Byerly Family Line
Joseph Byerly, 1730? - 1803
Born: Died: Pleasant Valley, Rockingham County, VA Married: Martha Byerly Born: Died: Children: Catherine Byerly (1765-1845) (m. Abraham Miller) Joseph Byerly (1766-1837) (m. Kathren Landes 11/8/96) David Byerly (1768-1813) John Byerly (2/10/1770-7/2/1831) Magdalena Byerly (1771-?) (m. Christian Landes 9/2/97) Jacob Byerly (1775-1843) (m. Magdeline Landes 4/7/99) Ann Elizabeth Byerly (1776-1867)(m. Michael Cline 6/2/98) Christina Byerly (1779-?) (m. John Early) Joseph Beyrer was probably a German farmer who came to North America during the eighteenth-century Palatinate migration. According to John F. Byerly,"The immigrant, Joseph Beyrer, a.k.a. Byerly, arrived in Philadelphia from Rotterdam on the ship "Louisa" (also referred to as the Snow Louisa) 8 Nov. 1752. (He provides a picture of the signatures from the passenger list). There is supportive evidence that he is the ancestor of the Byerlys who came to Rockingham Co. in the Valley of Virginia ca. 1783. This is the only Joseph Byerly that this writer has been able to find on the ship lists. The date of Joseph's death in RCV in 1803 would make him ca. 18-20 years of age when he arrived in 1752." At some point along the way he was baptized into the Brethren Church, a German Baptist sect organized in 1708 in Schwarzenau, Bavaria. Known to outsiders as "Dunkers," the Brethren were persecuted by Catholic officials in Germany, and after unsuccessful re-settlements at Marienborn and Krefeld (lower in the Rhine valley), they made two separate migrations to North America: one to Germantown, PA in 1719 and the other to Schuylkill County, PA in 1729. The names of individual members who joined the Brethren church in Germany and Pennsylvania have been carefully documented by Martin Grove Brumbaugh (1899). Joseph's name does not appear in any of the published lists. His absence from the church membership rolls in Pennsylvania suggests he may have settled among the Brethren in Frederick County, Maryland, but that is pure speculation since no evidence has been found to substantiate it. By 1784 he had moved to Rockingham County, Virginia. In the probate case of Cravens vs.Lanahan, Joseph's son, Joseph Jr., testified that his father arrived at his Rockingham County residence in 1784. This would obviously mean that his children were born elsewhere. Joseph's residence was approximately one mile from the Craven plantation. John Walter Wayland reveals that in 1789 Joseph Byerel [sic] owned 326 acres of land in militia district four of Rockingham County (p. 42). The militia vouchers for 1788(also in Wayland, p.101) attribute to him three sons and six horses. The names of the sons are not given but they are undoubtedly his three eldest sons Joseph Jr., David, and John. Entries 257 & 258 of the Census of 1810 lists Joseph and his son John as still residing in Rockingham County. The name appears as "Bierer" suggesting the old German pronunciation was still strong. The Brethren were pacifists and consequently Joseph does not appear in military bounty or land records from the period (indeed there are instances where Byerlys were fined substantial sums for refusing to march). Nothing is known of Martha Byerly. If you have any information on Joseph and/or Martha Byerly, I'd really like to hear from you. Sources: Donald F. Durnbaugh, The Brethren in Colonial America; Martin Grove Brumbaugh, A History of the German Baptist Brethren in Europe and America; Morgan Edwards, Materials Towards a History of the Baptists in America (1892); D.H. Zigler, History of the Brethren in Virginia (1914); John F. Byerly The Byerly Family of the Valley of Virginia (1994); TJC Williams, History of Frederick County Maryland (1979); and John Walter Wayland, Genealogical and Historical Materials of Rockingham County, Virginia, (1930; reprint Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965).
John Byerly 1770-1831 Born: Virginia Died: Married: Elizabeth Bowman, April 17, 1798, Rockingham County, VA Born: Virginia, 2/12/1778 Died: Limestone, Washington, TN, 8/19/1865 Children: Mary Byerly (1800-1853) (m. David Bolton) Samuel Byerly (1802-1826) Benjamin Byerly (1807-1867) Suzannah Byerly (1809-1864) (m. John Pence) David Byerly (1810-1892) Elizabeth J.V. Byerly (? - 1885) (m. Samuel Paul) Sarah Ellen Byerly (1817-?) (m. J.H. McCracken) John W.H. Byerly (1817- 1893) Joseph Byerly (1819- ?) According to the 1820 Federal Census, Joseph's third son, John Byerly, was still in Rockingham County, Virginia in 1820. The enumerator spelled the name "Birely," but the ages of the children confirm that entry #282 is John (#93 is his older brother Joseph Jr.). The family of John Byerly and Elizabeth Bowman apparently included three farmers but the census does not make clear who they were. Elizabeth Bowman is buried in Washington County, Tennessee, suggesting that the family may have moved to Tennessee during the 1820s. But given John's position as a Rockingham County property holder that seems unlikely. What seems more likely is that Elizabeth relocated to Tennessee following her husband's 1831 death to be closer to her family. John Walter Wayland's Genealogical and Historical Materials of Rockingham County, Virginia, (1930; reprint Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965), p. 9, lists the marriage date of John Birer and Elizabeth Bowman. He was 37-years-old when his son Benjamin was born.
Benjamin Byerly 1807-1867 Born: Virginia, 1807 Died: 1867 Married: Delilah Wise Born: Washington Co., TN, 1817 Died: 1896 Children: William Henry Byerly (1838-1862) Sarah Catherine Byerly (1843-?) David Byerly (1843-1843) Susan Emeline Byerly (1844-1904) John Adam Byerly (1847-1922) Margaret J. Byerly (1850-1860) Martha E. Byerly (1853- ) Samuel M. Byerly (1856- ) I have not been able to gather much information about Benjamin Byerly. Having been born in Rockingham County, he may have left Virginia owing to a lack of farming opportunities. On the other hand, he was also destined to become a minister in the Brethren Church, so he may have relocated to satisfy a religious calling during the Second Great Awakening. As a minister it is entirely likely that he moved around during his life. Whatever the case (and it may have been a combination of factors), by age twenty-two he had relocated to Washington County, Tennessee. Limestone Creek in Washington County was rapidly becoming a popular destination for Brethren settlers, and shortly after his arrival he married Delilah Wise. Their first child, William Henry, was born around 1838. Benjamin was forty years old when his second son, my great grandfather, John Adam Byerly was born. By 1860, the family had relocated to Warren County, Iowa. Like the Quakers, the Brethren were dedicated abolitionists. In some Brethren, the sense of duty to abolitionism even outweighed pacifism. William Henry Byerly, for example, served with Union forces during the Civil War and died in battle at Pittsburg Landing during the Battle of Shiloh in 1862.
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John Adam Byerly, 1847-1922 Born: 1847, Washington Co., TN Died: 1922, Elk City, Beckham Co., OK Married: Elizabeth Emmert, November, 1884, Johnson Co., MO Born: Hagerstown, MD, 1859 Died: Elk City, Beckham Co., OK, 1933 Children: Leola Byerly (m. Wolfe) Ada Byerly (m. Root) Samuel Sharon Emmert Byerly (1891-1961) Marietta Byerly (1894-1974) I don't know much about John Adam Byerly. He died seven years before my father was born, so my father never knew his grandfather personally. Anything my father might have known about John Adam he never shared with me. I do know that he moved south from Iowa or possibly Illinois into Missouri where he married Elizabeth Emmert.
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Samuel Sharon Emmert Byerly 1891-1961 Born: Warrenburg, Johnson, Co., MO, 1891 Died: Mason City, Mason Co., IL, 1961 Married: Olive Hazel Rohrer, Born: Argus, Marshall Co., IN, 1894 Died: Canyon City, Fremont, CO, 1986 Children: John Frederick Byerly (1915-1994) Mary Ruth Byerly (1917- ) (m. Jim Enis) Esther Irene Byerly (1919-1990)(m. Carl Markham) Naomi Nell Byerly (1921-1921) Charles Samuel Byerly (1924- ) Lida Elisabeth Byerly(1926- )(m. Gene Chapman) Benjamin Franklin Byerly (1929-1990) Martha Ellen Byerly (1931- ) (m. Jim McCormick) Wanda Juanita Byerly(1933- ) (m. Bob Negley) FAMILY PHOTOS
Benjamin Franklin Byerly 1929-1990 Born: Elk City, Beckham, Oklahoma, 7/27/1929 Died: London, England, 1990 Buried: Grand County, Colorado Married: Catherine Ridder, Illinois, 1958. Born: Quincy, IL Died: Still Living Children: Ann Francis Byerly (Peterson) Edward Andrew Byerly Frederick Charles Byerly Geofrey William Byerly Edith Marie Byerly (Reynolds) Henry Thomas Byerly. FAMILY PHOTO