(Benjamin?) Lawrence Meyer

• Born 1750?
• Died 1806
• (Brother George?) married Regina (Rachel) M. Schneider on 10/5/1780 at St. Joseph's Church, Philadelphia.
• A St. Joseph's Catholic Church record from the American Catholic Historical Society states: Benjamin Lawrence Myers, born 13 November 1794, son of: Benjamin Lawrence Myers and wife Rachel. Baptized 17 November 1794. Rachel and Regina are presumed to be the same person.
• (Brother George?) witnessed the wedding in the same church of George Essling, 5/31/1786. (See this site.)
• At least three generations of the Myers family: Lawrence, Joseph Snyder and Cornelius T., were in business manufacturing iron and wooden parts for the shipbuilding industry.
• Theory is that George and Lawrence were brothers. George married Regina M. Schneider (Snyder) who bore him a son, George. George Sr. died and his brother Lawrence married Regina, raised his nephew with her and with her sired a family including Ann (q.v.). Evidence for this theory was gathered by Joe Myers and includes will of Lawrence Myers and personal recollection from Joseph F. Cottringer, Ann Meyer's son. As follows:
• A St. Joseph's Catholic Church 1780 marriage record, page 304, for Meyer-Schneider: October 5 after dispensation, George, son of John and N. Meyer to Regina, daughter of Henry and Barbara Schneider. Witnesses Henry Schneider, Henry Schneider, Jr., John Schneider, and Anthony Schneider. Note that the record states "John and N. Meyer" not John N. Meyer.
• The last will and testament of Lawrence Myers (1750-1806) identifies his wife as Rachael, his six children as William, Margeret, Ann, Joseph, Benjamin and John. He mentions his business Myers & Snyder, with partner, Joseph Snyder. A nephew, George Myers was named a beneficiary. The will was authorized by Lawrence signing it with an "X" rather than a signature, suggesting some doubt about his ability to verify the contents of the document. Cornelius Tiers was a witness.
• A letter written by Joseph F. Cottringer, a son of Lawrence Myers' daughter Ann, provides a very credible record of his ancestors. He identifies his grandfather as Lawrence Myers and his grandmother as Regina Myers, the daughter of Henry and Barbara Snyder. He also states that his grandmother was a sister to Joseph Snyder, grandfather Lawrence Myers' partner in the shipsmith business. Further he mentions the children of Lawrence and Regina as Aunt Margaret, his mother Ann, Joseph who married Mrs. Burke (John Fagan's sister), William who married Margaret Tiers, John who married his cousin Maria Erling and Benjamin.
• The inscription on vault #4 in Old Saint Mary's graveyard includes the following record:
  Margaret Myers, wife of William Myers died May 21, 1830 age 42 years
  Margaret Tiers Myers, daughter, age 51 days
  Regina Myers, died May 3, 1843, age 84 years
  William Myers
• Philadelphia city directories list the residence of George Myers as 32 Christian Street, the same address as L. (Lawrence) Myers.
• A professional genealogist who has been doing research over the past several years advises as follows: "I have virtually no doubt that Regina and Rachel are the same person - especially knowing that Rachel was often an anglicized version of Regina. If the scribe used for the will was English speaking rather than German speaking, he could have made the name change, or Lawrence could have spoken the English name for the scribe's benefit. For me the Will of Lawrence Myers and the document prepared by Joseph F. Cottringer are sufficiently persuasive to establish that Ann Meyer's parents were Lawrence Myers/Meyer and Anna Regina Schneider. In that conclusion I accept that Rachel and Anna Regina are the same person. Regina Myers buried at St. Mary's in vault #4 is the same person as Anna Regina Schneider baptized January 21, 1759 and was the mother of William Myers with whom she is buried. The full name of Lawrence Meyer may have been Benjamin Lawrence Meyer."

  There remains the question: Who was the George Meyer, son of John and N. Meyer included in the marriage record with Regina Schneider on October 5, 1780. I have a theory, not yet supported, that Regina may have been married first to George, with whom she had a son George and that her husband died while the child was an infant. Lawrence, the brother of George, then married Regina and they had six additional children. This could explain the inclusion of Lawrence's nephew George as a beneficiary in his will. Nephew George lived in the same house with Lawrence and Regina and was employed in the family shipsmith business. The genealogist in Philadelphia is currently searching for support for this possibility.

• Lawrence Meyer/Myers was a blacksmith and operated a business on Swanson Street on the banks of the Delaware River in the Southwark District of old Philadelphia. His business was a partnership with Joseph Snyder who was a brother to Barbara Schneider. The business, known as Myers & Snyder produced parts for the shipbuilding business. It is listed in the Philadelphia City Directory as a "block and pump manufactory." Lawrence lived at 32 Christian Street which was a short walk from the business location. I have both locations plotted on an old map. St. Mary's and St. Joseph's are both nearby.

  So Lawrence married the sister of his business partner. As you know I suspect that Lawrence was Barbara's second husband and married after the death of her first husband, Lawrence's brother George. A genealogist in Philadelphia is attempting to locate death/burial records for George, birth/baptismal records for a son George and/or a marriage record for Lawrence and Regina, presumably several years after the recorded date of the marriage of George and Regina. The recorded birth dates for the children of Lawrence and Regina are: John 1783, William 1784, Margaret 1785, Ann 1787, Joseph 1790 and Benjamin 1794. With the pattern of those days I would expect a child to have been born sooner if they were married October 5, 1780. An October 5, 1780 marriage of George and Barbara would allow sufficient time for the birth of a son, George, the death of the father, remarriage of Barbara to Lawrence and the subsequent birth of their first child John in 1783. Perhaps significant that they named their first son John. Hope we can find a record to confirm or reject the second marriage theory.

  Ann Meyer's bother, Joseph Snyder Myers, was also a blacksmith and later ran the business on Swanson Street, until he turned it over to his son, Cornelius Tiers Myers, who managed to bankrupt it. Interesting that Cornelius named his first daughter Regina.

	Meyer
Meyer	(Benjamin?) Lawrence MEYER
Meyer	F John (N.?) MEYER
Meyer	FF Christopher (or Henry?) MEYER
	Meyer