Gervais, John Lewis, 1741-1798

John Lewis Gervais (1741 – August 18, 1798) was an American planter and statesman from South Carolina. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1782 and 1783.

Gervais was born in Hanover, Germany to French Huguenot refugees and attended schools and colleges there. He emigrated to South Carolina, arriving in Charleston in 1764. He started in the mercantile business, but soon expanded his interests to include a plantation. Gervais first served in the revolutionary Provincial Congress in 1775. He was a member of the state's Committee of Safety from 1775 to 1781. Under the new state government, he was elected to South Carolina's Senate in 1781 and 1782. The legislature sent him as a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1782 and 1783. On 10 September 1782, he voted for a motion that the secretary for foreign affairs be directed to obtain returns of slaves and property carried off by the enemy during the war, such information to be used in negotiating a peace.

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