We would be grateful for any additional information available on this family from the Moravian archives or elsewhere.

On January 31 1784 the Salem tavern was destroyed in a fire. The Meyers were not injured, thanks to the assistance of two tavern guests from Wilkes County who rescued them. The tavern was rebuilt, and opened again in December 1784. The Meyers continued to serve there until 1787, when they retired because of feeble health. Jacob Meyer's death in 1800 is not specifically mentioned in the translated diaries, but Maria Dorothea is referred to thereafter as a widow. She died in November 1803 in Bethabara, where she had gone to visit "her children" Isaac and Dorothea Boner.

Second Generation

Previously we stated that Philip Jacob died in 1801 and that his widow Susanna then married Godfrey Miller. These statements have been questioned, and we don't have the documentation to answer them. A Susanna Myers did marry Godfrey Miller in 1803, but was she the widow of Philip Jacob? Was Susanna Helsabeck even Philip Jacob's wife, or was she the wife of a different Jacob Myers? And if the latter, who were the parents of that Jacob?

Dorothea Meyer and Isaac Boner left Salem "secretly and in a most unseemly manner" on the evening of August 7, 1797, with Salome Nissen and Jacob Schaub, and both couples were married the next day. Dorothea was immediately dismissed from her position as a teacher in the Girls' School. Dorothea and Isaac eventually were readmitted to the Salem congregation and became the parents and grandparents of some prominent citizens. The Schaubs settled near Bethania and joined the Moravian congregation there.

In his will, dated 1794 and probated March term 1801, Jacob Meyer Sr. leaves his large German Bible to his grandson Henry Meyer, a silver watch to his son Samuel Meyer, and his harpsichord to his daughter Dorothea. Another grandson, John Krause, is also mentioned.

Philip "Mire" is listed in the 1800 census with two boys under 10. Presumably Henry Meyer, named in his grandfather's will in 1794, is one of these sons. A Jacob Meyer appears in later Moravian records as the husband of Maria Elizabeth Phillips. We suspect that this is the other son of Philip Jacob and Susanna Meyer. Does anyone have further information on either of these possible Meyer children?

Sources

Stokes Co. NC marriage, will, and census records

This page was created on May 28, 2001.

©, 2001-2007 Faye Jarvis Moran
faye@fmoran.com