1758–1838
Born 7 December 1758 in Maryland, near Hagerstown. A Revolutionary War soldier who served beside his brother Dory, including the winter at Valley Forge. Moved to Kentucky in 1791 and to Clermont County, Ohio, about 1795. Died 28 February 1838.
| Born | 7 December 1758 | Maryland, near Hagerstown (then Frederick County)he swore to his age in 1832 from “a record of his age which was copied from his father’s bible”; some records give 8 December |
|---|---|---|
| Military | 1776–about 1781 | Maryland militia, private, serving alongside his brother Dory; in New Jersey in 1776–77, at Whitemarsh and Valley Forge in 1777–78, and guarding prisoners at Fort Frederick |
| Married | 1784 | Washington County, Maryland, to Elizabeth (Wilson)the year sworn by Elizabeth and by Dory, who knew them from their marriage |
| Residence | 1791 | Moved to Mason County, Kentucky, “the year of St. Clair’s defeat,” staying about four years |
| Residence | about 1795 | Union Township, Clermont County, Ohio, where he lived for the rest of his life |
| Pension | 1832–1833 | Declared his service in court at Batavia, 6 November 1832; granted certificate no. 13,327 on 26 June 1833, $80 a year (the number just before Dory’s) |
| Died | 28 February 1838 | Ohiodate sworn by his widow in 1838; other sources give 27 February |
| Event | 1843 | His widow Elizabeth, aged 71 in 1838, was granted a widow’s pension of $80 a year from 4 March 1843 |
Dates and places from William P. Marlatt, Families of Peter Malott and Joseph Malott (2002), which compares what each source says.
John married Elizabeth Wilson in Washington County, Maryland, in 1784, lived in Kentucky in the early 1790s, and settled in Clermont County, Ohio, by 1799. He died in Brown County, Ohio, on 27 February 1838. He is named in his father’s 1804 will.
Read Bill Marlatt’s full study: Families of Peter Malott and Joseph Malott
John’s pension file tells the same story as his brother Dory’s, and was clearly taken down by the same clerk on the same day, 6 November 1832, at the Clermont County court in Batavia. John described the same tours of service: marching to join Washington on the Delaware in 1776; being pressed into service with “my brother Dory Malott together with Ignatius Knott” to butcher meat for the prisoners at Fort Frederick; being drafted in October 1777 and wintering at Valley Forge; guarding prisoners; and helping round up Tories. He said the three were messmates and lived on the same farm in Washington County. Dory and Ignatius Knott swore to John’s service, as John and Knott swore to Dory’s. Both brothers were granted pensions on 26 June 1833, with consecutive certificate numbers.
John’s file adds details Dory’s does not. He, too, had a record of his age copied from his father’s Bible. He lived in Washington County until 1791, “the year of St. Clair’s defeat,” when he moved to Mason County, Kentucky; about four years later he crossed into Union Township, Clermont County, Ohio. Where Dory signed his declaration, John made his mark.
After John died on 28 February 1838, his widow Elizabeth, then 71, applied for a widow’s pension. She swore that they had married in 1784, and Dory, then 82, swore that he had known them from the time of their marriage and that they lived together as man and wife until John’s death. Her neighbor J. A. McAdams wrote to the pension office that Elizabeth and her witnesses were “very feeble” and asked it to “have compassion on the widow of a soldier of the revolution.” She was granted $80 a year in 1843.
Source: U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800–1900, file W.3839, “Malott, John, and Elizabeth,” Maryland (National Archives microfilm M804), viewed on Ancestry; and file S.2737 (Dory Malott).
