Smoking Johnny was not born until 1773, when his father was 33. The legatees, all from Cocke County, Tennessee, include John and George Parrott, probably John and Catharina’s sons mentioned above, and five others. One Parrott researcher, a descendant of John and Catharina, located a power of attorney associated with the estate of Henry Meyers (likely either Catharina’s father or brother), that lists a number of legatees whom she believes were John and Catharina’s children. A tax list compiled in 1783 indicates that there were ten people in John and Catharina’s household. The couple had two known children, John, referred to in later life as "Smoking Johnny," born June 24, 1773, and George, who may have been named for John’s brother, born in July 27, 1776, and likely seven or eight more. Catharina was born on May 15, 1743, in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. When John was in his mid 20s, he married Catharina Miar (sometimes spelled Miars, Moyers, Meyers, or Meyer), the daughter of German parents Henri and Eva/Barbara, who, like the Parrotts, had migrated to the North Mountain tract from Pennsylvania.
His parents were illiterate and there were no schools in the Valley during his childhood, so John likely never learned to read and write. New siblings joined the family on a regular basis, first five brothers, then two sisters, and finally a younger brother, so John didn’t lack for playmates. He must have been a substantial help to his mother as well.
As the oldest of at least nine children, John would have been expected to shoulder a large part of his father’s responsibilities on the family farm. John’s life began in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley in 1740, probably a year after his parents’ marriage.
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