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William
Branson, one of the first iron industrialists in
America, lived in Philadelphia on the east side of
Second Street--across the street from Christ's Church.
This engraving made by W. Birch and Son in 1800 depicts this
neighborhood. Mr. Branson's daughter Mary was the
first wife of Dr. Bernardhus
Vanleer. |
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Home of Dr. Bernardhus Vanleer in Marple Township near the intersection of Sproul Road and Paxton Hollow Road. The brick home was built in 1742. Dr. Vanleer was living here in 1788--then over 100 years old--when
thieves broke in and beat him severely. He never fully recovered and died in 1790 at the age of 104. |
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The Blue Ball Tavern on Russell Road near Paoli, PA. This tavern was part of the Bernardhus Vanleer estate and was inherited by his daughter Mary Moore (wife of Moses Moore). Mary's daughter Priscilla "Prissy" later owned the
building. According to local legend, she married three times, killing each husband and burying them under the cellar of the house. The Blue Ball tavern is said to still be haunted. |
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Cabin built on property that Isaac Vanleer inherited from his father Bernardhus Vanleer in the early 1800's. It is now
on the grounds of Conestoga High School on Irish Road in
Berwyn, PA.
See http://members.aol.com/vanleercbn
for information on cabin restoration and maintenance.
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Captain
Samuel Vanleer (1746-1825). Captain of the Flying Camp
during Revolution. Took over his grandfather Branson's
iron business by purchasing pieces inherited by other
grandchildren. Married Hannah Wayne, sister
to Major General Anthony Wayne. |
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Samuel
and Hannah Vanleer's first home on the Wayne farm on Church
Road beside St. David's Episcopal Church in Easttown
Township. |
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St.
David's Episcopal Church in Easttown Township. Samuel
Vanleer served as vestry here from 1773 until
1775. Major General Anthony Wayne and several other Wayne
generations are buried in the churchyard here. |
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The
Reading Furnace mansion where Samuel and Hannah Vanleer
moved in 1780. Samuel took over active management
after the War in 1786. An iron plantation
included a large tract of property with a forest for making
charcoal and farm land to feed all the workers. |
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Warwick
Episcopal Church. Samuel Vanleer and several generations of
his descendants are buried in the churchyard at Warwick. |
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Samuel
Vanleer's grave at Warwick. He died in
1825. The adjacent grave is his son, William, who died
in 1808. The American flag commemorates Capt.
Vanleer's service in the American Revolution. |
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The
Hiberia Furnace mansion built in 1821 by Charles Brooke is
part of Hibernia County Park in Coatsville,
PA. [See www.chesco.org/ccparks
for public tour information.]
Hibernia Furnace was part of the many assets
sold by Isaac Vanleer in 1817 as part of his bankruptcy
proceedings.
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Brandywine Presbyterian
Church, Brandywine, PA. The Culbertsons were leading
members of this church. The young son of Isaac and
Elizabeth Culbertson Vanleer--Linford Lardner Vanleer--who
died from a fall in 1808 is buried here among the many
Culbertsons, Isaac and Elizabeth moved to Tennessee a few years later. |
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Major
General Anthony
Wayne, one of General Washington's Front-Line
Generals. Wayne also played an important part in
American history after the Revolution. He led the
American forces against the Indians of the Midwest, clearing
the Ohio Valley for white settlement. |
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Waynesboro near Paoli,
PA. This house is now a historic home and is
open to the public. |
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Statue of Gen. Anthony Wayne
at Valley Forge. |
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The Treaty of
Greenville marked the end of Indian power in the Ohio
Valley. Indian chiefs ceded their ancestral land to
General Anthony Wayne in 1795 for 1/6 -of-a-cent per
acre. "The Treaty of Fort Greenville" was
painted from a sketch by an officer on Wayne's staff.
The central figure is Wayne; to his right is future U.S.
President William Henry Harrison. The original
painting can be seen at the Chicago Historical Society.
(View copy of
Treaty of Greenville.) |
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