John Fruit was born In Pennsylvania in about November 1738. A resident of Orange County, North Carolina, Fruit was a  prominent Regulator leader and on 11 March 1771 he was tried in New Bern for participating in the Hillsborough Riot. Later that year, 127 Orange County residents signed a petition calling for Fruit's pardon. The petitioners garnered sympathy by alluding to John Fruit's wife, Elizabeth Fruit, and the "distress" his execution would put her through. While Fruit's pardon has not been located, documents mentioning him in 1772 and after indicate he was pardoned. He died in Randolph County, North Carolina on 12 May 1824.