Isaac Wayne (1699–1774)
Captain Isaac Wayne (1699–1774) was a Pennsylvania tanner and father of American Revolutionary War General "Mad" Anthony Wayne and grandfather of United States Congressman Isaac Wayne.
Isaac Wayne was born in County Wicklow, Ireland, in 1699 to Captain Anthony Wayne, veteran of the Battle of the Boyne. In 1722, Capt. Anthony Wayne moved to Pennsylvania with Dutch-born wife, Hannah Faulkner, eight of their nine children, and Wayne's close friend and fellow veteran, John Hunter. It is speculated that Hannah was the daughter of one of the better-rewarded Dutch officers. They settled on a 1,600-acre (6.5 km2) estate in Easttown, Chester County, in what became the town of Paoli in 1724. Their stone home called Waynesborough is now a designated historical site and open for public tours.
Isaac, the ninth child, stayed in England to finish his education and joined the family two years later.
Isaac was 40 years old when his parents deeded their estate to him under the condition that he was to pay an annuity to his parents for the remainder of their lives.
He built up the largest tannery in Pennsylvania, grew grain, and feed-crops. His militia commission enabled him to go out when the Indians rose or threatened, as he did during the French and Indian War between 1755 and 1758.
When he was reaching forty, he took as his bride Elizabeth Iddings of Philadelphia, who was probably 10 years younger.
Isaac and Elizabeth Iddings Wayne had four children:
- Anthony Wayne, a major general during the American Revolution
- Hannah, who married Samuel Vanleer
- Ann, who married Capt. William Hayman
- Margaret, who married Col. Holstein
Isaac died in 1774 and is buried in the St. David churchyard in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
Sources
- Pleasants, Henry; Delaware County Historical Society (1907). History of Old St. David's Church Radnor, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. John C.Winston Co. p. 206.
- Vanleer (Van Leer) Family History