James Speer (abt. 1720 - abt. 1782)

Born about 1720 in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 1782 at about age 62 in Peach Bottom, Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

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This person is an ancestor of President James Buchanan Jr. 15th US President

Biography

This person is an ancestor of President James Buchanan, Jr.^[1]

James Speer was born about 1720, at or near Ballymena, County Antrim, or else at Magbera [Maghera Parish ?], County Derry, Ireland. He was of Scotch Presbyterian ancestry. He emigrated to America about 1759, leaving a father aged near 80, who afterwards lived to the age of 100, with his son John at Ballymena. One of the sons of this John [a Thomas] was subsequently a leader in the Pennsylvania “Whiskey Insurrection” [of 1794]. Near the same time with James, his brother Robert (my 4 g grandfather) and another named Thomas or Alexander also emigrated. The first named Robert settled in Adams Co., Pa., near to James, and was the father of one daughter and six sons, one of whom lived and died near to Canonsburgh, Pa; the rest of the family removed to Ohio. The second brother, named Alexander, resided on the shore of the Susquehanna. Some of his descendants removed to the banks of the Allegheny River.

James Speer and his wife (originally Mary Patterson) settled first on a farm ten miles from Lancaster, near Christiana, and afterwards at the foot of the South mountain between Chambersburgh and Gettysburgh. In 1779, he left the Covenanted Church on account of difficulties with Mr. Dobbins, his pastor, and was admitted to full communion in the Presbyterian congregation under the care of Rev. Dr. John McKnight, Lower Marsh Creek Church.

Three sons of James and Mary Speer, Nathaniel, Alexander and James, fought in the War of the Revolution. Nathaniel was one of the “Flying Camp”, and died at Fort Lee after the retreat from Fort Washington November, 1776, at the age of 20. Another son, James, was at the surrender of Cornwallis. He was one of a guard that conveyed a thousand of the British prisoners to York, Penna. A third son, Alexander, made two campaigns in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. John, a fourth son, was under arms to march when the Revolutionary war was terminated. The father, James, was in the neighborhood of Brandywine, upon business, sufficiently near to hear the firing of the cannon during the battle of September 11, 1777, which bears that name. He died of a fever in 1782.

The four sons mentioned in this account were born in Northern Ireland. Two more children were born while the family was in Lancaster County, William in 1764 and Elizabeth in 1767. Elizabeth was the mother of President James Buchanan, Jr. William was the father of the above James Ramsey Speer. From Orphan’s Court records pertaining to James’ death intestate in October 1784, we learned that Alexander was the eldest son and that John was likely the next oldest. From a headstone in Pittsburgh, we believe son James was born in 1756. From the above account, Nathaniel was born about the same time as James. The Court awarded legal guardianship for the two minor children, William and Elizabeth, to Robert Speer, James’ brother. In my earlier correspondence to you, I listed these children with Nathaniel first as given in early family histories. However, the above clarifies for us that Nathaniel was not the firstborn.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Roberts, Gary Boyd; Ancestors of American Presidents
2. ↑ http://www.bringforththespeer.com/pdfs/SpeerFamiliesOfNorthernIreland.pdf

• "Life of James Buchanan, Fifteenth President of the United States" by George Ticknor Curtis, in 2 volumes, 1883
• Roberts, Gary Boyd; Ancestors of American Presidents. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.
• http://genforum.com/cgi-bin/print.cgi?speer::1011.html
• Speer/Aiken Family, Frederic Speer Aug 13, 197
• Arik Russell.
• Survey of Early Records for the Speer Surname in County Antrim
• Cushing, Thomas. History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (A. Warner & Co., Chicago, 1889, Part 2: p. 344)