Leonard Bayer, I

Leonard Bayer was the son of Andrew Bayer.

He represents the third generation of our direct line of Boyers in America, and the first of the Boyers to be born a British colonist (on "American" soil). Leonard's birth occurs 5 years after his father Andrew and his grandfather Christopher arrived in "America".

He was the last of our direct ancestors to begin life with the "Bayer" spelling of their name. It seems that by the time his children were born, he made his decision to change the spelling of his and his children's name to "Boyer". All 11 of his children carry the "Boyer" spelling of the name. This is documented in their Baptismal records at the Old Goshenhoppen Lutheran Church in Montgomery County, PA.

The Bayer spelling was common in Germany, whereas the Boyer spelling was common for France. Quote the "American Boyers" : The fact that the Pennsylvania Boyers soon gave up the Germanic spelling of their name for the French spelling, shows the feelings with which they still felt the French blood in their veins"

Leonard had one of the largest families among all our earliest ancestors. Children were considered "wealth" for a farmer--as well as for a nation. The boys were to become his help with the plowing, crop tending, and harvesting of their fields. The girls would help with the cooking, sewing, cleaning, milking, feeding, egg gathering and gardening.

As of 1776 records he was a tax collector in Frederick Township, Montgomery County,PA. This would be an extremely difficult job in that day, since the colonists in Boston had recently rebelled over the issue of taxes in the Boston Tea Party.

When the colonies declared Independence from England on July 4th in Independence Hall in Philadelphia (about 20 to 30 miles south of where he lived), Leonard became a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Page 668, Vol. 3 of the "Pennsylvania Archives" lists Leonard Bayer as a soldier in the Revolutionary War from Montgomery County. He was a private under Captain Gougler, of the 4th Battalion, and fought with the colonists for the American cause in 1777, when the full force of the British army attacked Philadelphia. Four other Boyer's served in the same company.

They most likely would have fought in the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. 25,000 combatants fought that day--the largest of the Revolutionary War, with George Washington leading his troops, and General Nathanael Greene and General Lafayette under his command.. General Howe lead the British, with General Cornwallis under his command. Washington's army was forced to retreat toward Philadelphia. That city itself fell to the British who began captured and occupied it on September 25th--and held it into 1778. We have no record of how the Bayer or their homestead, 30 miles north, fared during the occupation. Leonards son, Leonard II would have been 2-3 years old during this period.

We also do not know if he was able to go home during the winter, or if he encamped with George Washington and his army at nearby Valley Forge (December 1777 to June 1778). We also have now knowledge of any wounds he may have suffered.

But, he continued to survive and serve until the end of the war 1783, remaining in the Army until at least 1786, when he was 49 yeas old. Four other Boyers were in the same company.

His name appears on the 1790 U.S. Federal Census for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. At this time, Philadelphia had become the Capital of the U.S. and was to remain so until 1800 (as Washington D.C. was being built). Pa. By this time, and probably long before, Leonard was spelling his name Boyer --making the same spelling change for himself, as did for all his children at the time of their birth. This 1790 Census shows his household to be made up of 1 male over the age of 16, 5 males under the age of 16, and 2 females.

By 1793 he no longer appears on the assessment for Montgomery County. This is the exact year that over twenty thousand people fled the city of nearby Philadelphia when yellow fever struck, killing four thousand people, bringing daily activities of the city to a halt. The plague abated with the first frost, but the fever returned the following summer, and again in 1797.

At some point between 1792 and 1796, Leonard and his family moved from Montgomery County to Snyder County. It was in 1795 that America's first "modern highway", the Lancaster Turnpike was completed, running from Philadelphia to Lancaster, Pa. It was made of broken stone, becoming the country's first gravel road. It is likely the family and their entire belongings were loaded in one or more Conestoga wagons. These 16 foot long wagons could be piled 12 feet high, and average 5 to 7 miles per hour. This road made the family's trip quicker, safer, and more comfortable then traversing muddy ruts through the forest. It is very likely this was their route. Once arriving in Lancaster, they then would have headed for the Susquehanna River, following it North up to Sunbury, where they could make crossing via barge. After debarking, they arrived in Snyder County, and had only about a 10 mile trip to the Salem/Selinsgrove area.

The land that Leonard settled was probably as the result of the land grants given to every veteran of the revolution. The catalyst a the land rush that developed in Pennsylvania, was a new law passed in 1792, designed to open remote regions of the "frontier" (PA and NY) and raise money to fund the state government without imposing taxes. The properties included lands set aside years before to compensate the soldiers who served in the Revolution. This was done by the government because it did not have money to pay the soldiers, neither during their service, nor at the time the army was disbanded upon the war's conclusion.

Other land related reasons also contributed in Leonard's decision to move his family toward central Pennsylvania. German immigrants continued to pour into PA. His cleared and proven farm north of Philadelphia had become valuable, with land so scarce due to the booming immigration. The prices for "wild lands" were so reasonable that he could sell his Montgomery County holdings, and, with the aid of his sturdy sons and daughters, enter upon and conquer new lands in the interior of PA (like Snyder County). This would also give his children a chance to find additional land (beyond the extent of the land grant) for their soon to come families.

According to the Middleburg Post (Snyder County's main newspaper), he was listed as a taxpayer in Snyder Co. in 1796. Apparently a lot of German families made this move from Montgomery Co. to Snyder Co. during this time frame.for similar reasons previously noted--including other events that had occurred in central Pennsylvania over a period of time. These prior events, which paved the way for the family to move included:

In 1750 Cumberland County (parts of which later became Snyder County), was formed out of Lancaster County, owned by the Six Nations Tribes. In 1755 the first settlers arrived in what would later become Middleburg and Selinsgrove (also known then as Gabriel's and Weisertown on the Isle of Que. Twenty five settlers were killed or carried away by the Indians. Penn' Creek Massacre occurred, panicking the remaining settlers who then left the area. In 1756 Fort Augusta was built at Sunbury, then known as Shamokin. In 1758 Pennsylvania "proprietarys" purchased land from the Six Nations tribes, which would later become Snyder County. Ten years later in 1768, settlers returned for surveys of what would become Snyder County. Ten indians were murdered in Middleburg that same year. In 1769 a Land Office opened for the new purchase. In 1755 Row's Church was organized by Lutherans in Salem. Then in 1781 one of the last Indian attacks occurred when the Kreamer Block House was attacked by 30 Indians. This resulted in an entire family of settlers being killed. Indian events calmed after this. In 1784 Captain Anthony Selin, a Revolutionary War Vet purchased land, then "laid out", founded, and named the town Selinsgrove. He then opened the first hotel in Selinsgrove.

Therefore, between 1793 and 1796, with the Revolution concluded, with yellow fever outbreaks raging, and with central Pennsylvania now safe to settle, Leonard Bayer (now Boyer) moved his family. Communications from other Germans families, who had already made the move, would have reported that central Pennsylvania had good, fertile, inexpensive, safe land available for farming, and an abundance of timber for building. Also this land would be abundant with game, to serve as food. The rapidly growing area around Montgomery County, outside Philadelphia, no longer held the rural attraction which German farmers sought. Land was no longer available or inexpensive there. Game was no longer as plentiful as the population increased. Our ancestors were people of the land, not happy with a growing city so nearby.

The 1810 Federal Census for Northumberland County (as the later Snyder County was named in those days), Penn Township, lists Leonard Boyer (Sr.). The only information provided was that the household was made up of 1 white male and 1 white female, over the age of 45, plus 1 white male age 16 to 26. The same census has a separate listing on the previous page for his son Leonard (Jr).

We do know (from the Association of American Boyers) that he made his will on April 8, 1812. However it was not probated until Feb 16, 1826 (making it likely he lived until then.

It is not known when he or his wife died, Their burial locations are unknown. In those days, many people buried their departed family members on the land they owned. However, their is a good chance that these highly religious people may have buried they family in a church graveyard-- Salem, New Berlin, or Middleburg Church cemeteries are possible locations. If the stones survive, documentation still could yet be found.

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Leonard and his wife, Margaret Johnson Bayer were the parents of 11 children: Henry, John William, Christina, Catherine, John, Elisabeth, Elizabeth, Leonard (our direct ancestor in 1775), Jacob, George, and Samuel. All carried the last name "Boyer"

According to the "Association of American Boyers", death records of two of children exist in Snyder County, including one son John, being buried in Union (now Snyder County) at a New Berlin Cemetery, and our direct ancestor Leonard Boyer (son of Leonard Bayer) buried at Row's Church Cemetery, Salem, PA.

GEDCOM Source

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