Samuel Van Leer

Captain Samuel Van Leer (1747–1825) was a well known Pennsylvania Irons works owner and a United States Army officer. On outset of the American Revolutionary War, he started a military career with enthusiasm with his neighbor Anthony Wayne in 1775. His furnace supplied cannon and cannonballs for the Revolutionary Army. [1]

Samuel Van Leer
Captain in American Revolutionary War
Personal details
Born(1747-01-07)January 7, 1747
Marple Township, Province of Pennsylvania
DiedOctober 15, 1825(1825-10-15) (aged 78)
Reading Furnace Historic District, Pennsylvania
Resting placeSt. Mary's Episcopal Church (Elverson, Pennsylvania)
Spouse(s)Hannah Wayne (Anthony Wayne's sister)
Children8
RelativesIsaac Wayne (father in-law)
Anthony Wayne (brother in-law)
Florence Van Leer Earle (granddaughter)
George Earle II (grandson)
Blake R Van Leer (great-great-grandson)
Maryly Van Leer Peck (great-great-great-granddaughter)
OccupationCaptain, Ironmaster, Entrepreneur
Military service
Nickname(s)Capt Samuel
Allegiance United States of America
Branch/service Continental Army
U.S. Army
Years of service1775–1785
Rank Captain 1775–1781
Lt Colonel 1781–1785
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War
Battle of Trois-Rivières
Battle of Brandywine
Battle of Paoli
Battle of Germantown
Battle of Monmouth
Battle of Stony Point
Battle of Bull's Ferry

Early life

Captain Samuel Van Leer was born in 1747 at Marple Township. After his mother's death, he was raised by his father Bernardhus Van Leer, who was known for traveling on horseback until the age of 102[2] and for being one of the first medical doctors in New York. Dr. Van Leer also maintained an exclusive office practice, which was unique for the time. Bernardhus would later be studied at several medical universities. [3] In 1770 Captain Samuel married his Childhood sweetheart Hannah Wayne, sister to Anthony Wayne and granddaughter of Captain Anthony Wayne, an officer for Prince William of Orange in the Battle of the Boyne. Captain Samuel Van Leer's family and history[4] is also part of historical tour for the Van Leer Cabin[5][6] and his family's home Van Leer Pleasant Hill Plantation. His family was considered one of the more well known families in Pennsylvania at the time and noted in the anti-slavery cause.  [7] Another Van Leer Cabin was used as a station for the Underground Railroad.[8]

American Revolutionary War

Captain Samuel was with "Mad" Anthony Wayne during the famous Battle of Paoli which is also known as the "Paoli Massacre". He also commanded the Seventh Company, Fifth Battalion during the Battle of Brandywine and during the Battle of Germantown.[9] All of his brothers were military officers during the war.[10] Later in his military career, he was selected to lead the Light Horse Dragoons Company, a small elite group with great horsemanship. Horses were trained and selected for stealthy activities and only existing American citizens could apply. The regiment performed numerous raids from whaleboats against British and Loyalist installations on Long Island. Some of the successful raids captured Fort St. George, Fort Slongo and Lloyd's Neck, Long Island. Elements from the unit comprised Washington's personal bodyguard. The regiment's main patrol areas during the war were in Southern Connecticut and New York, where they intercepted British supplies and fought off bands of Loyalist partisans who preyed on local citizens. This duty earned them the nickname "Watchdogs of the Highlands". They also earned the sobriquet "Washington's Eyes", likely because of their spy work. Major Benjamin Tallmadge became a spy master who ran one of the most successful spy rings of the war, able to infiltrate the British military command in New York city.[11]

Later life

After his retirement from the military, Captain Samuel went on to grow his Iron business in Reading Furnace, which was already supplying cannons for the Continental Army and lived in the historical Warwick Furnace Farms mansion with his wife Hannah.[12] The furnace was a center of colonial iron making and is associated with the introduction of the Franklin Stove, and the retreat of George Washington's army following its defeat at the Battle of Brandywine, where they came for musket repairs.[13] The location is listed as a temporary George Washington Headquarter.[14]

  • Warwick Farmhouse Mansion

Personal life

Samuel had eight children with his wife Hannah. All children would own or be involved with the iron industry. On 10 July 1786 They had twin girls and Hannah would die due to birth complications. After her death, Anthony Wayne offered to have Van Leer's kids stay with his family. Captain Van Leer Instead kept his children at his home and never remarried. His granddaughter Ellen Francis Van Leer married George Hussey Earle Sr., who was also part of the anti-slavery movement and prominent Philadelphia lawyer. [15] Their only son George Howard Earle Jr. would go on to have a prominent business career and was highly sought after to save ailing corporations from financial ruin.[16]

Legacy

His descendant would go on to play various notable roles in American history.

Descendants:

See also

References
  1. "Samuel Van Leer welcomed the Revolution with enthusiasm".
  2. "Dr. Bernardhus Van Leer".
  3. Lansing, D. I. (1970). "The medical Van Leer family of Pennsylvania and New Jersey". Transactions & Studies of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. 38 (1): 44–6. PMID 4916432.
  4. Jordan, John Woolf (1962). "Mother's an Engineer". Historical Society of Pennsylvania. pp. 1322–1325. ISBN 9780806352398.
  5. "Dating the Van Leer Cabin".
  6. "Valley Forge Historical Society". 1962.
  7. Smith Futhey, J. (2007). "History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, Biographies". History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, Biographies. pp. 687–688. ISBN 9780788443879.
  8. "Historical Sites, Mortonson-Schorn Log Cabin". Gloucester County, New Jersey. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  9. "Van Leer Papers".
  10. Jordan, John W., ed. (1911). Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania; genealogical and Personal Memoirs, Volume III. Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 1320–1323. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  11. "Our Past: 2nd Continental Light Dragoons". 2nd Continental Light Dragoons. Second Continental Light Dragoons Official Website. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  12. "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  13. "General Washington retreated to Warwick to have the army's muskets repaired,," Warwick Furnace Historical Marker, May 12, 1948.
  14. "The Iron and Steel Heritage partners with Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources".
  15. Report of the Thirteenth Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Pennsylvania Bar Association. 1907. pp. 100–102. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  16. "The Wizardry of George H. Earle Jr". 1911.
  17. Welsh Founders of Pennsylvania. "History." Accessed December 1, 2008. Glenn, Thomas Allen (1970). Welsh Founders of Pennsylvania. ISBN 9780806304304. Retrieved 2008-12-01..
  18. Smith Futhey, J. (2007). "History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with Genealogical and Biographical". History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with Genealogical and Biographical. pp. 752–753. ISBN 9780788443879.
  19. "The National Community Service Award by the National Society of the daughters of the American Revolution".
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