George Christopher Loy (to America 1732)

Georg(e) Christopher (“Christopher”) Loy (ca. 1695 Germany—ca. 1741 Lancaster [now part of Lebanon] Co., PA)
md. __________

Georg(e) Christopher Loy arrived in Philadelphia, PA on 21 September 1732 on the ship Loyal Judith, shipmaster Robert Turpin. The ship had sailed from Rotterdam by way of Cowes, England. Transcriptions of the ship records give his name as Georg Christoph Lay, age 37. He may have been the first Loy to have come to America. Christopher took an oath of naturalization during the 1738 court term in Lancaster. He settled on a 1,000 acre tract of Kingston Manor, on Tulpehocken Creek, part of a grant of William Penn’s sons. This was a few miles from the Reid family: a daughter of the Reids married a grandson of Matthias Loy (to America 1733), so some researchers have assumed Christopher was a brother of Matthias. According to History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Matthias and John Georg(e) Loy were brothers. John Georg(e) Loy and John Heinrich Loy also lived nearby in this vicinity, according to “Loy Family in America” by William Lynch. Christopher died intestate (without a will) about 1741.

Their child:

 

Born Where Died Where
#1 Michael Loy
md. Eva Magdalina Lauer

Michael Loy and his wife Eva Magdalina bought Christopher’s estate for £680 in 1760. In 1769 Michael built an eight story stone mansion. Today this mansion is known as the “Tulpehocken Manor Inn and Plantation” and located on 150 acres, 2 miles west of Myerstown on U.S. Route 422. In 1984, an overnight stay for a couple was $42, or a guided tour for $3 per person. (Reservations Phone: 717-866-4926)

According to “Loy Family in America,” Michael served as an officer in the Revolutionary War, under Capt. DeHart of the Lancaster Co. Militia. The Loys contributed greatly to the support of the Continental Army while it was encamped at Valley Forge. George Washington visited the home three times: once to hunt, fish, and rest, the other two times to inspect locks being constructed on the property for the Union Canal. He ususally slept in the southeast room on the second floor. Several pieces of the original Loy furniture, including a special “Kas,” or armoire, built for Eva is still in use by the owners of today’s manor. Michael and Eva’s son Christian incurred heavy losses in coal speculation and lost the estate, which had become mortgaged. It was sold at a sheriff’s sale to Conrad Loos in 1834. The present owners purchased the manor in 1960 for restoration.