William Rankin attained the good old age of nearly ninety-three, and was at the time of his death the last surviving soldier of the Revolution in Gaston county.  He married Mary Moore, a sister of General John Moore, also a soldier of the Revolution.  His wife preceded him several years to the tomb.

His son, Colonel Richard Rankin, is now (1876) living at the old homestead, having passed “his three score years and ten.”  He served several times in the State Legislature, is an industrious farmer and worthy citizen of Gaston county.

GEN.  JOHN MOORE.

General John Moore was born in Lincoln county, when a part of Anson, in 1759.  His father, William Moore, of Scotch-Irish descent, was one of the first settlers of the county and a prominent member of society.  He had four sons, James, William, John and Alexander, who, inheriting the liberty-loving principles of that period, were all true patriots in the Revolutionary war.

John Moore performed a soldier’s duty on several occasions and was one of the guards stationed at Tuckaseege Ford, watching the movements of Lord Cornwallis after his entrance into Lincoln county.  He also acted for a considerable length of time as Commissary to the army.  General Moore married a sister of General John Adair, of Kentucky, by whom he had many children.  Several years after her death, he married Mary Scott, widow of James Scott, and daughter of Captain Robert Alexander by whom he had two children, Lee Alexander and Elizabeth Moore.  He was a member of the House of Commons as early as 1788, and served for many years subsequently with great fidelity and to the general acceptance of his constituents.

To remove a false impression, sometimes entertained by persons little conversant with our Revolutionary history, it should be here stated that General John Moore was in no way related to the Colonel John Moore, (son of Moses Moore), who lived about seven miles west of Lincolton, and commanded the Tory forces in the battle of Ramsour’s Mill.

General Moore, after a life of protracted usefulness, died in 1836, with Christian resignation, aged about seventy-seven years, and lies buried near several of his kindred in Goshen graveyard, Gaston county, N.C.

ELISHA WITHERS.

Elisha Withers was born in Stafford county, Va., on the 10th of August, 1762.  His first service in the Revolutionary war was in 1780, acting for twelve months as Commissary in furnishing provisions for the soldiers stationed at Captain Robert Alexander’s, near the Tuckaseege Ford on the Catawba river, their place of rendezvous.  After this service, he was drafted and served a tour of three months under Captain Thomas Loftin and Lieut.  Robert Shannon, and marched from Lincoln county to Guilford Court-house under Colonels Locke and Hunt.  His time having expired shortly before the battle, he returned home.

He again served another tour, commencing in August, 1781, as a substitute for James Withers, under Captain James Little, at the Eutaw Springs, where he was detailed with a few others, to guard the baggage wagons during the battle.  He again volunteered under Captain Thomas Loftin and Lieut.  Thomas McGee and was actively engaged in the “horse service,” in several scouting expeditions until the close of the war.