Captain Samuel Van Leer (January 7, 1747 – October 15, 1825) was a military officer from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

who served as a captain in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and as lieutenant in the Chester County Light Horse Volunteers from 1781 to 1785. After his retirement from the military, he owned the Reading Furnace ironworks. He was a member of the influential

Van Leer family The Van Leer family, originally spelled Von Lohr, is an influential German-American family that emigrated to the Province of Pennsylvania in the 17th century from the Electorate of Hesse near Isenberg, Germany. The family made their fortune in the U ...

. His father

Bernardhus Van Leer Bernardhus Van Leer (1687–January 26, 1790) was a German-American early settler of the Province of Pennsylvania. He worked as a physician and was father of American Revolutionary War Captain Samuel Van Leer. He built the Barnardus Van Leer Ho ...

was an early settler of the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to Wi ...

. He married the sister of American Revolutionary War General

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

. His son Isaac Van Leer was a U.S. Congressman.

Early life

Van Leer was born in 1747 in Marple Township,

British America British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas fro ...

to Mary (Branson) and

. His maternal grandfather is William Branson who was an ironworks pioneer and owned the historical home

Warrenpoint Warrenpoint ( ga, An Pointe) is a small port town and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits at the head of Carlingford Lough, south of Newry, and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town is bes ...

. In 1770, Samuel married Hannah Wayne, daughter to Isaac Wayne and sister to

American Revolutionary War

Van Leer was commissioned captain of the Seventh Company, Fifth Battalion of the Chester County Militia on May 17, 1777. He fought with Anthony Wayne during the

Battle of Paoli The Battle of Paoli (also known as the Battle of Paoli Tavern or the Paoli Massacre) was a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on September 20, 1777, in the area surrounding present-day Malvern, Pennsylva ...

, the

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, Sir William Howe on September& ...

and the

Battle of Germantown The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Con ...

. All of his brothers were military officers during the war. He served as lieutenant of the Chester County Light Horse Volunteers from 1780 to 1781.

Later life and death

After his retirement from the military, Captain Samuel went on to grow his Iron business in Reading Furnace, formerly owned by his grandfather William Branson. He lived in the historical mansion on site with his wife Hannah. He inherited two plantations in East Nantmeal, Pennsylvania from his brother, Dr. Branson Van Leer, and died there in October, 1825.

Family

Van Leer and his family owned several historic properties including the Van Leer Cabin in Tredyffin Township, Pennsylvania and the Van Leer Pleasant Hill Plantation in West Nantmeal, Pennsylvania. ''Note:'' This includes Samuel had eight children with his wife Hannah. On 10 July 1786, Hannah gave birth to twin girls and died due to birth complications. After her death, Anthony Wayne offered to have Van Leer's children stay with his family. Van Leer declined the offer and kept his children at his home and never remarried.

References

External links