Revolutionary War Continental Army Soldier. Born in Bath, England, his family immigrated to Easton, Pennsylvania, where his father was a shoemaker. In 1775 he enlisted in the 3rd Pennsylvania Continental Infantry, and would keep re-enlisting until the end of the war. While he and his brother Henry were serving in the fight against the British, his father, a Tory loyalist, abandoned his family, passed through British lines, and returned to England. His property was subsequently seized by Pennsylvania. John Spering would go on to fight in the Battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth. He was one of the 194 men of the 3rd Pennsylvania to survive the 1777-1778 winter encampment at Valley Forge. He was transferred to the 2nd Pennsylvania Continental Infantry in 1781, but sickness prevented him from being present at the October 1781 surrender of British forces at Yorktown, Virginia. After the war was over he married Sara Cleckner, and settled into a long life. In 1834 he was awarded by the state of Pennsylvania a pension of 80 dollars annually. In his later years he followed the news of the Mexican War with great interest and it is said in the family lore that his dying wish that if his country is threatened again all his male descendants will take up are to defend it. He passed away in September 1846, and was buried with full military honors. He when died he was the last surviving member of the Pennsylvania Line of the Continental Army. One daughter, Angeline Spering (1812-1898), married Elisha Hess. She was named as a Real Daughter of the American Revolution.
Revolutionary War Continental Army Soldier. Born in Bath, England, his family immigrated to Easton, Pennsylvania, where his father was a shoemaker. In 1775 he enlisted in the 3rd Pennsylvania Continental Infantry, and would keep re-enlisting until the end of the war. While he and his brother Henry were serving in the fight against the British, his father, a Tory loyalist, abandoned his family, passed through British lines, and returned to England. His property was subsequently seized by Pennsylvania. John Spering would go on to fight in the Battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth. He was one of the 194 men of the 3rd Pennsylvania to survive the 1777-1778 winter encampment at Valley Forge. He was transferred to the 2nd Pennsylvania Continental Infantry in 1781, but sickness prevented him from being present at the October 1781 surrender of British forces at Yorktown, Virginia. After the war was over he married Sara Cleckner, and settled into a long life. In 1834 he was awarded by the state of Pennsylvania a pension of 80 dollars annually. In his later years he followed the news of the Mexican War with great interest and it is said in the family lore that his dying wish that if his country is threatened again all his male descendants will take up are to defend it. He passed away in September 1846, and was buried with full military honors. He when died he was the last surviving member of the Pennsylvania Line of the Continental Army. One daughter, Angeline Spering (1812-1898), married Elisha Hess. She was named as a Real Daughter of the American Revolution.
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