Early Life
John Sevier was born in Rockingham County, Virginia (then part of Augusta County), near what is now the town of New Market. He was the oldest of seven children of Valentine "The Immigrant" Sevier and Joanna Goad. His father was descended from French Huguenots, and had migrated to Baltimore in 1740 and gradually made his way to the Shenandoah Valley.
Sevier's father worked variously as a tavernkeeper, fur trader, and land speculator, and young John initially pursued a similar career path. At a young age, he opened his own tavern, and helped plat the town of New Market, near his birthsite (the town claims Sevier as its founder). In 1761, he married Sarah Hawkins, and gradually settled into a life of farming. Some sources suggest Sevier served as a captain in the Colonial Militia under George Washington in Lord Dunmore's War in 1773 and 1774.
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