Berdan family

David Berdan, Sr. (1766-1821) and his wife Susanna Simmons Berdan raised a family of six children in New York City in the early part of the nineteenth century. Their children were Rachel (b. 1793), Peter (b. 1797), John (1798 -1840), Margaret (1800-1832), David (1803-1827), and James (1805-1884).

In 1819 David Berdan, Sr., served on the exploration committee of the New York Emigration Society. Berdan and two others were authorized to explore the frontiers of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to purchase land for society members and lay out a town. The expedition left New York City on October 12, 1818, and traveled 3,244 miles in the course of five months. However, at the end of his arduous journey Berdan and his companions are not compensated for their exertions. Nothing came of the venture; high land prices and the panic of 1819 combined to discourage the subscribers, and the society was disbanded in 1820. Berdan died the following year.

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