Royer
Royer Family Descendants
1 Sebastian Mathias Royer
2 Johann Emig Royer
3 Daniel Royer
4 Joseph Royer
5 John Royer
+Esther Royer
6 Elizabeth Royer
6 Martha Royer
6 Maria Royer
6 Daniel Royer
6 Sarah Royer
+Isaac Fall Fall Family Decendants
7 Effie May Fall
+Howard Brumbaugh Brumbaugh Family Decendants
6 Salina Royer
Furnaces and the Iron Industry
About 1812 John Royer built Springfield Furnace , in Woodberry Twp., some five miles northwest of the Fouse home. He preempted a large tract of land, some of which was rich in hematite iron ore, and most of it was well covered with forest trees from which he made charcoal. Soon afterward Dr. Peter Schoenberger, proprietor of the iron works at Marietta, Lancaster Co., PA, preempted large tracts of mountain land, also a large tract known as "The Barrens" containing considerable hematite ore. About 1817 he built Rebecca Furnace. later in Huston Twp., four miles south of the original Fouse farm. All this activity gave the pioneers a ready market for produce, stock, etc. Extensive hauling was necessary , as the pig-iron had to be conveyed from the furnaces ten miles to Maria Forges and twenty miles to Petersburg. In common with many others in the Cove," the Fouse sons earned money by chopping wood at 35 cents per cord in the winter, and during the summer the farm was further cleared and cultivated. The success of the iron works soon led to the establishment of other similar furnaces and forges, and Morrison's Cove became a veritable hive of industry offering a good home marker for everything the farmers could produce, as well as for their labor by team, etc.
"Prior to the completion of the canal and Portage Railroad, in 1833, there were a large number of charcoal furnaces and forges in this portion of Huntingdon County and their product was hauled to Pittsburgh at a cost of from twenty to thirty dollars per ton."
I. Sebastian Royer
I. Sebastian Royer, with four sons, emigrated from the Palatinate, Germany, to America in the year 1718. He was born near the city of Metz, but retired to the Palatinate about the Revocation Period (1685). He likely accompanied his father, for at this time Sebastian was likely only a youth, otherwise he was a very old man when he died in 1758. A number of Royers are said to fled to the Palatinate at this time. It is said that his sons persuaded him to come to America. The two oldest were young grown men. They had a long and tedious journey, and despaired of ever reaching the New World; but the ship finally landed in safety at Philadelphia.
It is claimed that he stopped for a time in Royersford, on the Schuylkill River, and that the place was named after him. On this point there are grounds for doubt. According to Rupp, a Bastian Royer settled in Lancaster County in 1719. This was certainly our Sebastian. So his coming to Lancaster County followed almost immediately on his arrival.
His wife had died in Germany, but after his arrival in America he remarried. The name of his second wife was Agnes; her maiden family name has not been learned. It seems that his three daughters were by the second wife. She was a member of the Reformed Church, while he was not only a Lutheran, but also a deacon in said church. On account of these conditions in his family it is said that he donated two tracts of land at Brickerville, one for The erection of a Lutheran and the other for a Reformed church(+). But it is established by the deed that the trustees of the Lutheran church bought the land direct from the Penns, yet Sebastian may have supplied the money. He is not mentioned in Lutheran church records at Brickerville. This church property ran along Sebastian's land, and may have been secured by the trustees before Sebastian had his deed from the Penns. But it is also established by deed that he did give land for the erection of a Reformed Church, designated as Zion Reformed, but long known as Royer's. This church stands on the hill up from the side-wooded ravine in which nestled the home of Sebastian Royer. A stone might have been thrown by a single cast from the church to the Royer home. Although this land was bought by Reformed trustees in 1747, yet it was still a part of the Royer estate in 1759, when the heirs deeded the estate to the Brubakers.
When Sebastian Royer first bought land in Lancaster County, we have not ascertained for a certainty. He owned land in Leacock Twp, Lanc. Co. in 1735. From here he likely moved to Brickerville, Warwick Twp., same county. He bought 64 acres from the Penns, Aug. 25, 1742; and 222 acres, Jan. 26, 1743,--the latter
tract had been bought by a Moyer, who failed to meet conditions, and the tract had reverted to the Penns. June 20, 1754. Sebastian deeded to his son Samuel. 136 acres of the latter tract. The heirs deeded to the Brubakers the paternal estate on 192 acres in 1759. It will thus be seen that Sebastian owned as much as 328 acres near Brickerville, Lancaster County, or 42 acres more than the two tracts above, bought from the Penns. Tradition credits him with as much
500 acres. George Royer, doubtless Sebastians's son, George, owned 200 acres of land in Warwick Township in 1759; and Henry Royer, doubtless also Sebastian's Henry, was a taxable in Elizabeth Township in 1758, the year after the township was organized out of a part of Warwick. From the location of these lands, in Elizabeth and Warwick Townships, they might have previously been a part of the paternal estate. This matter is as yet undetermined.
Sebastian Royer is said to have been naturalized at a meeting of the Supreme Court in Philadelphia, Apr. 11-13, 1743 (+) It is quite likely that his buying land of the Penns at this time led to his naturalization. Sebastian Royer died near Brickerville, in Elizabeth Township, Lancaster Co., Pa., in 1758 or 1759. This we have from the fact that letters of administration were taken out by his oldest son Emig, Feb. 24, 1759, and his last will was executed Aug. 3, 1758. Where his remains rest is not known. It is presumed, however that he was buried in the large Lutheran cemetery in East Brickerville.
Writes A. H. Huber: "Sebastian's will is dated Aug. 3, 1758, and was admitted to probate Feb. 14, 1759. The court granted letters of administration to John Emig Royer, whose sureties on the bond were George and Samuel Reier. No account of the estate is on file as it appears that in those days the practice was to divide
and convey the whole estate in the life time of the parent. In this will it is stated that "John Emick is the oldest son and shall have the sum of five pounds for his two shares, and that the property shall be divided between his brothers and sisters, share and share alike, as one child is to us like the other. So shall you divide in peace and be satisfied. "The instrument viewed in the light of modern wills is somewhat quaint and peculiar, but throughout the whole paper there breathes the spirit of paternal love and Christian piety. It is signed by both husband and wife, or father and mother, each of whom make their mark."
I. Sebastian Royer had seven children. We give their names in the order in which they appear in the deed transferring the father's estate. If he had children who died before himself, of course they are not included in this list. Emig's name comes first, and as he was the oldest, the names are likely in the order of birth.
Name Birth Death
II. Emig (Amos) Royer Dec 18, 1707 Apr. 2, 1769
II. George Royer Likely about 1709
II. Samuel Royer About 1764
II. Henry Royer
II. Margaret Royer
II. Maria Catarina Royer
II. Catharine Royer Sept. , 1728 Apr. 28, 1809
The Will of Sebastian Royer. Warwick Township, Lancaster County, In the Name of God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Whereas me Bastian Ryer and his Wife Angnes, hath Laid us Town by Crossing Sickness, so they sought to Make and Leave Peace behind by their Childrens, by their Life, and is This their Married
People. Their Eareestly Will and Desire That after their Decease, John Emick Reyer, the oldest Son, shall have the Sum of Five Pounds for his Two Shares Which he would have in forehand of his Brothers and Sisters, and if the said John Emick Ryer, have received The Five Pounds, Then all the Brothers and Sisters shall Divide in Equal Shares, and none shall have further as one of the others, and wee old aged Bodies Hopes That our beloved Children will be satisfied with These our Last will, For it is one Child to us Like the others, and you shall Divide in Peace, and be Satisfied with That, That we left behind us for you, and by This our Last Will you Stand, and neither put anything thereof Nor thereto, Then the Lord God will Bless you in this and everlasting Life, and by This Writing Which Wee Left before your eyes after our Decease, Keep that and be in Peace, and Let father and Mother rest in the Earth and shleep and being satisfied therewith, and we are in Conscion shure That it is Right, Which we Think That you beloved Childrens May acknowledge, and Take it in peace and Lastly we weesh you all the peace of God in your harts Through Jesus Christ, Amen--Dated August 3rd Anno 1758 Witness His Johannes Neigy (Seal) Bathe Reyer II
Mark
Johanne Michael Butz Her
Georg Martsen (Seal) Agnes X
Reyer Johannes Martin Mark A True Copy Translated from the Original
"Abea Myer"
Remark--The translation was likely made for the Register at Lancaster. The copy on the books there can scarcely be read: but the editor copied this from the original translation, preserved in Lancaster, which is much more legible.
Remarks on the Family of I. Sebastian Royer. It is practically certain that all of the sons of Sebastian Royer came with him to Lancaster Co., and there established homes. If either George or Henry moved away, they did so after their father's death. We herewith give a statement of the case.
First, all were present to sign the deed conveying away the old homestead. This of course does not have much weight, for if living at a distance, their signatures would have been necessary and would have secured. But the signatures prove, as does the body of the deed, and the attest (*) to it, that all four of his sons were living May 17, 1759. The same also prove that the names of the sons were Emig (corrupted by the English scribe into Amos, George, Samuel, and Henry. Emig Royer, according to a survey given A. H. Huber of Westminister, Md., by Mr. Cope, owned land in Leacock Twp., Lanc. Co., in 1735, which land joined land owned by his father. He bought his land on the Middle Creek, same county, in 1747, and died there in 1769. All of his sons owned farms in Lane, Co., in which county
and in Leb. his descendants are numerous, also in Union and Franklin Counties, Pa., and in Carrol Co., Md. They also are scattered more or less liberally through the Middle West, especially in Stark Co., Ohio We find from an old list of land owners that a George Royer in 1759 owned 200 acres of land in Warwick Township, Lanc. County. This was the township in which Sebastian settled. The evidence is practically conclusive that this George was George the son of Sebastian. Whether he died in Lancaster Co. we do not know. The tide of immigration was strongly westward soon after Sebastian's death. George's full name may have been Hans George, (John George) as this was a very common combination among the early Germans, and he may have been the son John who tradition
says inherited a part of the paternal estate, was unfortunate and moved west of the Susquehanna. (+) A George Royer, likely this one, bought a tract, not an expensive one, Antrim Twp., Cumb. Co., now Franklin Co., Pa., Apr. 22, 1772 (See Records at Chambersburg.) He seems to meet all the requirements of the traditional unfortunate John.
ROBERT THOMPSON
His sister Catharine, had a son named John George, quite likely so called after his uncle.
Links
Royer Grave Marker at East Nimishillen Church Cemetery
GenealogicalRecords of the Royer Family in America by J.G. Francis
Royers Past and Present by Barbara Bittner Abraham
History of the Gift, Kern, Royer Families The Rehrer/Rohrer Family of Berks and Lancaster Counties
The French Huguenot Roots of the Royer Family
Data Extracted from the LDS Church Records