Spire, Nancy Woodson

The Spire collection contains material relating to William Duer, William Alexander Lord Stirling, and to the Fisher, Rapalje and Wilkins families, among others. The material was collected by Nancy Woodson Spire (Mrs. Lyman J. Spire) as one of her research interests.

William Alexander, Lord Stirling (1726-1783) was an American major-general during the American Revolutionary War. Serving first as a Colonel in the New Jersey militia, he eventually rose to the rank of brigadier general for the entire Continental Army. A respected tactician, he commanded forces at the battles of Long Island, Short Hills, Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth.

William Duer (1743-1799) was a British-born American lawyer, developer, and speculator from New York City. He served in the Continental Congress, participated in the convention that framed the New York Constitution, and was a signer of the United States Articles of Confederation. He married Catherine Alexander, daughter of William Alexander, Lord Stirling, and at least one document in the collection suggests he was also acquainted with the Wilkins family (Conveyance, William Dewer [Duer?] to States [Staats] Wilkins and Ann Smythe 1830).

John Fisher (dates unknown) was a lawyer and served as a Justice of the Peace for Kings County, New York; he was also involved in land speculation in central New York State.

Garret Rapalje (b. 1730), also spelled Gerrit or Garrit, was descended from Joris Jansen Rapalje, one of the earliest settlers of New Amsterdam. Garret's parents were George Janse Rapalje and Diana (Middagh) Rapalje. He married Helena de Nyse (b. 1732), and made his living as an importer in New York City. During the 1760s he was an assistant alderman of the City. During the Revolutionary War, Rapalje was a Loyalist, and later left New York City for New Orleans. He and his wife had four children: Garret II, George, Anne (b. 1762; married Jacob Wilkins, below), and Jacques. [Information taken from the New-York Historical Society http://www.nyhistory.org/exhibit/garret-rapalje-b-1730]

John Wilkins Sr. (1733-1809) was born in Pennsylvania. According to a manuscript in the collection, his paternal grandfather emigrated to Pennsylvania from Wales and his maternal grandfather came from Ireland. He served as Captain in Spencer's Regiment during the American Revolution; his oldest son, John Jr. (1761-1816), enlisted at sixteen as a surgeon's mate and eventually (1796) rose to the rank of Quartermaster General. After the way, Wilkins undertook several business ventures and served as a Justice of the Peace in Pennsylvania. He was married twice and (again according to his memoir in the collection) had eleven children with each of them, including two "lunatick" children.

Jacob Wilkins (born circa 1735) was a brass founder, grocer, and merchant of old New York. It is likely that he was related to John Wilkins but this cannot be established. He married Anne Rapalje in 1793 and they had two children, Helen D. and States (or Staats) Wilkins. Jacob Wilkins later married Hannah Betts, and they had six children: John, Jacob, William, Ann, Hannah (b. 1779), and Augustus (later a physician in Louisiana). Ann Rapalje Wilkins later married a Charles Smith or Smyth.

From the guide to the Spire American Revolutionary War Collection, 1667-1878, 1748-1799, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)