The Leidy family was one of the families to arrive in Pennsylvania in the early 18th century years after William established the state. The most known members of the Leidy family were doctors, and became famous for their contributions in science and medicine.
The Leidy Family of Pennsylvania
The first member of the Leidy family to arrive in Pennsylvania was Johann Jacob Leidy (1687-1781), a German immigrant from the Palatinate region. He arrived on the dock of Philadelphia with his family on October 2, 1727 by the ship "Adventurer." He and his family settled in what's now Franconia Township, PA. He was one of the organizers of the Indian Creek Reformed Church near Telford. The church was locally known as "Leidy's Church."
His son Carl Ludwig Leidy (1729-1785) was the first settler of Hilltown, PA in Bucks County where a village was named after him: Leidytown.
His grandson Philip Leidy (1791-1862) married twice to two half-sisters. With his first wife Catherine, he had Joseph Mellick Leidy, an American anatomist who founded the Department of Natural History at Swarthmore College and later the Department of Biology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Fun Fact # 1: His statue was placed at City Hall in 1907 in his honor for his accomplishments and contributions. It is now located in front of the Academy of Natural Sciences.
As a young boy, Joseph lost his mother, and was raised by his father's second wife Christiana. His half-brother was Dr. Philip Leidy (1838-1891), who was a well-known surgeon during the Civil War. During his time as a student at the University of Pennsylvania, he spent his time in the office of his half-brother Joseph. After 1859, he was appointed resident surgeon at the Philadelphia General Hospital, formally known as the Blockley Almhouse.
During the Civil War, he was assigned to the 106th Regiments, PA Volunteers at Bull Run, the first battle of the war, as an Assistant Surgeon and First Lieutenant. After the Battle of Balls Bluff, he established the first general field hospital near Poolesville, MD.
With his talents and skills of organization, he gained the attention of officers, and transferred him to the 119th Regiments, PA Volunteers. He was promoted to Surgeon with the rank of Major. In 1862, he established Wager Hospital, the first general hospital in the Shenandoah at Bolivar Heights. He had been promoted to different positions as a surgeon, including being one fo the three chief operating and consulting surgeons of the 6th Corps.
After the Civil War, he was the US Examining Surgeon of Philadelphia. From 1873 to 1882, PA Governor John F. Hartranft appointed Philip as port physician of Philadelphia. In 1884, he was Physician-in-Chief of the insane department of the Pennsylvania Hospital.
Weird Fact # 1: After he died in 1891, his brain was removed by Dr. Francis X. Dercum, the doctor who treated President Woodrow Wilson.
The Styer Family
The Styger/Styer family came to America with Stephen Styger. He arrived in Germantown between 1712 and 1714, and moved out in 1727 to purchase 200 acres of land from Thomas Shute that is later known today as the southeastern part of Worcester Township.
After his death in 1736, his son Jacob Styer (1719-1777) took possession of his father's farm. It wasn't until 1768 he and his wife, Christina Spare, moved to Whitpain and built their home for their family. His sons Henry and John were given his land in his will. Henry was unmarried, but became the richest man in Whitpain Township. After he died, his brother John took possession of their father's farm of at least 140 acres.
Fun Fact # 2: Stephen's namesake son was charged by the Supreme Executive Council for aiding the British. Even though he was discharged for his actions, Stephen and his family moved out of Whitpain and settled in Sussex County, DE.
Fun Fact # 3: Mennonites, like the Styer family, refused to take part of the American Revolution. Records were shown that Stephen, Henry, and John paid fines for not attending drills in the militia.
When John married Tacy Conard, a Quaker, there were tensions between their family members due to their religious beliefs. They held their ceremony at the home of James Morris, known as Dawesfield. The certificate was signed by John's brothers and sisters, but not Tacy's. Tacy acknowledged her error to the Society of Friends, and she remained a member ever since 1790. Afterwards, John and Tacy settled in his father's home, and built a barn with a datestone inscribed "1792."
After John's death, his son Jacob acquired 119 acres of his father's land with a home and a saw mill. From there, his son Dr. Albanus Styer took possession of the land. He was the last last Styer family member to hold onto this part of the land when he sold it to Thomas F.B. Wunder in 1886.
John's other son, Stephen Styer (1793-1877), acquired 91 acres with his grandfather's homestead. Then finally his son Aaron Styer took possession of his father's home.
Dr. Joseph P. Leidy
In 1906, Aaron Styer's home was purchased by the nephew of Joseph M. Leidy, Dr. Joseph P. Leidy, II (1866-1932).
Dr. Leidy was a graduate of Central High School in 1884 and a University of Pennsylvania graduate in 1887 where he continued to work there at the university's hospital. He followed his father's footsteps and worked at the Pennsylvania Hospital and the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane until 1891. He was appointed surgeon to Howard Hospital and Infirmary for Incurables and the Hamilton and Philadelphia dispensaries.
After the death of his uncle, Joseph became assistant demonstrator in pathology, anatomy, and morbid histology in the University of Pennsylvania medical school.
At the Paris Exposition of 1900, Joseph represented the United States as the juror of hygiene, and received recognition from the French government the decoration of Officer l'Instruction Publique. He continued to represent the United States at the International Congress of Hygiene and Demography in Paris the same year.
Fun Fact # 4: In 1929, Joseph attended the dedication of Charles Darwin's home as a museum.
At the start of World War I, he and his wife Helen (1870-1933) were strong supporters of the Allied forces, especially to France. Helen became treasurer of the French War Relief Committee in Philadelphia, and was awarded the French Medal of Reconnaissance for her contributions. Joseph, meanwhile, travelled to France to survey the medical conditions of the wounded soldiers. When America entered the war, Joseph was commissioned captain of the Army Medical Corps. He was then promoted to Major.
Fun Fact # 5: His home in Philadelphia was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Bibliography
The Constitution of the Society of Sons of the Revolution, And By-laws and Register of the Pennsylvania Society. (Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Society, 1891): 101.
Davis, William Watts Hart. A Genealogical and Personal History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1975): 587.
De Puy, W.H. American Revisions and Additions to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 2. (Chicago: R.S. Peale Company, 1892): 986.
"Final Tribute To Dr. Joseph Leidy." Ambler Gazette. July 14, 1932. Page 6. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_18625.
"Google Maps Area Calculator Tool." DaftLogic. Accessed January 6, 2024. https://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm.
Hocker, Edward W. The Spare Family: Leonard Spare and His Descendants. (Norristown: The Spare Family Association, 1931): 142-155.
"Jacob Steiger." Ancestry. Accessed April 9, 2023. https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/jacob-steiger-24-276pj4.
"Johann Jacob Leidy Sr." FamilySearch. April 8, 2023. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LYYY-JZX/johann-jacob-leidy-sr.-1687-1781.
"Johann Jacob Leidy, Sr." Geni. Last modified July 14, 2022. https://www.geni.com/people/Johann-Leidy-Sr/6000000000500140429.
"John Jacob Leidy (abt. 1687 - 1781)." WikiTree. Last modified July 20, 2021. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Leidy-16.
Lieut. Col. Jacob Reed: Proceedings at the Dedication of the Monument Erected to his Memory in Franconia Township, Pennsylvania under the auspices of the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. (Norristown: W.H. Reed, 1905): 87-111.
"Local History Sketch. Interesting Local Matter Collected by 'E.M.' The Chalkley Styer Farm in Whitpain Township--The Old Peter Conrad Plantation--Some Interesting Data and Transfers in Connection Therewith." Ambler Gazette. November 30, 1905. Page 2. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_1721.
Morris, William E, and Smith & Wistar. Map of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania: from original surveys. [Philadelphia: Smith & Wistar, 1849] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/2012590207/.
Mueller, A. H. Atlas of the North Penn Section of Montgomery County, Pa., Plate 29, 1916.
Philadelphia Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide, v. 27, n. 52 (1898): 832.
Scott, J. D. Montgomery County 1877, Whitpain, Rahn Sta., Grater's Ford, 1877.
Smith, J. L. Montgomery County 1893, Whitpain and Worcester Townships, Bethel Hill, Fairview, Cedar Hill, Washington Square, Broad Axe Left, 1893.
Spitzka, Edward Anthony. A Study of the Brains of Six Eminent Scientists and Scholars Belonging to the American Anthropometric Society: Together with a Description of the Skull of Professor E. D. Cope. (Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society, 1907): 257-259.
"The Leidys in Pennsylvania." Ambler Gazette. December 16, 1926. Page 12. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_13535.
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