Colonel John Earle

alternate death date November 24, 1815

A Patriot of the American Revolution for NORTH CAROLINA - SOUTH CAROLINA with the rank of CAPTAIN. DAR Ancestor # A035426

The Hannon Massacre

John and Thomasine Prince Earle, took 3 Hannon children to raise that were born to: William Hannon and Sarah Prince Hannon. The story goes that on a spring morning in May 1776, Edwin Hannon and 7 year old Winnie had been left at home to look after 3 year old John and baby William Jr., while several older children helped their father plant dorn in a nearby field. Suddenly there appeared a band of Cherokee Indians, and before anyone could react to escape, William Hannon and the children with him were all killed with tomahawks, scalped and left dying in the field. The the Indians burned the Hannon home.

When Edwin and Winnie heard the whoops of the Indians and the cries of their victims, they quickly fled the house with Winnie carrying baby William and hiding in a nearby canebrake. Edwin carried John, but when he found the Indians pursuing him, he was forced to drop the 3 year old and run for cover under the river bank. John became the final victim of the Hannon Massacre. After all the Indians had gone, Edwin and Winnie, taking turns carrying the baby, made their way down the Pacolet River to the home of John Earle, who took them in and reared them. Both Edwin and William then married daughters of John Earle.

John was a soldier in the War of the American Revolution. John lost his first wife in 1781 and he married second Rebecca Berry the widow Mrs Wood. These notes for John are from The Earles and The Birnies, by John E. Birnie, 1974. which add, John died on the 24th of November 1815. And, it is added he was buried in Landrum Cemetery.

• Residence: Morgan, Rutherford, North Carolina - 1800
  • Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Dec 28 2017, 1:20:16 UTC