John Everett was a resident of Tyrrell County. In the summer of 1777 he became a member of the Gourd Patch Conspiracy and swore one oath of secrecy before Daniel Leggett. He later recruited many other Tyrrell County farmers to the plot, including some of his own family members. When the plot was discovered, many of his recruits made sworn depositions against him and he appeared on a list of conspirators being held prisoner at the Edenton District Court of Oyer and Terminer. The charges against him were dropped by November 1778.