EAYRS, George Washington

1793 -

• Name	EAYRS, George Washington
  Birth	Bef. 1793	Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	2 Jun 1813	Santa Barbara, Alta California   [1]
  	Captain of the frigate, the MERCURY
  Person ID	I19728	1. Schwald - WA-NY-OR-TX
  Last Modified	29 Jun 2016

  
  

  Family	STEWART STUART, Maria Antonia de la Ascension "Little Peggy, Charlotte",   b. Abt. 1790, Matavai Bay, Tahiti, French Polynesia
  Marriage	Type: not married
  Children	+ 1. EAYRS, Maria de los Remedios Josefa Antonia,   b. Abt. Jun 1813, Bodega Bay, Sonoma County, California  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]
  Family ID	F6447	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	28 Jun 2016

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - Bef. 1793 - Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Occupation - Captain of the frigate, the MERCURY - 2 Jun 1813 - Santa Barbara, Alta California  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S350] Barbara Juarez Wilson, BK-From Msn. to Majesty: A Genlgy. & History of Early Cal & Royal European Ancestors, (Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, 1983), pages 46-47. BIOGRAPHY- Chapter: Peggy Stewart (Maria Antonia Stuart) In the year of 1808 or 1809, George Washington Eayrs, an enterprising young American sea captain from Boston, brought his frigate, the MERCURY, into Tahitian waters. He was at that time engaged in sea otter trade, but soon after he formed a partnership with the Russian Aleksandr Baranov of the Pacific North in the more lucrative business of contraband trading. In 1808-1809, Peggy Stewart was a young lady in her teens and was the object of the captain's admiring eye. Tahiti in those years was beset with many internal problems. Bloody battles were constantly waged as various factions fought for supremacy. When the young captain invited Peggy to go away with him to faraway places, she saw her opportunity to escape the constant turmoil, where she would not have to witness so much shedding of blood. Accepting, with all the excitement and curiosity of a young girl, Peggy sailed away from the land of her birth with Captain Eayrs who, although he never formally married her, loved and cherished this child-woman as his wife. For four years Peggy and George traveled the length and breadth of the globe seeing such places as Canton, Hawaii, Santo Tomas, all of the Pacific coast from Alaska to the tip of Baja, California, Mexico, South America, and the eastern seaboard of the United States. On 07 May 1813, as their ship, the MERCURY, lay anchored at Bodega Bay, Peggy presented George with a baby daughter, Maria. On 02 June 1813, the Spanish flagship FLORA, Don Nicolas Noe captain, while making a trade voyage from Lima, Peru seeking tallow, came upon the MERCURY just above Santa Barbara at Refugio Bay. Noe seized the ship and her crew claiming it was dealing in contraband. Although the Californians, including the mission padres, were sorely in need of merchandise for sewing, cooking, and furnishings, Mexico had declared such trade with anyone other than Mexico was forbidden and illegal. Although the captain probably was dealing illegally, he claimed the method in which his ship was confiscated was also illegal, and he sought compensation for his great loss for years. Captain George and his little family were placed under house arrest in Santa Barbara until 03 September and then they were sent to San Diego (still under house arrest) where both baby Maria Eayrs and Peggy Stewart were baptized (See excerpts, pages 79-82). Eayrs pleaded with their godfather, Jose Antonio de la Guerra y Noriega to take his 'girl' and baby into his home for their protection and safekeeping while he, George, traveled to Mexico to speak to the authorities about his losses. George never returned...