John Sitgreaves was born in England in 1757. A lawyer and resident of New Bern, he served as a lieutenant in the New Bern Regiment of the North Carolina Militia during the American Revolution, and as an aide to General Richard Caswell. Sitgreaves served as assistant clerk of the North Carolina State Senate in 1777 and as clerk of the same body from 1778 to 1779. He represented New Bern in the North Carolina General Assembly in 1784 and from 1786 to 1788. He died in Halifax, North Carolina on March 4, 1802.