Manuel Eyre

Manuel Eyre (1736–1805) was a colonel in the Continental Army, a shipbuilder, and the brother of Revolutionary War heroes Benjamin and Jehu Eyre.

Biography Manuel Eyre was born in Burlington, New Jersey, one of five children of George Eyre and Mary Smith, his wife.

Career as shipbuilder He had apprenticed as a shipwright to Richard Wright (shipbuilder).

After independence After the war, he became a member of the Pennsylvania state legislature and continued to build on his business interests. The Eyre shipping yards that had been so vital to the cause of independence became the international business of Eyre and Massey, one of the largest shipping companies in the world.

One historian writes that, "Their vessels were known in almost every principal port of Europe and Asia, besides the United States and West Indian Islands ... [the company] held extensive mercantile intercourse with all parts of the world."

Legacy He died in 1805 and is interred at Palmer Cemetery in Philadelphia. Manuel's son, Manuel, Jr., would become Director of the Second Bank of the United States in 1816.