Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Gervais, John Lewis

GERVAIS, John Lewis, b. in Germany, 8 Oct., 1753; d. in Charleston, S. C., 2 Oct., 1798. He represented South Carolina in the Continental congress in 1782-'3. On 10 Sept., 1782, he voted for a motion that the secretary for foreign affairs be directed to obtain returns of slaves and other property carried off by the enemy during the war, such information to be used in negotiating a peace. In April, 1783, he was a member of a committee to which were referred letters from U. S. representatives abroad, and on 15 April of that year favored instructing the commander-in-chief to arrange with the commander of the British forces for receiving possession of the posts in the United States that were occupied by British troops.