA.

3. Census in 1800 in Mount Pleasant Twp., Adams, PA. ¹ The John Range household was listed with:
Males (born)
10-15 (1785-1790) = 1 son
16-25 (1775-1784) = 1 son
45 & over (<=1755) = 1 father John
Females (born)
10-15 (1785-1790) = 1 daughter
16-25 (1775-1784) = 1 daughter
45 & over (<=1755) = 1 wife.

4. Property on 4 Apr 1806 in Mount Pleasant Twp., Adams, PA. ^{4 5} Deed: Theobald Shollar(s) Patterson of Berwick Twp. sold to John Range of Mt. Pleasant Twp. Theobaldt relinquishes all further claims against John Range. The document mentions Theobald is the grandchild of Theobaldt Shollas, dec'd. He was given the sum of $129.83 in a legacy from the last will and testiment of Theobaldt Sollas, 5 Sep 1788.
Dated 4 Apr 1806, witnessed by Christian Dick Sr. and Tobias Kepner.

5. Book: Lieut. John Range by John Siggins of Tidioute, PA, 25 May 1904.
The Daughters of the American Revolution are endeavoring to place metal markers at the graves of every Revolutionary soldier in the country. On Saturday Mr. John Siggins of Tidioute, came here and placed one of these markers at the grave of the only soldier of the Revolutionary War, buried in Riverside Cemetery (Tionesta, Pa.).

The marker bears the following inscriptions:

"John Range, 1st Lieutenant, commissioned April 5, 1778."

Mr. Siggins is a great-grandson of the deceased. The marker is about the size of a dinner plate, circular in form, and around the edge are thirteen stars representing the original thirteen states, for whose independence thousands of patriots, like Mr. Range, suffered great privations and gave up their lives, that future generations might enjoy the blessings of a free country.

Mr. S. D. Irwin furnishes the following additional particulars concerning Lieutenant Range:

For his services in the Revolution he secured a land warrant taken out in the name of his eldest son, Shallas Range. The lottery warrant for the land was number 511, dated May 15th, 1785, included 258 acres. In 1808 he examined the land with other soldiers, and in 1816, located with his family at Tionesta. He came from Adams Co., Pa.

He selected the land now occupied by Tionesta Borough, called Sa-qua-lin-get, which is interpreted "Place of Council," being just above the mouth of Tubbs Run, and running thence as declared in the final survey and patent, "by the base of Mount Ararat." This piece so selected embraced all of the bottom land, from above Tubbs Run to the south line of what is now known as the Lawrence farm, crossing of course Tionesta creek. Although the warrant and survey was to John Range, the patent was for some reason issued to his son Shallos Range, but Shallos dying a young man and unmarried, he received the land as Shallos' heir.

John Range then did the first draining ever done on the place, and on quite an extensive scale, too; he cut a heavy ditch from a swamp which started on what is now Williams street, just below where it crosses Helen street. The head of the swamp was filled up by Jacob M. Kepler a few years ago, he graded the small bluff on the back end of his lots off and that obliterated every trace of the swamp, but the Range ditch, which extended from the swamp mentioned down the flat to the back channel, near Canfield's, is traceable in many places to this day, and but a few years ago, near the upper end of it, wild cherry trees had grown up that were about 12 to 18 inches in diameter, just back of where Harvey M. Foreman now lives. This ditch was a fine piece of engineering and cut through three small swamps and emptied their contents for the most part into the back channel of the river as stated. It is said that Lieutenant Range got some of his ideas of draining while with the Revolutionary army on duty at Yorktown, Va., where he assisted in draining the lowlands and marshes about that place, when Washington's army occupied the same. It is evident no better nor easier ground could have been selected, and the lower end of this ditch is easily traced to-day, and is utilized. Range before his death divided his farm, Sa-qua-lin-get, into two nearly equal parts, by a line beginning on the river at the old red oak tree, near the Shriver place, and extending easterly to his east line on the hill. The north half went to his son John, Jr.. and the lower part to his son James. James in his lifetime sold out to various parties, and some relatives, while John sold his entire part to Rev. Hezekiah May, who died possessed of the same July 4, 1843. It should here be mentioned that Lieutenant Range selected a place for his grave and that of his wife, just back of what is now F. C. Proper's barn, on a little knoll, and in his deed to M. John Range, Jr., reserves "one rod square where the parents of the first party lies buried." A barn being erected became an unsightly place for the burial of a revolutionary patriot and his wife, and so arrangements were made by H. M. Foreman, who had purchased a lot which included the square rod reserve, with the numerous relatives and descendants of the patriot, to purchase a beautiful lot on knoll in Riverside Cemetery, and their dust was removed there at the expense of Mr. Foreman, with the consent of the wide circle of relatives. John Range in his early day was a miller near Gettysburg, Adams Co., Pa., and Jo and William P. Siggins, two of his descendants, went on pilgrimage to the mill of their eminent ancestor, and with great joy that they found old settlers who had traditions of him, but what delighted them more was to find the old mill itself with his name cut in the stone undoubtedly by his own hand.

John Range served through the great struggle for independence, was commissioned First Lieutenant of 5th company of 4th battalion, York County, Pa., militia, April 5th 1778. He is justly called the first white settler east of the Allegheny in the present bounds of Forest County, Pa. He first came out prospecting to view this land, establishing a farm at what is now Tionesta, this was in the year 1810. He was a native of Pennsylvania; after the war was over he settled in Adams County, where being successful in his business he acquired considerable property.

In Hon. S. D. Irvin's History of Forest County, he says "Jacob Shriner says that Lieut. John Range was born in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, in 1746, and died in Tionesta in 1826, aged 80 years." You will find reference in the Pennsylvania Archives, Second Series, Volume 14 page 513.

6. Newspaper: Forest Republican: Lieut. John Range, 25 May 1904, Tionesta, Forest, PA. ⁶ Lieut. John Range.
The Republican had a pleasant call last Saturday from Mr. John Siggins, of Tidioute, who was attending to some business here and incidentally looking up a little of tbe history ot one of his ancestral relations, Lieut. John Range, whose remains lie buried in Riverside cemetery, this place. He had with him a metal marker of neat design, which the D. A. R. society has adopted, and which be placed at the head of the Revolutionary veteran's grave. Mr. Siggins left with us the following authentic history of Lieut. Range which he has been able to gather up after much labor and research.

John married Madeline Shollas, daughter of Theobald Shollas and Unknown. (Madeline Shollas was born in 1749 in , , PA,⁷ died in 1826 in Tionesta, Forest, PA ⁷ and was buried in Tionesta: Riverside Cemetery, Forest, PA ⁷.)