John Oberly moved to the two-hundred-acre farm which his father deeded to him and his brother Anthony in 1777, and they held this place in common until their respective children, or some of them, became of age. June 12, 1793, he purchased a farm of three hundred and sixty acres in Bethlehem township, on the Lehigh river, where he built permanent farm buildings, and in the spring of the year 1804 moved into his new quarters, where the remainder of his life was spent. He took an active interest in the welfare of the country, and served with the Frontier Rangers from 1778 to 1783, inclusive.