Select Myers Miscellany
- The Myers Origin in England
- John Myers and His Wives
- Myer Myers, New York's Colonial Silversmith
- Fort Myers and Abraham Myers
- Myers and Related Names in America
- Reader Feedback - The Life of Hunter John Myers
- Napoleon Boneparte Myers
- David and Tsivia Mankunsky/Myers from Lithuania
The Myers Origin in England
There was a place in Lancashire from the old Norse word Myrrkogr from which the original bearer of the surname Myers may have derived his name. The name has also been spelt Myre, Mire, Mirers, and Myres.
Early records of the name mention Richard de Mirecroft, recorded in Lanashire in 1273, and David Mire, documented during the reign of Edward I (1272-1307). Willelmus del Mire was listed in the Yorkshire poll tax of 1379.
John Myers and His Wives
John Myers was a man who started from a low beginning, acquired a large
fortune. He married four times and, through his fourth wife Alice
(the widow of Anthony Wrightson), acquired Shipley Hall in
Yorkshire. He subsequently became a Justice of the Peace for
Yorkshire.
Myer Myers, New York's
Colonial Silversmith
His renown as an artisan came from his ability to execute superb custom order work for the wealthiest patrons. His New York workshop was one of the few that supplied such labor-intensive, richly ornamented forms as candlesticks, pierced bread baskets, covered jugs, and cruet stands, and stood alone in the production of such specialized work as Torah finials. Myers' output was not, however, confined to these style-conscious forms. From the mid-1750s his shop generated a steady income by satisfying the demand for more modest forms of hollowware and flatware from a larger, less affluent clientele.
The summer of 1776 brought his activities as a silversmith and entrepreneur to an abrupt halt. George Washington had made New York his headquarters and British troops were besieging the city. Myers and his family moved with other Jewish families to Norwalk, Connecticut. However, in July 1779 a British force attacked and burned the town, leaving the residents homeless and Myers without his tools. The family then settled in Stratford, Connecticut for the remainder of the war years and, despite his losses, it is evident from extant objects that Myers continued to work as a silversmith.
Fort Myers and Abraham Myers
Fort Myers, built as a military fort in Florida in 1850, was named
after Colonel Abraham Myers who had been stationed in Florida for the
previous seven years.
Myers was a Confederate General during the Civil War but fell
from grace after the Battle of Gettysburg. The
Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, removed him from office
because of his failure to supply the southern armies with needed shoes,
coats and blankets. Myers felt humiliated by the termination and
remained bitter for the rest of his life.
His wife Marion hadn't helped his cause. Her sharp tongue had
made her many
enemies. She had once said that the President's wife Varina Davis
looked like "an old squaw." There was sniping at her and her
husband as Jews who they said owed their first loyalty to "the party of
Moses"
and "the tribe of Levi."
Blamed for losses on the battlefield and losing the war in the parlors
of Richmond as well, Abraham Myers was passed over for promotion and
replaced as Quartermaster General. Between that and being on the
wrong side in the Civil War, he pretty much lost everything. But
he would always have Fort Myers.
Myers and Related Names in
America
Most Myers in America were probably of German, Swiss or Austrian
origin, having anglicized their names in America. There were
87,000 Myers and related names in the 1920 US census.
Surname |
Numbers
(000) |
Percent |
Most
Common In - |
Myers |
34 |
39 |
Pennsylvania |
Meyers |
13 |
15 |
Pennsylvania |
Meyer |
23 |
27 |
New York |
Mayer |
9 |
10 |
New York |
Maier |
2 |
2 |
New York |
Moyer |
6 |
7 |
Pennsylvania |
Reader Feedback - The Life
of Hunter John Myers
This book, entitled Leather and Silk, was written in 1854 by the writer John Esten Cooke whose brother was Phillip Pendelton Cooke. His cousin was Secretary of the Navy John Pendelton Kennedy. This Myers family was Catholic with ties to the Jewish Myer Myers family in Richmond, Virginia. A study was done on this family by Stanford University in the mid 1930's.
Whomever
they are, they
seem to be related to the Virginia Pendelton family, CSA Jeb
Stuart, Thomas Jefferson then his grandson Confederate Secretary
of War
George W Randolph and CSA General Robert E Lee if not the
writer
John Esten Cooke himself.
Another
good book is Reflections in a Silver
Spoon by Pittsburgh banker
Paul Mellon
since a Mellon relative did support
research on
Hunter John Myers. John Esten Cooke was related to Jack Kent
Cooke who
married Barbara Jean Carnegie who was a close friend of Rachael Bunny
Mellon. Rachael married Pittsburgh banker
Paul Mellon. Jack Kent Cooke owned the Washington Redskins
and is buried with the Pittsburgh Mellon family. All these
records are at
the John Heinz Carnegie Mellon University on 5000 Forbes Street in
Pittsburgh.
Lawrence John Myers (versailles99@aol.com)
Napoleon Boneparte Myers
White Myers of Fort Blount, Tennessee was obviously a fan of the French Emperor. He named his first son, born in 1846, after him. When Napoleon grew up and married, he owned a house on 53 acres overlooking the Cumberland river in Granville. It was a large and ornate house with stain-glass windows, gingerbread trim, and large hand-hewn stones for the foundation. In the entrance hall was the mural of a pear tree bedecked with doves and with the names of everyone in the family. Napoleon and his wife were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church in Carthage.
Some researchers have Napoleon's full name as Philip Napoleon Boneparte. Perhaps he didn't like the Napoleonic connection. According to the 1850 and 1860 censuses, he was listed simply as Philip. All other records show him as Napoleon Boneparte or N.B.
David and Tsivia Mankunsky/Myers from Lithuania
David and Tsivia and some of their siblings came to England from Lithuania and Poland in the 1880's and 1890's. They spoke no English. David went to night school and learned to read and write. His wife spoke Yiddish and only very poor English and was illiterate in that language all of her life. They settled in Sheffield. However, David caught tuberculosis from the terrible conditions in which they lived and worked and he died in 1910. His widow was left without skills, with no communication outside of her own community, and with three small children.
The family moved to Leeds and she made a precarious and physically very difficult living selling poultry. Although illiterate her respect for education was enormous and both of her sons, Joshua and Charles, went to university.
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