As per his obit, my ancestor, Henry Speyer, "was born near Saxony, Weimer, Germany, and came with his parents to America when about twelve years old, settling at Newark, N. J. Henry worked in a patent leather factory until about twenty years of age." Since Henry (a/k/a Herz) Speyer was born October 26, 1832, he would have come to Newark about 1844 and lived there until about 1852 when he married Margaret Pickens of Ireland in Williamsburg, Kings Co., NY. They later moved to Cincinnati, OH, then Lexington , KY and finally settled in Marshall Co., IN after the Civil War. Does anyone know about the patent leather industry in Newark or where I might find out about it? I have been unable to find Henry Speyer, sometimes misspelled Speier, Spier, Speir, Spyer, Speyar, Spyar, Speyerer, Spyerer, etc., in the 1850 census for Essex county. Any suggestions on how I might go about finding Henry Speyer in 1850 would be greatly appreciated! I have found his stepmother Henrietta "Yetta" Speyer (misspelled Spier) along with his half-sister Fanny, half-brother Simon, unknown Caroline Speyer and two unknown gentlemen as follows: Year: 1850 State: New Jersey County: Essex Roll: M432_447 Township: S. Ward Page: 200 Image: 407 Spier, Henrietta age 35 born Germany Spier, Fanny age 9 born Germany Spier, Seamon age 8 born Germany Spier, Caroline age 40 born Germany Boehn, Frederick age 23 born Germany tailor Haberle, Godrey age 20 born Germany tailor Amelia Spier (Speyer?) is living 4 houses away with the Newman (possibly Nussbaum) family, but I don't know how she fits in unless she is the daughter of Henrietta Speyer's deceased husband and his first wife. That would make her the full sister of my Henry Speyer. Year: 1850 County: Essex Township: S. Ward State: New Jersey Roll: M432_447 Page: 200 Image: 407 Newman, Abraham 39 Ger Peddler Newman, Henrietta 37 Ger Newman, Meyer 14 Ger Newman, Amelia 12 Ger Newman, Betsey 4 Ger Newman, Moses 3 NY Newman, Hannah 1 NY Spier, Amelia 15 Ger
The patent leather industry in Newark was a huge industry. I have several of the old subscription Newark Industrial books which came out about once a decade or so - Shaw's History of Essex County - 1882 (a thinly veiled subscription book); Newark NJ Illustrated - 1893; and Newark City of Industry - 1912 all showing patent leather and other leather industries too innumerable to mention by name. You might consult any of those books for photos of what a typical patent leather factory looked like and an overview of the industry. They can be tough to find, however, by chance, a copy of the 1912 book (which probably has the best description) is for sale on e-bay right now (no I am not the seller or connected in anyway.) Mike Smith Mendham NJ --- Fredreica Speyer <[email protected]> wrote: > As per his obit, my ancestor, Henry Speyer, "was > born near Saxony, Weimer, > Germany, and came with his parents to America when > about twelve years old, > settling at Newark, N. J. Henry worked in a patent > leather factory until > about twenty years of age." Since Henry (a/k/a Herz) > Speyer was born October > 26, 1832, he would have come to Newark about 1844 > and lived there until > about 1852 when he married Margaret Pickens of > Ireland in Williamsburg, > Kings Co., NY. They later moved to Cincinnati, OH, > then Lexington , KY and > finally settled in Marshall Co., IN after the Civil > War. Does anyone know > about the patent leather industry in Newark or where > I might find out about > it? I have been unable to find Henry Speyer, > sometimes misspelled Speier, > Spier, Speir, Spyer, Speyar, Spyar, Speyerer, > Spyerer, etc., in the 1850 > census for Essex county. Any suggestions on how I > might go about finding > Henry Speyer in 1850 would be greatly appreciated! > > I have found his stepmother Henrietta "Yetta" Speyer > (misspelled Spier) > along with his half-sister Fanny, half-brother > Simon, unknown Caroline > Speyer and two unknown gentlemen as follows: > > Year: 1850 > State: New Jersey > County: Essex Roll: M432_447 > Township: S. Ward Page: 200 > Image: 407 > Spier, Henrietta age 35 born Germany > Spier, Fanny age 9 born Germany > Spier, Seamon age 8 born Germany > Spier, Caroline age 40 born Germany > Boehn, Frederick age 23 born Germany tailor > Haberle, Godrey age 20 born Germany tailor > > Amelia Spier (Speyer?) is living 4 houses away with > the Newman (possibly > Nussbaum) family, but I don't know how she fits in > unless she is the > daughter of Henrietta Speyer's deceased husband and > his first wife. That > would make her the full sister of my Henry Speyer. > > Year: 1850 > County: Essex > Township: S. Ward > State: New Jersey > Roll: M432_447 > Page: 200 > Image: 407 > Newman, Abraham 39 Ger Peddler > Newman, Henrietta 37 Ger > Newman, Meyer 14 Ger > Newman, Amelia 12 Ger > Newman, Betsey 4 Ger > Newman, Moses 3 NY > Newman, Hannah 1 NY > Spier, Amelia 15 Ger > > > > > > ==== NJESSEX Mailing List ==== > Researching Newark? Visit Old Newark at: > <http://www.oldnewark.com/> > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the > new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click > to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25� http://photos.yahoo.com/ph/print_splash