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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



ton Jones, the distinguislied mechanical 

 engineer, at Port Richmond Iron Works, 

 Philadelphia. He was educated at Swarth- 

 more College. He assisted in building and 

 constructing the pumping engines at Louis- 

 ville, Kentucky, liiimingham, Alabama, and 

 Chickies, Pennsylvania, and worked at the 

 Cramps works, Isaac P. Morris works, and 

 Leedom's carpet mills, Bristol, Bucks 

 county. When a lad in New Orleans, Louis- 

 iana, 1878, he was a guide in Captain An- 

 thony Sambola's company. Fifth Louisiana 

 Artillery, General P. G. T. Beauregard 

 (then colonel) commanding. He belongs 

 to the Sons of Temperance, Odd Fellows, 

 and Bristol Lodge, Ancient York Masons, 

 of which his great-grandfather, John Bir- 

 key was a member, and is a member of 

 Kadosh Commandery K. T. 



Mr. Birkey married Helen Louisa Black, 

 September 18, 1894. She was born March 

 II, 1867, a daughter of W^illiam Black and 

 his wife Margery Anna Lindsay, whose 

 father was a member of the book publish- 

 ing firm of Lindsay & Blackstone, Phila- 

 delphia. William Blackstone was a printer 

 by trade ; he was an editor for many 

 years; mayor of New Castle, Pennsylvania; 

 justice of the peace of Harrisburg, Penn- 

 sylvania; and a member of the grand lodge, 

 Ancient York Masons, of Pennsylvania. 

 Mr. and Mrs. Birkey a're the parents of a 

 daughter, Catherine Anna Birkey, born at 

 Newportville, Pennsylvania, July 6, 1895. 



MYER FAMILY. Marten Janzen 

 Mayer, van Elsvleit (Helslint, Holland) 

 was married October 28, 1662, to Hen- 

 rickje Hermans Van Amsterdam, in the old 

 ■ Dutch fort in New Amsterdam. Children: 

 Johannes, eldest; Herman; Marten; Elsje, 

 married Burgher Meyndertz ; Beletje, mar- 

 ried Clans Gysbertze ; Helen, married Ed- 

 ward Cock Cox : Caterina and Anna, not 

 married at the time of execTiting of will. 

 Marten and Hendrickje Maijer made their 

 joint will in favor of the survivor, March 

 16, 1692-93. 



Simon de Ruine. De Waal le Ouallon. 

 married Magdalena Van Derstraaten, in 

 Holland. Children: Jacomina, born near 

 Landrecy, Hainault, Flanders, where her 

 father, Simon de Ruine, lived ; he left there 

 and went to Holland 1637. Janetzje, born 

 at Amsterdam. In 1661 he was at Harlem, 

 New York ; he emigrated to America. 

 February 13, 1659, in ship '"De Trouiv." 

 He commanded the third company of 

 troops at Haarlem, June 7, 1663, at the time 

 of the massacre, of the Dutch at Esopus, 

 and had charge of defense of New Haar- 

 lem outpost. Janetzje, his daughter, mar- 

 ried, December 5, 1650, Jean de Pre. in the 

 old Dutch church of New .A.msterdam. 

 Jean (Jan) de Pre was a Fleming of Wal- 

 loon descent : he was born 1635 in Con- 

 ienes, Flanders. He was living in New 

 Amsterdam 1655-59. Jannetzje was his sec- 

 ond wife, and by her he had Jannetzje de 

 Pre, baptized December 3, 1662, and other 

 children. Jannetzje de Pre married Cor- 



nelius Epeke Banta, of Hackensack, New 

 Jersey. They had Jannaetzje Banta, who 

 was married August 22, 1696, to Johannes 

 Myer, son of Marten Janzen Maijer and 

 his wife Henrickje (Hermans) Maijer. 

 They were married in the old Dutch church 

 at Hackensack, New Jersey, which is still 

 standing. He left many children, among 

 others, Isaac, baptized in said church April 

 6, 1718. 



Isaac Myer married Lydia Campbell. 

 Their children were: Benjamin, born March 

 30, 1764; Isaac, married Phebe Crane;. 

 Henry, sergeant in Captain Isaac Morri- 

 son's company. First Battalion, second es- 

 tablishment of the continental troops of the 

 line, killed September 26, 1776, at the bat- 

 tle of Germantown ; and a daughter Rachel, 

 who married (first) a Post, and (second) 

 John Durand. She was the mother of 

 Asher Browne Durand, the celebrated ar- 

 tist and engraver, and her other son, Cyrus- 

 Durand, was the inventor of the "geometri- 

 cal turning lathe" for bank notes, bonds^ 

 etc. 



Benjamin Myer married Sarah Riggs, 

 daughter of Joseph Riggs, in the First 

 Presbyterian church of New York, Feb- 

 ruary 17, 1785. Their son, Isaac Myer,. 

 served in the common and select councils 

 of Philadelphia. He was twice elected to 

 the legislature, and was the agent of the 

 Stephen Girard estate, etc. He was an old- 

 line Whig, but became a Democrat during 

 the civil war. Isaac Myer married Mar- 

 garetta Shade, daughter of Peter Shade, 

 and his wife, Susannah (Warner) Shade, 

 and their children were : Eliza Ferguson,. 

 Sarah Riggs, Lafayette, Maria Jones, Su- 

 san, and Isaac. Jr. Eliza F. became the 

 wife of William J. A. Birkey, Senior ; 

 Sarah R. became the wife of Judge A; V. 

 Parsons ; Lafayette married Mrs. Ella 

 (Cork) Duncan, maiden name Lafille,. 

 daughter of the French consul at Balti- 

 more, Maryland ; Maria Jones became the 

 wife of Dr. Thomas Wilson Woodland, of 

 Kent county, Maryland ; Susan became the 

 wife of Charles A. Duy ; Isaac married 

 Mrs. Mary Abbott Shearpstine.. maideii' 

 name Abbott, of Philadelphia and New 

 York. Sarah Riggs Myer, sister of Isaac 

 Myer, Sr.. married (first) John Tuttle, of 

 Newark, New Jersey, cousin of Miss Tuttle, 

 who married Garrett Hobart, former vice- 

 president of the United States ; she mar- 

 ried (second) Calvin Baldwin, of Newark, 

 New Jersey. Johannes Majer (name 

 signed Myer), made his will March 25, 

 1742, was proved April 10, 1755. and the 

 original is now in the office of the secre- 

 tary of state at Trenton, New Jersey. 



Isaac Myer, Jr., attorney at law, was 

 the author of many literary works, among 

 others translations of "The Waterloo Medi- 

 al." "The Kabbalah," and "Ancient Books 

 of Egypt," etc. "The London Spectator"" 

 calls him a savant. He is a member o( the 

 Holland Society of New York, the Sons 

 of the Revolution. Society of Colonial 

 Wars, the Huguenot Society, New tngland 



