John Conard

• Private
• Served: July 1775 – January 7, 1777 & October 1777 – 1779
• Revolutionary War – Virginia Militia

Deceased April 9, 1903. Interred in Loudoun County, Virginia.
The son of Anthony Cunread/Conard and Sarah Hatfield, John Conard was born Feb. 8, 1738 in Worcester county Penn. From there, he moved to Loudoun County (possibly Hillsburough) in 1762. It was there that he married Elizabeth Potts, daughter of David and Ann R “Nancy” (Roberts) Potts, on December 16, 1762. John and Elizabeth’s family’s were members of the “Society of Friends”, or, the Quakers. He then died April 9, 1803 in Loudoun County, VA.
During his life, John served as a private in the Revolutionary War. He was in the Virginia Militia from July of 1775 until January of 1777. When he re-enlisted in October. In 1779, he was deemed unfit for service, seemingly due to health reasons. Because of his service to the war, he was disowned by the Quaker Church; each of his children were disowned one by one as well. It is said, that his son, Anthony Conard, also served in the war as a young boy around the ages of 10 or 12 years old. John’s wife, Elizabeth Potts, had several relatives who also served in the War. It is said that after the war, Anthony was a neighbor and close friend to George Washington.
John Conard’s great grandfather, Thones Kunders, was among the “Original 13” German immigrant families who arrived in Pennsylvania at the request of William Penn in 1683, and founded Germantown, Penn. It was in Thones’ home that the first meeting of the “German Friends” of which he was a founder and one of its first officers, took place. It was also in Thones’ home where the first papers, on this continent, denouncing slavery were written on April 16, 1688.