As is often the case with studying history, the story of Leonard and Mary T. Styer is one rife with significant answered questions. I will begin with what I do know about their lives, and finish with three questions and some historical speculation.
Our ancestor Leonard was the first in our branch of the family to use the “Styer” spelling of the name instead of Steiger/Steyger. He is also significant in that he is the first of our Styer ancesters to move to northern Pennsylvania.
He was born the day his parents moved to Whitpain Township, Montgomery County, PA in 1768. Leonard was the youngest of the family and does not seem to have inherited any land. Instead, young Leonard invested “extensively” in tavern properties. It is recorded that at one time he owned the Broad Axe Hotel, the Waggon Inn in Center Square, the Rambo House in Norristown, and another hotel in Philadelphia.[1]
At some point, in the early nineteenth century, Leonard sold these properties took his family, moved north, and became a farmer in Newport Township, Luzerne County, west of present-day Nanticoke, PA.[2] Between the Spare Book and the Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties there are some discrepancies as to the date of this move. The BACMC says Leonard and Mary took their family to Luzerne County in 1814. The Spare book says 1807. The Spare book goes on to say that he lived in Luzerne County for twenty years and then returned to Montgomery County, where he lived in Franklinville for fifteen years, before he moved to Columbia County, where he died near Berwick. None of this is mentioned in the BACMC. If the family moved to Luzerne county in 1814, then Leonard would have to be significantly older than the age on his tombstone if we believe the information provided in the Spare book. It’s hard to know exactly what happened or exactly which account is true.
Leonard married Mary Tyson at some point before the turn of the nineteenth century and had the following children:
- Joseph (1798-1864) married Rachel Kidney (1797-1880), moved to Ohio. His son George Styer (1840-1863) was a victim of the Civil War, mortally wounded during the Siege of Vicksburg, MS. He died at an Army hospital in St. Louis, MO. He was a soldier in the 96th Ohio Infantry. Several others of Joseph and Rachel’s sons fought in the Civil War and survived.
- Elizabeth (1800-1862) married John Hoffman. She is buried in Berwick next to her father. John Hoffman cleared a 170-acre farm near Berwick after serving his country in the War of 1812. He died in 1849, at age 75 according to Battle’s History of Montour and Columbia Counties.
- Esther (1803-1805) died young.
- Henry (1805-1875) farmer in Bradford County, near Towanda, PA. He married Anna Fairchild, who died in 1844[3], then married Martha Lewis on 7/17/1846, who died in 1872. Henry’s obituary, one of the oldest Styer obits to which we have access, reads thus: “”Henry Styer died February 10th, 1875, at Spring Hill where he resided for some twenty-six years past. He was born in Montgomery county, in 1805. He was a man of great force of character and whatever he did, was with a determination to succeed. In point of intelligence he was considerably above the average. He had positive convictions, and did his own thinking. Although born in a tavern, he was always an advocate of temperance, even refusing while in the mercantile business, to sell tobacco, choosing to lose custom rather than rob families of that which ought to go for bread. For many years he was a prominent member of the Presbyterian Church. Subsequently he adopted different theological views, but during the last few years of his life we believe he gradually came back to his earlier faith. As a friend and neighbor, we miss him much.” Both he and Martha are buried in Spring Hill, Bradford County, PA.
- Cornelius Tyson Styer (1807-1872) married Rosanna Fairchild (Her sister was the above Anna Fairchild). They were married in 1833.[4] These are our direct ancestors and will be the topic of another blog.
- David (1810-1881)[5] married Mary Ann Jones. Lived in Burlington New Jersey. Some of his children stayed in New Jersey and some moved back to the Philadelphia area. His grandson, Jones Styer, went north to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush.
- George W. (1814-1877) married Catherine Hartman then Rebecca Arnwine (1821-1873). Their son, Corporal John H. Styer of the 84th PA Infantry was mortally wounded during the Civil War battle of Fredericksburg, VA and died at the Armory Square Hospital in Washington D.C. George and Rebecca are buried at Columbia Hill. In 1860 George Styer was listed in the census for Briarcreek Township as Justice of the Peace.
Burial
Leonard Styer died in 1843 and is buried in the main cemetery in Berwick, PA. According to the BACMC, Mary is also buried there, but I was unable to locate her grave. Leonard rests near his daughter Elizabeth (Styer) Hoffman and grandson (through his son George) John H. Styer, who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg, VA during the Civil War. Nearby the Berwick Styer grave plot lie the bodies of two steamboat operators who were killed during the last attempted steamboat navigation of the Susquehanna River.
Legacies, Unanswered Questions, and Speculation
Leonard and Mary Styer leave several important legacies. First, is that they appear to be the first of our ancestors to use the current “Styer” spelling. They also were the first of the Styer line to migrate to the North Branch valleys which continue to be home to many of us. It is hard at this point to get to the bottom of several questions I have regarding this generation of the family.
Question: Why did Leonard leave Montgomery County?
Possible Answer: Being the youngest of his siblings, Leonard did not inherit any of his parent’s land, so there was not much binding him to life in an increasingly more populous Montgomery County. After at first investing in tavern properties, he eventually sold them all and became a farmer in Luzerne County. Another question we may never know the answer to is why he got out of the tavern business in the first place. Perhaps he had a religious experience. We may never know.
Question: Why are Leonard’s tavern businesses not mentioned in the Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties?
Possible Answers: It is interesting to note that the Biographical Annals of Montour and Columbia Counties (BAMCC) (from which the narrative in the Pink Book is drawn) does not mention his dealings in the tavern business, although the Spare Family book goes into some detail concerning these dealings. Why the discrepancy? Cyrus Styer would have been the main informant for that history, and one would assume he would know that his grandpa was a businessman involved in taverns before he moved upstate. Is the lack of this information in the BAMCC a reflection of ignorance on Cyrus’ part? Or does its omission reflect his strict Prohibitionist sensibilities? We may never know!
Question: To what religious denomination did Leonard and Mary Styer belong?
Possible Answer: Probably either Presbyterian or German Reformed. Leonard came from a mixed background of Mennonite and German Reformed. Mary’s parents are buried in a German Reformed cemetery, so we can assume she was Reformed. We know that their son, Cornelius Styer, was a Presbyterian, but that could have been influenced by his wife Roseanna Fairchild, whose family was Presbyterian. Due to the fact that Leonard and Mary were buried in a town (rather than church) cemetery confuses things, however, Presbyterian and German Reformed denominations are very similar, sharing Calvinistic beliefs and differing only in the confessional standards they use (Westminster Standards and the Heidelberg Catechism/Three Forms of Unity, respectively).
Next time on Meet the Family: The Fairchild connection. There are some exciting people in this family tree, and as usual some great history! Thank you for reading Styer Stories!
[1] Spare Book, p. 170.
[2] Pink Book, p. s????
[3] Anna Fairchild Styer (1809-1844) is buried with her Fairchild ancestors in the Newport Center Cemetery. She was sister to Rosanna Fairchild who married Cornelius Tyson Styer
[4] BAMCC, p. 496
[5] Find a Grave page
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