Clymer Weir Cox Genealogy » SAMUEL (PA 1734) WEIR (1731-1811)

Persoonlijke gegevens SAMUEL (PA 1734) WEIR 

• Hij is geboren tussen 1721 en 1731 in Ulster, Northern Ireland.
• Alternatief: Hij is geboren tussen 1721 en 1731 in Unknown.
• Geëmigreerd op 28 september 1734, with Ulster Scots Archibald &, Michael Finley, Archibald &, Henry Kelso, John Barclay, William Walker &, sons Richard, Robert &, John, the Weirs, Wallaces, Barnhills, Griers &, Darrochs.
• Eigendommen:
• , Rented land which had been acquired by William Allen in the original land patent to Wm.Penn. Later the Weirs bought the land about the intersection of State Rd. and Limekiln Pike known as Weir's Corne.

  r.

• Woonachtig:
• in het jaar 2023: 250 Cambridge Pl, Chalfont, PA 18914.
• in het jaar 1760: 250 Cambridge Pl, Chalfont, PA 18914-Old Stone House On Southerly Slope Of Spruce Hill Near Intersection Of Butler Rd. And State Rd. (Weirs Corner) Bore The Inititials Of The Weirs.
• in het jaar 1810: New Britain, Bucks, Pennsylvania, United States.
• in het jaar 1805: New Britain, Bucks, Pennsylvania, United States.
• in het jaar 1782: New Britain, Bucks, Pennsylvania, United States.
• in het jaar 1800: New Britain, Bucks, Pennsylvania.
• (Emigrated) in Weirs, McKinstrys, Hines, Darrahs perhaps emigrated together and settled in the Scotch-Irish area of Bucks County.
• Hij is overleden april 1811 in New Britain Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
• Hij is begraven in het jaar 1811 in Cemetery of Neshaminy Presbyterian Church, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
• Alternatief: Hij is begraven in Unknown, Evie says most likely on his farm in New Britain Township.
• Alternatief: Hij is begraven in Unknown, Evie says most likely on his farm in Warrington.
• Testament op 16 juli 1812 naar In the settlement listed benefits to RICHARD ROBERTS, GUARDIAN TO THE CHILDREN OF JOHN SIMPSON. I assume he wants his Rebecca's children to receive something and Richard could be relative who will carry it out.
• Alternatief: Testament naar Written by the Rev. Nathaniel Irwin, who is referred to as a friend and appointed executor. In case Nathaniel Irwin dies before Samuel, then James Finley, friend and neighbor, is to be executor. Wit.

  nesses: William Hines and William Darrah

• Alternatief: Testament naar Written by the Rev. Nathaniel Irwin, who is referred to as a friend and appointed executor. In case Nathaniel Irwin dies before Samuel, then James Finley, friend and neighbor, is to be executor. Witnesses: William Hines and William Darrah.
• Een kind van JOHN WEIR en UNKNOWN UNKNOWN
• Deze gegevens zijn voor het laatst bijgewerkt op 14 augustus 2023.

Gezin van SAMUEL (PA 1734) WEIR

Hij is getrouwd met Mary Alexander.

Zij zijn getrouwd

Kind(eren):

1. John Alexander Weir  1752-1840 
2. Mary Alexander Weir  1755-1846 
3. Robert Alexander Weir  ± 1755-????
4. James Alexander Weir  1756-1834
5. Rebeccah Alexander Weir  ± 1757-1801 
6. Samuel Alexander Weir  ± 1760-????

Notities over SAMUEL (PA 1734) WEIR

ANCESTOR OF PRESIDENT ULYSSES S. GRANT

250 Cambridge Pl, Chalfont, PA 18914 2023

___11 Mar 1750 in New Britain Twp, Bucks, Pennsylvania 1
Note: Archibald Finley arrived in Philadelphia, PA 28 Sep 1734. In 1736, he moved to Bucks To., PA. J.V. Thompson Journals, vol. 13, p. 222-223: Albert Finley France of Annapolis, Md writes May 15, 1925 large envelope 6th page saying the Penna Archives & records he received from Bucks Co, show that Archibald Finley & his family landed at Phila, Pa Sept 28, 1734 along with his brother Michael Finley & his family & with these other Ulster Scots viz: Archibald & Henry Kelso, John Barclay (father of Martha Barclay) William Walker, married John Finley) (note that6 he does not spell it Barkley) William Walker & his three sons Richard, Robert & John, the Weirs, Wallaces, Barnhills, Griers & Darrochs & settled in the upper part of Warrington, Warwick & New Britain Tps, Bucks Co, Pa. This Archibald Finley, Archibald Kelso, Thos Kelso & Henry Kelso contracted with Geo Fitzwater abt 1736 for 500 A of land in New Britain Tp along the N.W. side of the present upper state Road. Geo Fitzwater died testate & by mutual agreement among the four above parties 151 A 53 P was allotted to Archibald Finley off the end toward the county line & which recently was the property of Elias Sellers. Archibald Finley built a house on this land & died in it Mch 11, 1749-50 before a deed was made & on Dec 11, 1750 the Exrs of Geo Fitzwater made deed to his widow Margaret Finley & his two eldest sons John & Henry Finley as Exrs of Archibald Finley decd. His will is dated Mch 11, 1749-50 states that he is very sick directs his wife & two sons above named be Exrs & that his estate be divided among his wife & children, Simon Butler & Isaac James are apptd trustees. Witnesses to will are Robert Labor, Henry Kelso & James Finley son of Michael.

_________________________________________________________
Will of Samuel Wier late of Newbrittain deceased
proved by the oath of
affirmation of Wm Darah & Wm Hines April 22nd 1811.
Mathias Monie(?) DM(?)
#3790
Filed Apr 22nd 1811
Registered in Will Book No. 8 page 182

I Samuel Wier of the Township of New Britain, County of Bucks, & State
of Pennsylvania, yeoman, being advanced in years, but of sound mind, do
make this my last will and Testament as follows. Committing to a
merciful God what regards my soul, & to my Executor & other friends,
what respects my body when dead, I dispose of my estate, (the proper
object of a will) in manner following Viz: To my daughter Mary
McKinstry, wife of Robert McKinstry, now living with me, I give one
hundred pounds currant gold & silver money of Pennsylvania. To James
McKinstry, youngest child of my said daughter Mary I give twenty pounds,
money aforesaid. To Mary Simpson, Sanuel Simpson, Hannah Simpson &
Sarah Simpson all Children of my daughter Rebecca Simpson, deceased, I
give twenty five pounds, each, making in the whole one hundred pounds
money aforesaid. To my son John Wier of New Britain aforesaid, I give
ten pounds, money aforesaid. Also to my said Son John Wier his heirs
and Assigns, I devise five acres of timberland, adjoining a lot of five
acres, more or less, already granted & conveyed to him by me; to be
selected & surveyed to him, by (smudge) Executor. But the condition of
this ??ise is, that my said Son pay to my Executor for --- of my estate,
fourty pounds money, aforesaid, as a consideration for said timber land,
to be paid in two equal annual payments, the first at one, the other at
two years, next after my decease. To my grandson Samuel Wier, Son of
the said John Wier, I give ten pounds money aforesaid. The residue of
my personal estate (if any) after Satisfying legal debts, funeral
expences & costs of Administration, I give to my son James Wier, now
living with me. [ Also to my said Son James Wier I devise the whole
residue of my real estate, for & during the term of his natural life, he
committing no waste thereon, & paying the whole residue of the foregoing
legacies, debts, costs & expences, of my personal estate, with the
fourty pounds aforesaid shall be insufficient to satisfy the same--At
the decease of my said Son James I direct that the real estate to be
held by him as aforesaid, be sold at fair public sale to the highest &
best bidder, & the proceeds of Sale, after defraying expences, given as
follows, Viz, one half thereof equally to and among the Lawful Children
of my said Son James; & the residue or other moiety(?) in equal shares
to & among all my other then surviving grandchildren. But if my son
James shall die without leaving lawful issue, then the whole clear
proceeds as aforesaid, to be given to my said last mentioned grand
Children, share and share alike. I appoint my friend & Minister
Nathanael Irwin of Warrington, Sole Executor of this my last will &
Testament, & I empower him to sell as aforesaid, my Messuage &
Plantation, (or the then residue thereof) situated in New Britain
Township aforesaid bounded by lands of James Finley, Amos Griffith and
others and on sale thereof, good & sufficient title or titles for the
same to the purchaser or purchasers thereof to make seal & deliver &
generally to do in my name & behalf whatever to the Office & duty of an
Executor pertaineth, In case of the death of my said Executor, before
the completion of the trust to him committed, I appoint my friend James
Finley, of New Britain aforesaid, to succeed to his place of powers. In
confirmation of all which I have pronounced this as & for my last will &
Testament, I have affixed my hand & seal the sixteenth day of August one
thousand eight hundred and three
(Signed) Samuel Wier (Seal)
Aug 16th, 1803 The Testator Samuel Wier
appearing to us to be of sound mind, did
sign seal & pronounce the foregoing
Instrument of writing, as & for his
last will of Testament, in presence of us
who subscribed our names as witnesses
in his presence & in presence of each other
(signed) William Hynes
(signed) William Darrah

I the above named testator do add to the foregoing will this Codicil viz
To my grandson Samuel Wier, son of John Wier, I give my eight day
Clock. Witness my hand & seal the twenty --can't read the rest . . .
(Signed, badly) Sam Wier (Seal)
July 29, 1807 Samuel Wier the Testator signed, sealed & pronounced the
above Codicil to (???) & alteration of his herein before written last
will & Testament in presence of us.
(Signed) Isral(?) Mullin and Priscilla McKinstry

Mary (Addis) Weir(bef. 1744 - aft. 1801)

MaryWeirformerlyAddisakaAdes
Bornbefore22 Jan 1744inBucks, Pennsylvania
ANCESTORS
DaughterofRichard Walton Addis Sr.andEleanor (Wyckoff) Addis
Sister ofSimon Addis[half]andRichard Addis[half]
Wife ofSamuel Weir– married [date unknown] [location unknown]
[children unknown]
Diedafter1801after age 56[location unknown]
PROBLEMS/QUESTIONS
Profile managers:Glyn Newbold[send private message] andDale Berry[send private message]
Profile last modified28 Apr 2021| Created 24 Oct 2018
This page has been accessed 107 times.

Biography
Mary was born in 1744. She was the daughter ofRichard AddisandEleanor Wyckoff. She passed away after 1801.
Maria Ades was baptized on 22 Jan 1744 in Bucks, Pennsylvania, USA at the Dutch Reformed Church. Her parents are recorded as Richard Ades and Maria Wykof[1]
Research Notes
Many trees on the internet have this woman as the wife of Samuel As we know that the first children ofSamuel Weirand his wife, Mary, were born in the early 1750s, it impossible for her to be the mother, as she would have been under 10 years old.
Sources
1?Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records
See also:
•https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-40001-1098869102/mary-weir-born-addis-in-familysearch-family-tree?s=271945171&indId=individual-271945171-14002224
•Geni profile: Richard Addis.

William Allen, in 1736, conveyed a great part of the tract to a colony
of Scotch-Irish--the Walkers, Craigs, Grays, Creightons, Barclays,
etc.--the two tiers of farms, ends touching--the end of first tier
abutting on Bristol road. The tier next to Bristol road was conveyed
outright, none of the second tier being conveyed but leased with the
privilege of buying.

On July 4th, 1736, Wm. Allen leased about 160 acres at the upper N. W.
corner to John Barclay, the emigrant ancestor of that family. The
property is described as being bounded on the lower side by land in
tenure of John Wyer. In conveyance of another tract August 4th, 1736,
the tract adjoining being the tract purchased in 1757 by James Weir, is
described as land lately leased to John Wyer, the first tract being just
above the second. The upper tract alluded to as "in tenure of John
Wyer," was in tenure of Samuel Weir in 1757. I find both of the tracts
lately conveyed to James Weir, alluded to in 1736, as leased to him.
John Weir does not seem to have completed his purchase, and November 16,
1757, when James Weir obtained his deed from William Allen, the John
Weir tract is alluded to as in tenure of Samuel Weir, who was your
great-great-grandfather. I assume, therefore, that Samuel Weir who is
your great-great-grandfather, was the son of this mythical John Wyer.
Your ancestor, Samuel Weir, on April 7th, 1760, then a resident of
Warrington, purchased 151 acres, 53 perches of land in what was then New
Britain Tp., and died thereon in April 1811, a very aged man. He
purchased December 25, 1784, of the executors of Henry Funk, 121 acres
and 38 perches adjoining his first purchase, and May 11, 1790, he with
his wife Mary, conveyed this 121 acres to his son John Weir, your
great-grandfather. The land conveyed by your grandfather, Robert Weir,
to John Holtin, is part of this tract.

Samuel Weir was a trustee of Neshaminy (Ne-sham-i-ny) church in 1754.
John Weir was first Sergeant in Capt. Henry Darrah's company in Dec.
1777. Whether the son of Samuel or James cannot be definitely
determined.

THE WEIR FAMILY HISTORY

THE WEIR FAMILY;
SCOTTISH LOWLANDERS, ULSTER MEN, AMERICANS
A CAPSULE OF HISTORY OF THE WEIR FAMILY FOR 250 YEARS

By Evelyn E. Eisenhard

Springfield, Virginia
July 1971

If you or your children are descended from Samuel Weir, who was born between 1721 and 1731 and who died in 1811, you are a member of a "clan" that goes way back." And the Weirs are well worth claiming as kinsmen.

The family, which settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was a part of the Scotch-Irish influence in America, which helped organize and propagate the Presbyterian Church, spread popular education, and promote the movement for American national independence. Let us look back many generations and trace their history from poverty in Scotland to freedom in America.

On starting this search I was told some family folklore:

1. "We are related to the McKinstry family."

2. "We are related to Ulysses S. Grant."

3. "The Weirs originated with three brothers."

In truth:

1. We are related to the McKinstry family --and now we know why.

2. We are related to Ulysses S. Grant and we know how.

3. The original Weirs could very well have been three brothers,
but only much research with the original land and tax records will prove this point.

That job remains in my future at the Bucks County Courthouse in Doylestown--or it may lie in your attic. If anyone has the family Bible of Samuel Weir, we could read the record of the very first generation and probably pinpoint the original immigrant. This still undetermined fact continues to be my primary motivation. (Evie Eisenhart has spent hours and hours in 1999 doing research at the Bucks County courthouse. DB)

The Weirs, without question, lived in Scotland in the early 1600's, and before on land generally near the head of the Firth of Clyde in the Scottish Lowlands. Just across the narrow waters lay the northeastern part of Ireland called Ulster. They were Presbyterians, thanks to the work of John Knox, and they were farmers. If you would read the history of Scotland at that period in time, you would begin to picture the type of religious intolerance they endured and the life they suffered as farmers, heavily taxed, on the land they could never owns. At best, they endured "grinding poverty" and in varying degrees, were unable to worship as they wished.

In 1609 the English wanted Scots and English Protestants to settle Northern Ireland. And so Irishmen were pushed off and the Scots arrived in Ulster Plantation across the narrow channel to start anew on land made desirable by very reasonable rent and the opportunity to worship as they wished as Presbyterians. Thus our Weirs settled in Ulster and became a part of what history later called the Scotch-Irish. That they lived in Scotland and went to Ireland has not been proven. But having read at length on that period, it can be assumed to be true.

At first Ulster proved to be all that it was advertised to be for these Scotsmen. But over the years the hostile Irish harassed them, and a bloody civil war broke out. (That part of Ireland again today is in conflict stemming from those early difference.) Later they began to suffer religious persecution and extremely high taxes called rack-rents, similar to their days in Scotland.

In 1717, the first Scotch Irish left Ulster for America and by 1775, most of them had followed. Our Weirs took the tremendous risk of the three-month ocean voyage and arrived probably in the port of Philadelphia or Lewes, Delaware, as early as 1720 and certainly by 1725. Upon their arrival in America they were hardened to privation and skilled in self-help, thank to their training in Ulster. They made their way northeast into Bucks County and rented land which had been acquired by William Allen in the original land patent from William Penn. This land and land later bought by the Weirs lies in New Britain and Warrington Townships about the intersection of State Road and Butler Road (present day Limekiln Pike). In fact, this area later became known as Weir's Corner."

Early Bucks County records list several Weirs: Robert, Samuel, James, and John. They may have been brothers or John may have been the father of the other three. You today who are Weirs (or married into the Weir Family and attend the Weir Reunion each second Sunday in August in Bucks County) are descendants of Samuel. There are Weirs in the Midwest who descend from Samuel. And there are other Weirs today who without doubt originated with James and Robert. In these early records and up to about 1850, Weir is spelled either Wier or Weir. Wier is more common. After 1850, Weir became more common.

Refer now to the family tree (Page 6) which now covers the time period from Samuel, who lived to be a very old man, between 80 and 90, through his son, John, a Revolutionary War veteran, and his son Robert, and his son James, who married Emma Jane Dannehower. James and Emma Jane lie buried in the United Church of Christ Cemetery at Eureka (Bucks County - location of annual Weir Reunion DB ). James was my point of reference to start back from.

We know very little about Robert, a contemporary of Samuel; we can trace James, another contemporary of Samuel, for four generations, and anyone with the interest could bring that down to the present day. We know a great deal about Samuel. His wife was Mary. They had four children: John, James, Mary, and Rebecca.

Samuel must have been a worker as he was able to acquire nearly 300 acres of land. The land of William Penn was truly the paradise these people had risked all to obtain. Their drive to own land was achieved, and their great desire to worship at Presbyterians was practiced----with great devotion.

The Scotch-Irish Presbyterians in this part of Bucks County sought a pastor. In 1725 William Tennent came, and thus was started the Neshaminy Presbyterian Church, one of the earliest on American soil. Apparently, Samuel and Mary accepted willingly a drive of approximately 10 miles by wagon to church each Sunday. Attending church was a social as well as religious occasion and a break from the lonely isolation of farm work. It was an occasion of strictness, self discipline, and joy. Children had to know their (Westminster) catechism, therefore, they had to learn to read and write, and learn they did. And to the adults the church was a place to conform, a place to be accepted, and a place to be respected.

Samuel was a trustee of the Neshaminy Presbyterian Church in 1754. To be thus chosen he must have been of upright and trustworthy character. Samuel's son John followed in his father's footsteps at the Neshaminy Presbyterian Church, serving as a collector of pew rents in 1793 and an elder in 1815. (John served in the American forces during 1776, 1777, and 1778. His original pension application is on file today at the National Archives signed with his own clear penmanship---John Weir. We must remember that the Scotch-Irish experiences in Ulster left a deep resentment against the British. Thus, their sons and grandson were willing volunteers in the American Revolution. John Weir was one of these volunteers, as was his brother James.)

John married Mary McKinstry, daughter of Nathan, and John's sister Mary married Robert McKinstry, Mary's brother. Thus began a closeness of these two families which was to continue down through at least 1900 as indicated by Weirs still attending McKinstry family reunions. The closeness of these two families may very well have started much earlier. Families from Ulster emigrated as a group. The Weirs and McKinstrys may well have settled in Bucks County as part of the same group.

It is to John's sister, Rebecca we owe our relationship to Ulysses S. Grant. Rebecca married John Simpson, and their daughter Hannah married Jesse Grant. Their son was Ulysses Simpson Grant. Had they named their son after his maternal grandmother instead of maternal grandfather he would have been Ulysses Weir Grant.

John and Mary McKinstry had nine children. They raised them on Samuel's land and brought them up to the strict discipline of the Presbyterian Church. Thomas, who at one time ran a store at "Weir's Corner", married and moved to Ohio and later settled in Indiana. He followed the more typical Scotch -Irish pattern of moving ever westward so as to be continually on the frontier. John's land was divided among the other living brothers, James, Nathan, and Robert. Their sisters, Mary, Margaret, and Priscilla never married, but lived on with James, as did their mother Mary after John's death in 1840. (Marian Harper has the family Bible of Mary, John's daughter.)

Robert married Jane Brady and they had four children: John, James, Thomas, and Catherine. Two houses now stand where Robert and James lived. They may be the originals.) Jane died while the children were young. Thomas and Catherine were raised by Jane's sister. Later Catherine married Charles Harvey Yates and had a son, Charles Harvey Yates, Jr. But I know nothing more of her. John died at 26. In the Civil War pension records we find approximately 25 men named John Weir. Our John would have been of an age to serve, but did not, or if he did, he never applied for a pension. No record remains as to why he died so young.

According to the 1870 Census, Thomas and James hired out as farm laborers as young men. Thomas, at age 22, was a farm laborer living with the Nathan Wiser family. James at age 23 was a farm laborer living with the Lighman Hoover family. (At this time their father, Robert, at age 74, was living with the Alexander Brady family.) Later Thomas and his wife, Josephine, had a farm near James and Emma Jane's just east of Eureka. Thomas had one child, Mary, who married George E. Fetters. Thomas, Marian Harper's grandfather, in later life, moved to California with the Fetters family. The home of Thomas and Josephine still stand today--a white, two story clapboard house set very close to the road.

James and Emma Jane's home was between Thomas' home and Eureka, across the road from the present day gravel pit. It no longer stands today. But in that home and on that land they raised all or at least several of their seven children: Ella May, Robert W., Philip I., Effie G., Anna M., S. Florence, and M. Wilmer. (A son was born and died in 1892.) In later life James had a financial setback, and lost his farm. They lived in the area of Three Tons and then moved to the store post office at Eureka where Emma Jane was postmistress. This structure still stands today at Eureka---also called Pleasantville. (Wes Arnold has the family Bible of James and Emma Jane.)

After James' death in 1915, Emma Jane visited around with her children catching them up on their mending. She was a short woman with boundless energy who is still remembered fondly by her grandchildren. You who are part of the Wier Reunion Mailing list are direct descendants of the children of James and Emma Jane (Dannehower) Weir.

Data on the Weirs since James and Emma Jane has been kept, first by Florence Weir Arnold, then by Gladys McNair Westerman. It is now in my possession and could be easily duplicated if interested and warranted.

Today you can visit Neshaminy Presbyterian Church cemetery in Warrington Township, Bucks County. The original building is gone but remaining are the graves of many early Weirs --John and Mary, James, Jane, Nathan, and his wife Ann, Thomas and His wife, Josephine...If we would but take the time and have the strength to raise many fallen stones, I am sure we would find Samuel and Mary and many, many others of the Weir clan. Alongside them will be the McKinstrys and other Ulster immigrant families.

As far as I know none of the land of Samuel Weir is in the Weir family today. I don't know how many Weirs today are Presbyterians. I don't know what happened to their quilts and bedsteads, chests of drawers and chairs, cups and saucer.

The Weirs took great risks to come to America in order to own land and worship as they wished. They could never in their wildest dreams have imagined how their descendants would spread from Bucks County. Yet, we today enjoy the freedom to own land and to worship as we wish thanks to the early Weirs and people like them who suffered and endured so much for those privileges in their day.

WHERE IN SCOTLAND DID THE WEIRS ORIGINALLY LIVE
BY EVELYN E. EISENHARD
JULY 19, 1979

In searching for one's ancestors, many question arise which soon turn themselves into goals. One of these goals in searching for the Weirs was to determine where in Scotland the original Weir ancestor lived, worked, worshipped, and eventually, left.

At this point, we may or may not have the answer but we have a good lead.

A trip to Great Britain to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary led Bob and I to a Guest Hour in Fort William Scotland on June 2, 1979. There we saw for the first time Bartholomew's 1975 Clan Map, "Scotland of Old." On this map we located the Weir family name and the land on which they lived about 1600, during the rule of James VI of Scotland.

On June 3 we visited the Weir land. Blackwood, as noted on the clan map, is today near where Motorway M74 becomes A74. We asked directions and found our way to Stonebyres, the ancestral home noted on the clan map. The home is in ruins. The stables intact and a house immediately next to the stables occupied by John and Mary Lindsey. John is a forester for the government. Although they found it puzzling that we were interested in the Weir family, a name they in no way associated with
Stonebyres, and that we had traveled so far in our search, the Lindseys invited us in for tea and were most gracious. Their phone book of the Clyde Valley, November 1978, had 4 1/2 columns of Weirs in that area southeast of Glasgow. James, Robert, John, Kenneth, and Donald were listed Weir names. The Lindseys walked us through the Stonebyre ruins and suggested we talk with Mrs. Grierson at the gardener's house. We followed their suggestion, walking along the meadow fence line, and found Mrs. Grierson. She was very friendly and helpful. Her father had been the overseer of Stonebyres as she
was growing up. One of her treasures of longingly remembered years was a pamphlet prepared in 1904 for the sale of Stonebyres.

Estate of Stonebyres
in the
County of Lanark

Parish Church: Parish of Lesmahagow

Situated on the West Bank of the River Clyde
about 3 miles below the County town of Lanark

865 acres

Baronial Residence------part built in the 12th Century.

The house sold in 1906 for 35,000 pounds to Mr. James Noble Greham. He made extensive changes to the house preparing it for his son to inherit. The son never returned from World War I. Just as we in America experienced the Depression in the early 1930's, hard times came to Scotland also. Taxes went up and in 1936 Stonebyres came down. The owners could no longer pay the taxes. The government took over the land and has since divided up some of it in to 7 acre plots. This area is still very rural, the countryside sparsely settled with small towns scattered about. The land is rolling, treed, and green. We enjoyed our few hours there. Why did the Weirs leave..were they forced to do so or did they leave willingly?

Just a short distance from Stonebyres is the small village of Lesmahagow, the location of their parish church. We drove there past lovely tulips in bloom and located the very old stone church. It is the fourth church to stand on the site. Of course, it is Presbyterian. It was taken over from the Catholics after John Knox converted Scotland in the mid 1500's.(Immediately next to the church are the ruins of a Priory, recently discovered, which goes back to the 1000's.) Whereas the Lindsey's did not associate the Weir name with Stonebyres, this church knew the Weir name. We walked around to the back of the church where the cemetery lay and the very first gravestone we found was a Weir. Several Weir stones were there, including a Robert and a James.

When traveling, it is not always possible to be at the right place at the right time. As we read stones, it was near 8 o'clock at night...the church was closed, and we were due down the road about 9 o'clock for that night's accommodations.

Still unanswered is the question: does this old church house the records of births, deaths, baptisms, and marriages which will help us complete the puzzle tracing the path of the Weir family from Scotland to Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Once they arrived in America they became leaders in the Neshaminy Presbyterian Church (Bristol and Meetinghouse Roads, Hartsville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.) They raised their children as Presbyterians and continued in the church. Perhaps the church as Lesmahagow in far-off Scotland was their first teacher and their model.

Evie Eisenhard
July 19, 1979

Evelyn Eisenhard continues to research the Wiers in Bucks County.

____________________________________________________________
Will of Samuel Wier late of Newbrittain deceased
proved by the oath of
affirmation of Wm Darah & Wm Hines April 22nd 1811.
Mathias Monie(?) DM(?)
#3790
Filed Apr 22nd 1811
Registered in Will Book No. 8 page 182

I Samuel Wier of the Township of New Britain, County of Bucks, & State
of Pennsylvania, yeoman, being advanced in years, but of sound mind, do
make this my last will and Testament as follows. Committing to a
merciful God what regards my soul, & to my Executor & other friends,
what respects my body when dead, I dispose of my estate, (the proper
object of a will) in manner following Viz: To my daughter Mary
McKinstry, wife of Robert McKinstry, now living with me, I give one
hundred pounds currant gold & silver money of Pennsylvania. To James
McKinstry, youngest child of my said daughter Mary I give twenty pounds,
money aforesaid. To Mary Simpson, Sanuel Simpson, Hannah Simpson &
Sarah Simpson all Children of my daughter Rebecca Simpson, deceased, I
give twenty five pounds, each, making in the whole one hundred pounds
money aforesaid. To my son John Wier of New Britain aforesaid, I give
ten pounds, money aforesaid. Also to my said Son John Wier his heirs
and Assigns, I devise five acres of timberland, adjoining a lot of five
acres, more or less, already granted & conveyed to him by me; to be
selected & surveyed to him, by (smudge) Executor. But the condition of
this ??ise is, that my said Son pay to my Executor for --- of my estate,
fourty pounds money, aforesaid, as a consideration for said timber land,
to be paid in two equal annual payments, the first at one, the other at
two years, next after my decease. To my grandson Samuel Wier, Son of
the said John Wier, I give ten pounds money aforesaid. The residue of
my personal estate (if any) after Satisfying legal debts, funeral
expences & costs of Administration, I give to my son James Wier, now
living with me. [ Also to my said Son James Wier I devise the whole
residue of my real estate, for & during the term of his natural life, he
committing no waste thereon, & paying the whole residue of the foregoing
legacies, debts, costs & expences, of my personal estate, with the
fourty pounds aforesaid shall be insufficient to satisfy the same--At
the decease of my said Son James I direct that the real estate to be
held by him as aforesaid, be sold at fair public sale to the highest &
best bidder, & the proceeds of Sale, after defraying expences, given as
follows, Viz, one half thereof equally to and among the Lawful Children
of my said Son James; & the residue or other moiety(?) in equal shares
to & among all my other then surviving grandchildren. But if my son
James shall die without leaving lawful issue, then the whole clear
proceeds as aforesaid, to be given to my said last mentioned grand
Children, share and share alike. I appoint my friend & Minister
Nathanael Irwin of Warrington, Sole Executor of this my last will &
Testament, & I empower him to sell as aforesaid, my Messuage &
Plantation, (or the then residue thereof) situated in New Britain
Township aforesaid bounded by lands of James Finley, Amos Griffith and
others and on sale thereof, good & sufficient title or titles for the
same to the purchaser or purchasers thereof to make seal & deliver &
generally to do in my name & behalf whatever to the Office & duty of an
Executor pertaineth, In case of the death of my said Executor, before
the completion of the trust to him committed, I appoint my friend James
Finley, of New Britain aforesaid, to succeed to his place of powers. In
confirmation of all which I have pronounced this as & for my last will &
Testament, I have affixed my hand & seal the sixteenth day of August one
thousand eight hundred and three
(Signed) Samuel Wier (Seal)
Aug 16th, 1803 The Testator Samuel Wier
appearing to us to be of sound mind, did
sign seal & pronounce the foregoing
Instrument of writing, as & for his
last will of Testament, in presence of us
who subscribed our names as witnesses
in his presence & in presence of each other
(signed) William Hynes
(signed) William Darrah

I the above named testator do add to the foregoing will this Codicil viz
To my grandson Samuel Wier, son of John Wier, I give my eight day
Clock. Witness my hand & seal the twenty --can't read the rest . . .
(Signed, badly) Sam Wier (Seal)
July 29, 1807 Samuel Wier the Testator signed, sealed & pronounced the
above Codicil to (???) & alteration of his herein before written last
will & Testament in presence of us.
(Signed) Isral(?) Mullin and Priscilla McKinstry

THE WEIR FAMILY HISTORY

THE WEIR FAMILY;
SCOTTISH LOWLANDERS, ULSTER MEN, AMERICANS
A CAPSULE OF HISTORY OF THE WEIR FAMILY FOR 250 YEARS

By Evelyn E. Eisenhard

Springfield, Virginia
July 1971

If you or your children are descended from Samuel Weir, who was born between 1721 and 1731 and who died in 1811, you are a member of a "clan" that goes way back." And the Weirs are well worth claiming as kinsmen.

The family, which settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was a part of the Scotch-Irish influence in America, which helped organize and propagate the Presbyterian Church, spread popular education, and promote the movement for American national independence. Let us look back many generations and trace their history from poverty in Scotland to freedom in America.

On starting this search I was told some family folklore:

1. "We are related to the McKinstry family."

2. "We are related to Ulysses S. Grant."

3. "The Weirs originated with three brothers."

In truth:

1. We are related to the McKinstry family --and now we know why.

2. We are related to Ulysses S. Grant and we know how.

3. The original Weirs could very well have been three brothers,
but only much research with the original land and tax records will prove this point.

That job remains in my future at the Bucks County Courthouse in Doylestown--or it may lie in your attic. If anyone has the family Bible of Samuel Weir, we could read the record of the very first generation and probably pinpoint the original immigrant. This still undetermined fact continues to be my primary motivation. (Evie Eisenhart has spent hours and hours in 1999 doing research at the Bucks County courthouse. DB)

The Weirs, without question, lived in Scotland in the early 1600's, and before on land generally near the head of the Firth of Clyde in the Scottish Lowlands. Just across the narrow waters lay the northeastern part of Ireland called Ulster. They were Presbyterians, thanks to the work of John Knox, and they were farmers. If you would read the history of Scotland at that period in time, you would begin to picture the type of religious intolerance they endured and the life they suffered as farmers, heavily taxed, on the land they could never owns. At best, they endured "grinding poverty" and in varying degrees, were unable to worship as they wished.

In 1609 the English wanted Scots and English Protestants to settle Northern Ireland. And so Irishmen were pushed off and the Scots arrived in Ulster Plantation across the narrow channel to start anew on land made desirable by very reasonable rent and the opportunity to worship as they wished as Presbyterians. Thus our Weirs settled in Ulster and became a part of what history later called the Scotch-Irish. That they lived in Scotland and went to Ireland has not been proven. But having read at length on that period, it can be assumed to be true.

At first Ulster proved to be all that it was advertised to be for these Scotsmen. But over the years the hostile Irish harassed them, and a bloody civil war broke out. (That part of Ireland again today is in conflict stemming from those early difference.) Later they began to suffer religious persecution and extremely high taxes called rack-rents, similar to their days in Scotland.

In 1717, the first Scotch Irish left Ulster for America and by 1775, most of them had followed. Our Weirs took the tremendous risk of the three-month ocean voyage and arrived probably in the port of Philadelphia or Lewes, Delaware, as early as 1720 and certainly by 1725. Upon their arrival in America they were hardened to privation and skilled in self-help, thank to their training in Ulster. They made their way northeast into Bucks County and rented land which had been acquired by William Allen in the original land patent from William Penn. This land and land later bought by the Weirs lies in New Britain and Warrington Townships about the intersection of State Road and Butler Road (present day Limekiln Pike). In fact, this area later became known as Weir's Corner."

Early Bucks County records list several Weirs: Robert, Samuel, James, and John. They may have been brothers or John may have been the father of the other three. You today who are Weirs (or married into the Weir Family and attend the Weir Reunion each second Sunday in August in Bucks County) are descendants of Samuel. There are Weirs in the Midwest who descend from Samuel. And there are other Weirs today who without doubt originated with James and Robert. In these early records and up to about 1850, Weir is spelled either Wier or Weir. Wier is more common. After 1850, Weir became more common.

Refer now to the family tree (Page 6) which now covers the time period from Samuel, who lived to be a very old man, between 80 and 90, through his son, John, a Revolutionary War veteran, and his son Robert, and his son James, who married Emma Jane Dannehower. James and Emma Jane lie buried in the United Church of Christ Cemetery at Eureka (Bucks County - location of annual Weir Reunion DB ). James was my point of reference to start back from.

We know very little about Robert, a contemporary of Samuel; we can trace James, another contemporary of Samuel, for four generations, and anyone with the interest could bring that down to the present day. We know a great deal about Samuel. His wife was Mary. They had four children: John, James, Mary, and Rebecca.

Samuel must have been a worker as he was able to acquire nearly 300 acres of land. The land of William Penn was truly the paradise these people had risked all to obtain. Their drive to own land was achieved, and their great desire to worship at Presbyterians was practiced----with great devotion.

The Scotch-Irish Presbyterians in this part of Bucks County sought a pastor. In 1725 William Tennent came, and thus was started the Neshaminy Presbyterian Church, one of the earliest on American soil. Apparently, Samuel and Mary accepted willingly a drive of approximately 10 miles by wagon to church each Sunday. Attending church was a social as well as religious occasion and a break from the lonely isolation of farm work. It was an occasion of strictness, self discipline, and joy. Children had to know their (Westminster) catechism, therefore, they had to learn to read and write, and learn they did. And to the adults the church was a place to conform, a place to be accepted, and a place to be respected.

Samuel was a trustee of the Neshaminy Presbyterian Church in 1754. To be thus chosen he must have been of upright and trustworthy character. Samuel's son John followed in his father's footsteps at the Neshaminy Presbyterian Church, serving as a collector of pew rents in 1793 and an elder in 1815. (John served in the American forces during 1776, 1777, and 1778. His original pension application is on file today at the National Archives signed with his own clear penmanship---John Weir. We must remember that the Scotch-Irish experiences in Ulster left a deep resentment against the British. Thus, their sons and grandson were willing volunteers in the American Revolution. John Weir was one of these volunteers, as was his brother James.)

John married Mary McKinstry, daughter of Nathan, and John's sister Mary married Robert McKinstry, Mary's brother. Thus began a closeness of these two families which was to continue down through at least 1900 as indicated by Weirs still attending McKinstry family reunions. The closeness of these two families may very well have started much earlier. Families from Ulster emigrated as a group. The Weirs and McKinstrys may well have settled in Bucks County as part of the same group.

It is to John's sister, Rebecca we owe our relationship to Ulysses S. Grant. Rebecca married John Simpson, and their daughter Hannah married Jesse Grant. Their son was Ulysses Simpson Grant. Had they named their son after his maternal grandmother instead of maternal grandfather he would have been Ulysses Weir Grant.

John and Mary McKinstry had nine children. They raised them on Samuel's land and brought them up to the strict discipline of the Presbyterian Church. Thomas, who at one time ran a store at "Weir's Corner", married and moved to Ohio and later settled in Indiana. He followed the more typical Scotch -Irish pattern of moving ever westward so as to be continually on the frontier. John's land was divided among the other living brothers, James, Nathan, and Robert. Their sisters, Mary, Margaret, and Priscilla never married, but lived on with James, as did their mother Mary after John's death in 1840. (Marian Harper has the family Bible of Mary, John's daughter.)

Robert married Jane Brady and they had four children: John, James, Thomas, and Catherine. Two houses now stand where Robert and James lived. They may be the originals.) Jane died while the children were young. Thomas and Catherine were raised by Jane's sister. Later Catherine married Charles Harvey Yates and had a son, Charles Harvey Yates, Jr. But I know nothing more of her. John died at 26. In the Civil War pension records we find approximately 25 men named John Weir. Our John would have been of an age to serve, but did not, or if he did, he never applied for a pension. No record remains as to why he died so young.

According to the 1870 Census, Thomas and James hired out as farm laborers as young men. Thomas, at age 22, was a farm laborer living with the Nathan Wiser family. James at age 23 was a farm laborer living with the Lighman Hoover family. (At this time their father, Robert, at age 74, was living with the Alexander Brady family.) Later Thomas and his wife, Josephine, had a farm near James and Emma Jane's just east of Eureka. Thomas had one child, Mary, who married George E. Fetters. Thomas, Marian Harper's grandfather, in later life, moved to California with the Fetters family. The home of Thomas and Josephine still stand today--a white, two story clapboard house set very close to the road.

James and Emma Jane's home was between Thomas' home and Eureka, across the road from the present day gravel pit. It no longer stands today. But in that home and on that land they raised all or at least several of their seven children: Ella May, Robert W., Philip I., Effie G., Anna M., S. Florence, and M. Wilmer. (A son was born and died in 1892.) In later life James had a financial setback, and lost his farm. They lived in the area of Three Tons and then moved to the store post office at Eureka where Emma Jane was postmistress. This structure still stands today at Eureka---also called Pleasantville. (Wes Arnold has the family Bible of James and Emma Jane.)

After James' death in 1915, Emma Jane visited around with her children catching them up on their mending. She was a short woman with boundless energy who is still remembered fondly by her grandchildren. You who are part of the Wier Reunion Mailing list are direct descendants of the children of James and Emma Jane (Dannehower) Weir.

Data on the Weirs since James and Emma Jane has been kept, first by Florence Weir Arnold, then by Gladys McNair Westerman. It is now in my possession and could be easily duplicated if interested and warranted.

Today you can visit Neshaminy Presbyterian Church cemetery in Warrington Township, Bucks County. The original building is gone but remaining are the graves of many early Weirs --John and Mary, James, Jane, Nathan, and his wife Ann, Thomas and His wife, Josephine...If we would but take the time and have the strength to raise many fallen stones, I am sure we would find Samuel and Mary and many, many others of the Weir clan. Alongside them will be the McKinstrys and other Ulster immigrant families.

As far as I know none of the land of Samuel Weir is in the Weir family today. I don't know how many Weirs today are Presbyterians. I don't know what happened to their quilts and bedsteads, chests of drawers and chairs, cups and saucer.

The Weirs took great risks to come to America in order to own land and worship as they wished. They could never in their wildest dreams have imagined how their descendants would spread from Bucks County. Yet, we today enjoy the freedom to own land and to worship as we wish thanks to the early Weirs and people like them who suffered and endured so much for those privileges in their day.

WHERE IN SCOTLAND DID THE WEIRS ORIGINALLY LIVE
BY EVELYN E. EISENHARD
JULY 19, 1979

In searching for one's ancestors, many question arise which soon turn themselves into goals. One of these goals in searching for the Weirs was to determine where in Scotland the original Weir ancestor lived, worked, worshipped, and eventually, left.

At this point, we may or may not have the answer but we have a good lead.

A trip to Great Britain to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary led Bob and I to a Guest Hour in Fort William Scotland on June 2, 1979. There we saw for the first time Bartholomew's 1975 Clan Map, "Scotland of Old." On this map we located the Weir family name and the land on which they lived about 1600, during the rule of James VI of Scotland.

On June 3 we visited the Weir land. Blackwood, as noted on the clan map, is today near where Motorway M74 becomes A74. We asked directions and found our way to Stonebyres, the ancestral home noted on the clan map. The home is in ruins. The stables intact and a house immediately next to the stables occupied by John and Mary Lindsey. John is a forester for the government. Although they found it puzzling that we were interested in the Weir family, a name they in no way associated with
Stonebyres, and that we had traveled so far in our search, the Lindseys invited us in for tea and were most gracious. Their phone book of the Clyde Valley, November 1978, had 4 1/2 columns of Weirs in that area southeast of Glasgow. James, Robert, John, Kenneth, and Donald were listed Weir names. The Lindseys walked us through the Stonebyre ruins and suggested we talk with Mrs. Grierson at the gardener's house. We followed their suggestion, walking along the meadow fence line, and found Mrs. Grierson. She was very friendly and helpful. Her father had been the overseer of Stonebyres as she
was growing up. One of her treasures of longingly remembered years was a pamphlet prepared in 1904 for the sale of Stonebyres.

Estate of Stonebyres
in the
County of Lanark

Parish Church: Parish of Lesmahagow

Situated on the West Bank of the River Clyde
about 3 miles below the County town of Lanark

865 acres

Baronial Residence------part built in the 12th Century.

The house sold in 1906 for 35,000 pounds to Mr. James Noble Greham. He made extensive changes to the house preparing it for his son to inherit. The son never returned from World War I. Just as we in America experienced the Depression in the early 1930's, hard times came to Scotland also. Taxes went up and in 1936 Stonebyres came down. The owners could no longer pay the taxes. The government took over the land and has since divided up some of it in to 7 acre plots. This area is still very rural, the countryside sparsely settled with small towns scattered about. The land is rolling, treed, and green. We enjoyed our few hours there. Why did the Weirs leave..were they forced to do so or did they leave willingly?

Just a short distance from Stonebyres is the small village of Lesmahagow, the location of their parish church. We drove there past lovely tulips in bloom and located the very old stone church. It is the fourth church to stand on the site. Of course, it is Presbyterian. It was taken over from the Catholics after John Knox converted Scotland in the mid 1500's.(Immediately next to the church are the ruins of a Priory, recently discovered, which goes back to the 1000's.) Whereas the Lindsey's did not associate the Weir name with Stonebyres, this church knew the Weir name. We walked around to the back of the church where the cemetery lay and the very first gravestone we found was a Weir. Several Weir stones were there, including a Robert and a James.

When traveling, it is not always possible to be at the right place at the right time. As we read stones, it was near 8 o'clock at night...the church was closed, and we were due down the road about 9 o'clock for that night's accommodations.

Still unanswered is the question: does this old church house the records of births, deaths, baptisms, and marriages which will help us complete the puzzle tracing the path of the Weir family from Scotland to Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Once they arrived in America they became leaders in the Neshaminy Presbyterian Church (Bristol and Meetinghouse Roads, Hartsville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.) They raised their children as Presbyterians and continued in the church. Perhaps the church as Lesmahagow in far-off Scotland was their first teacher and their model.

Evie Eisenhard
July 19, 1979

Evelyn Eisenhard continues to research the Wiers in Bucks County.

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