John Shepherd is believed to have been the longest-lived veteran of the American Revolution, dying at the age of 117 years, 9 months, and 18 days. He first entered military service during the French and Indian War from 1754 to 1763, and at age 26 survived Braddock's Defeat at the Battle of Monongahela in 1755 along with George Washington and others. In middle age he enlisted again and defended Pennsylvania and other colonies in the Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783. He served in the 2nd Pennsylvania Battalion and then the 3rd Pennsylvania Regiment, where as a sergeant his unit saw action at Brandywine and Germantown and other battles in 1777. He also survived the brutal winter at Valley Forge in 1777-'78 and was present at the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse in 1778. At age 89, he witnessed the founding of Royalton Township in 1818, later renamed North Royalton, where his daughter and son-in-law, Margaret and Robert Engle, were among the community's original settlers.