William Ayres and Margaret "Mary" Kean

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Husband William Ayres ^{1 2}

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           Born: 1720 - County Antrim, Ireland 3
     Christened: 
           Died: Winter, 1784-1785 - near Old Fort Hunter, Dauphin Co, PA
         Buried:  - Dauphin Cemetery, Dauphin, Dauphin Co, PA

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         Father: Samuel Ayres (1695-1747) 2 3
         Mother: Margaret Richmond (1697-1746) 3

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       Marriage: 1748 - Philadelphia (later Moreland Twp, Montgomery) Co, PA

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Wife Margaret "Mary" Kean ¹

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            AKA: Mary Kein 2
           Born: 1726 - Abington, Montgomery Co, PA 4
     Christened: 
           Died: 1784 - near Old Fort Hunter, Dauphin Co, PA
         Buried:  - Dauphin Cemetery, Dauphin, Dauphin Co, PA

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         Father: Charles Kean (Abt 1701-1747) 5
         Mother: 

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Children

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1 M Samuel Ayres ^{2 5}

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           Born: 28 Mar 1749 - Philadelphia (later Moreland Twp, Montgomery) Co, PA 5
     Christened: 
           Died: 26 Oct 1804 6
         Buried:  - Abington Presbyterian Cemetery, Abington, Montgomery Co, PA

         Spouse: Deborah Yerkes (1753-1826) 5

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2 M Charles Ayres ^{2 5}

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           Born: 1750 - Philadelphia (later Moreland Twp, Montgomery) Co, PA 5
     Christened: 
           Died: 1806 - Montgomery Co, PA 7
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Esther Yerkes (1755-1809) 5

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3 M John Ayres ^{8 9}

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           Born: 9 Feb 1752 - Pennepack, Philadelphia Co, PA 5
     Christened: 
           Died: 17 Sep 1825 - Paxtang, Dauphin Co, PA
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Mary Montgomery (1758-Abt 1781/1782) 4 5
           Marr: 1781 - Dauphin, Dauphin Co, PA 4 7

         Spouse: Jane "Jenny" Lytle (1767-1831) 10 11
           Marr: 2 Apr 1786 - Dauphin Co, PA 4 7

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4 F Margaret Ayres ^{2 12}

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           Born: 9 Oct 1754 - Philadelphia (later Moreland Twp, Montgomery) Co, PA 13
     Christened: 
           Died: 24 Dec 1823 - Upper Paxtang Twp, Dauphin Co, PA 13
         Buried: 

         Spouse: William Forster (Abt 1757-1789) 2 14
           Marr: 1 Nov 1780 13

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5 F Esther "Hettie" Ayres ^{4 5}

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           Born: 1755 - Pennepack, Philadelphia Co, PA 5
     Christened: 
           Died: 2 Mar 1830 5
         Buried:  - Dauphin Cemetery, Dauphin, Dauphin Co, PA

         Spouse: James Reed (1753-1822) 4 5
           Marr: 31 Mar 1782 4

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6 M William Ayres

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Deborah Yerkes (1753-1826) 5

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General Notes: Husband - William Ayres

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He was born in the county Antrim, Ireland, came to the Province of Pennsylvania previous to 1745, in advance of his father's family and settled in the country contiguous to the Pennepack, then Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. In the year 1773, he with all his family, excepting Samuel and Charles, who remained in the old locality, moved to the west, then Paxtang township, Lancaster County, later Middle Paxtang, Danphin County, and purchased land on the east side of Peter's mountain, where the turnpike crosses, three miles above Dauphin. The common road terminated at that point, and when supervisor of roads in 1781, he constructed the first road across the mountain. In the map of purchase from the Indians, only twenty-four years previously (1749), the country west of the mountain is entitled "Saint Anthony's wilderness." He was several times elected to township offices. Although nearly sixty years old, we find him doing Revolutionary service in Captain Richard Manning's Company of the 4th Battalion of Lancaster County, Colonel James Burd, March 13, 1776 (see Penna. Archives). In the winter of 1784-5, he was accidently drowned in Fishing creek, near old Fort Hunter, his wife having died previously, and both were buried in the old graveyard above Dauphin, where sleep all the oldest residents of that section of the county.

In 1773 William Ayres relinquished his farm to his children, Samuel and Charles, and started westward with the remainder of his family. He was then about fifty-three years old - he left a property which he had cultivated for twenty-five years, and he was going\emdash no one knows where. Imagination cannot, in later years, call up in all its roughness, the condition of things between Philadelphia and their future home in 1773! Roads that were not roads, pack-horses, stopping places far distant from each other, tenting over night, &c. Suffice it, that (wherever it was they intended going) his wife vowed she would not climb the rugged Indian path over Peter's mountain, twelve miles above "Harris' Ferry." It was October, too, the nights were doubtless frosty, and the prospect gave intimations of going further and faring worse. In this dilemma, however, they found one John Black, who had located a cabin there, on land which old Bertram Galbraith had surveyed for him in the previous June\emdash two hundred and twenty-seven acres. Black sold this property to William Ayres, October 30, 1773, for the sum of £100.

1 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 47, 257.

2 William Henry Egle, Historical Register: Notes and Queries, Historical and Genealogical (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Company, 1894), Pg 387.

3 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 47.

4 William Henry Egle, Historical Register: Notes and Queries, Historical and Genealogical (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Company, 1894), Pg 389.

5 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 48.

6 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 50.

7 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 51.

8 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 48, 262.

9 William Henry Egle, Historical Register: Notes and Queries, Historical and Genealogical (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Company, 1894), Pg 388.

10 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 262.

11 William Henry Egle, Historical Register: Notes and Queries, Historical and Genealogical (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Company, 1894), Pg 389, 437.

12 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 48, 247.

13 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 257.

14 William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Pennsylvania Genealogies; Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Publishing Co., 1896), Pg 247.