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John William Provance was born sometime around 1730. He lived in Virginia during the American Revolutionary War and furnished supplies to the Army, evidence of which was published in Virginia Revolutionary “Publick” Claims, compiled by Janice L. Abercrombie and Richard Slatten, and published in 1992.

John died sometime after May 1783 in Virginia.

Sergeant Robert Williams was born in 1733. He enlisted in the North Carolina Regiment of Continental Troops in February 1777. He served in the 8th North Carolina Regiment under Colonel Armstrong. He participated in the battles of Germantown and Brandywine in Pennsylvania under the command of Captain Tartarson.

After the American Revolutionary War, Williams moved to Tennessee where he died in 1836.

William’s pension application file can be viewed online at the National Archives, pension file S39129.

Ellen Ingrhim, a Daughter, and descendant of Robert Williams, spent many years researching his life and service in the American Revolutionary War. Ellen learned some interesting tidbits about Sergeant Williams:

He joined in Halifax, North Carolina and they marched north. He fought in the battle of Brandywine, PA and a month later was wounded in the battle of German Town. He was brought to the hospital in Bethlehem. The Moravians settled this area. They lived in communes with a “house” for the men and a different house for the women. They evangelized the American Indians. A husband & wife would go out together and the children were raised in a common pool. They were pacifists, so they refused to fight in the war, but the men gave up their house to serve as a hospital for Washington’s troops. The men’s house was built in 1742. Robert was there from October 1777 – early 1780. The building is still standing and serves as a music building for the Bethlehem Moravian college. They’ve added to the building, but the original 1742 building is the same one Robert lived in. His papers state that when he recovered from the wound, he worked in the shoe factory. The Moravians had an “industrial park” on Monocacy Creek. There was a “slaughter house” where they killed cattle on the first floor for food. The hides were tanned on the second floor and I think the shoes were made on the third floor. Those in Robert’s unit who were not wounded, spent the winter in Valley Forge — needing shoes.

Written by Ellen Ingrhim

Images of the Single Brethren’s House, 89 West Church Street, Bethlehem, Northampton County, Pennsylvania can be viewed at the National Archives: Photos from Survey HABS PA-1141