Samuel Bayard

From The Peopling of New York City

My initial findings on Ancestry.com has confirmed that Samuel Bayard participated in the 1703 colonial census in New York State. Bayard was an active merchant during this time. This background information provided from Lepore's New York Burningis confirmed: Dutch; 355 pounds wealth; Country Party; merchant/slave trader; Dock Ward; Pompey transported.^[1]

So the next step was to find out whether or not Bayard had any next of kin within the greater New York area in the following decades. I hoped that tracing the lives of his immediate relatives would shed some light on his activities beyond a slave trader/merchant.

I was unable to identify any next of kin, however I did discover that Samuel Bayard contributed to the Revolutionary War effort in the years after the Slave Conspiracy of 1741. He qualified for pension benefits according to the Revolutionary War Pension records at the New York Public Library^[2] Additionally, what I can only assume are Bayard's decendants wrote several correspondences to the War Pension Bureau inquiring about the whereabouts of Bayard's in-laws and wartime friends. In a letter written to the pension bureau the Bayard's relatives requested the following information

"the following who fought in the Revolutionary War...concerning the following matter [sic] all of whom fought in the Revolutionary War:- Lt. Col A. MacKay, commanding colonel of the 8th Penn. infantry regiment." The letter continued to emphasize the importance of this matter. What was the relation to the two men?

Before establishing that crucial link I would soon find out that this letter was written by Miss Ethyl Bayard, the great-great granddaughter of Samuel Bayard. She lived at 431, Patterson Ave., McKeesport, PA.^[3] Ms. Bayard would soon receive a notice from the War Bureau which described the immediate relationships of Samuel Bayard. According to the letter it would turn out that Samuel had served with his cousin Stephen Bayard. They were based in Pennsylvania and served under Col. Aenias MacKay. Col. MacKay was the father of Elizabeth MacKay - the wife of Stephen Bayard, and consequently the distant aunt of Ethyl Bayard. It seems Ethyl Bayard too wanted to uncover his own history, fortunately for her she his the jackpot. It also turned out in subsequent correspondences between the War Bureau and Ms. Bayard, she was able to find out that her Grandfather Samuel and distant relative Stephen both qualified and claimed a lad bounty offered them by the U.S. government as reward for their service.^[4] The letter reads as follows:

"From G.M. Saltzgaber - Warrant No. 190, for 450 acres of bounty land issued Nov. 5, 1789 in favor of Samuel bayard on accordance of his services as Lieutenant Col., Penn. troops..."

The letter however remains partially illegible, due to the War office burning of 1800. A small post it note remains on the slide with the correspondence.

It is interesting to note that there was only one Bayard listed in all the Revolutionary War records available at the New York Public Library. It is likely that when Samuel and Stephen returned from their years of service, they settled down and distributed their land bounty among themselves.

Despite his cruel occupation pre-Revolutionary War, Samuel Bayard did serve his country. However, it would have been more interesting to determine where his descendants' loyalties lied at the time of the Civil War. Would the supposed cruelties Bayard subjected his slaves to compel his decendants to redeem themselves on the side of the Union, or damn themselves with the Confederacy?

References

1. ↑ Lepore, Jill. 2006. New York Burning. New York: Vintage Books.
2. ↑ Z1-132. "Revolutionary War Pension Application files Bay, Andrew-Bayley, John". 181.
3. ↑ Z1-132. "Revolutionary War Pension Application files Bay, Andrew-Bayley, John". 181.
4. ↑ Z1-132. "Revolutionary War Pension Application files Bay, Andrew-Bayley, John". 181.