Friday, November 30, 2001
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Friday, November 30, 2001 |
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Revolutionary War veteran honored By CAROLYN
CARY
He was buried in Peachtree City Oct. 10, 1836 and 165 years and one month later, he was given recognition for his part in the American Revolutionary War. His name was John Routon and his direct descendants still live in Fayette County. The Augustin Clayton Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and Edward Jordan Lanham, Historical Research and Preservation, worked for over a year to obtain a grave marker and to set a ceremony honoring one of their own. Routon was born in 1760 in Bedford County, Va. when it was still a wilderness on the Virginia frontier. At the age of 16 he volunteered in the Virginia Militia and served 13 months in readiness against British troops, and marched from his home area to as far away as Boone's Fort in what is now Kentucky. He married Jane Arthur in 1779 and they reared eight children. Volunteering for service again in 1781, he participated in the battle at Guilford Courthouse, Greensboro, N.C. Though technically won by the British, the battle saw a serious loss of British manpower, foreshadowing final American victory at Yorktown, seven months later. He moved his family from Virginia to Wilkes County, Ga., in 1786 and then to Jackson and Jasper counties, coming to Fayette County in 1828. Under the Pension Act of 1832, Routon received a pension from the United States government for services to his country over 50 years before. He received the sum of $40 a year, for the remaining three years plus of his life. The post-funeral eulogy was delivered by a fourth great-grandson, Ted Brooke. He concluded by saying, "It has been said that one is not forgotten as long as their name is spoken so today, 165 years after his death, we have not forgotten him. ... " ... If our hearts listen to him and we see him and know him as he was, we shall become greater greater people, greater Americans and greater in character. That's why we are here today with John Routon, American patriot." Descendants joined in unveiling the marker, which is on Robinson Road at Crescent Oaks Subdivision. Regent for the DAR, Betty Harrah, conducted the ceremony along with officers from the state DAR and representatives from other state chapters. For information call Harrah at 770-461-7615.
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