John Maybury of Sussex (ca1540-1618) was not only the common ancestor of most Mayburys but also the founder of a dynasty of skilled iron workers that followed the rapid spread of the English iron industry from Sussex to the west midlands, Wales, and on to Ireland and America.

But by 1710 the iron industry in England suffering, not only from its own success, but also because of increased competition from the American colonies. By 1750, there were numerous furnaces and forges operating in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. The pig iron imported from the colonies proved to be of such high quality that some English iron makers sought to have it taxed as a way of protecting their own production.

The conditions necessary for the production of iron in America were in abundance, including the iron ore, timber and water power. The only thing lacking was a supply of skilled iron workers to construct the furnaces and forges and oversee the production of iron. So as English ironworkers began to find themselves out of work, they welcomed the opportunity to find work and adventure in the colonies.

In 1716 Thomas Rutter built the first iron forge in Pennsylvania nearf Philadelphia. It may be no coincidence that the same year Thomas Maybury, "blacksmith" was granted 10 acres out in the townstead of Newton, in the County of Bucks," for a settlement to carry on his trade". By the time of the Revolutionary War, 60 years later, at least a dozen Mayburys were producing iron in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia -- at least five of them named Thomas!

Among the other Maybury iron workers who came to America seeking work were three brothers, Thomas, William and George Mayberry, who came from Ireland, perhaps in the 1760s. They would have known about their Maybury cousins who were already well established in the iron business in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. The three newcomers probably worked near Philadelphia or across the river in New Jersey until the outbreak of the American War for Independence. Thomas, William and William's son all served in the Fourth Artillery Regiment of the Continental Line, under Colonel John Proctor.

• Thomas Mayberry, a gunner, gave his birthplace as Ireland when he was commisioned on May 20, 1777;
• William Mayberry, was a mattross (gunner's mate), also born in Ireland, was commissioned on April 15, 1778, and
• William Mayberry, Jr. was a musician in the regiment's band, commissioned on July 8, 1780.

In 1787 Thomas Maybury, "an old Pensioner" petitioned the Court to grant him an Order for his back Pension. He was a resident of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania where one of his supporting witnesses, James Nichols of Pottstown testified that "Thomas Maybury, formerly a soldier in the army of the United States is disabled in one leg by a wound is alive and in my employ (at Pine Forge, Montgomery County) .

We learn from the pension application of William Mayberry, Sr. and a biographical sketch of George Mayberry's son, John Pennybacker Mayberry, some important facts about their lives:

• William Mayberry, Sr. was born about 1738;
• William Mayberry, Sr. was a self described, "refiner of iron";
• George Mayberry, brother of William Mayberry, Sr., was born about 1757;
• George Mayberry, "was an Irish gentleman, having emigrated to America in early life";
• John Pennybacker Mayberry, son of George Mayberry, "was born March 1, 1790 at Pine Forge near New Market, Virginia;
• In the year 1810 George Mayberry, accompanied by his son, John P., moved the family to Wood County, Virginia, "purchasing plantations near Belleville".
• William Mayberry, Sr. and his son, William Mayberry, Jr. also lived in Wood County, Virginia, but later moved to Muskingham County, Ohio.

From The History of Shenandoah County, Virginia by John W. Wayland (Regional Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1980), we learn more about George Mayberry and his father-in-law, Dirk Pennybaker:

"In the autumn of 1781, according to a tradition in the family, Dirk Pennybacker (1737-1799) came up into the Shenandoah Valley from Maryland and located on the Hawksbill Creek, near the site of Luray. There he built Redwell Furnace….Pennybacker, a few years earlier, had moved from Pennsylvania to a place near Sharpsburg, Md., where he had built an iron-working establishment, but a freshet had destroyed it; so he came up into the Valley

From the best information obtainable it appears that Columbia Furnace was built about 1803 or 1804; Liberty Furnace about 1822; and Van Buren Furnace about 1838. In the establishment of both Columbia and Liberty the agency and the influence of the Pennybackers were patent and potential….Columbia Furnace was built and operations commenced by George Mayberry and Benjamin Pennybacker…who were in the business as George Mayberry & Co.".

A Mayberry Pennybacker stoveplate from 1804
[Photograph courtesy of Robert Pennybaker who took it on May 7, 2000 in Luray, Virginia]

George Mayberry married Rebecca Pennybacker, a daughter of Dirk Pennybacker. By 1810 George and Rebecca had moved west to Wood County (now West Virginia). The following are either known or likely children of George and Rebecca Mayberry:

1. ?Sally Mayberry, married John Helmich on 15 February 1805 in Shenandoah County, VA
2. ?Sylvanius Mayberry, married Mrs. Elizabeth Watt on 20 July 1807 in Shenandoah County, VA
3. ?Elizabeth Mayberry, married Christopher Heckle on 13 March 1815 in Shenandoah County, VA
4. Benjamin Mayberry, born about 1790-94; married Nancy Samuels 28 April 1812 Shenandoah County, VA
5. John Pennybacker Mayberry, born about 1790; married Lucy W. Fearing in 1816 in Wood County, VA
6. Catherine Mayberry, born about 1792; married Joseph Hope Samuels on 7 May 1812 in Wood County, VA
7. Rebecca Mayberry, born about 1794; married Henry L. Prentiss on 14 April 1814 in Wood County, VA

August 2009