An Ode To An Early Fireman: The Memorial on W Front St.

Julian Rebelo
Aug 9, 2019
7 min read

Updated: Sep 8, 2019

Often times when walking through Keyport, many would stumble upon the large brick firefighter memorial located on W. Front St in Fireman’s Park across from the Keyport Fishery. However, next to this larger monument there is a smaller granite commemoration block that is dedicated to the late firefighter Jacob Leyrer Jr—In 1889 he'd perish in the line of duty, and his family story and circumstances behind his death are remarkable. This article is dedicated as a tribute to him and his family as well as a brief history behind the origins of the Keyport Fire Department.

Family Background (and some other facts)

Jacob F. Leyrer Jr. was born July 10,1886 in New York to German parents Jacob F. Leyrer Sr. and Dorthea “Dora” (Gimlich) Leyrer. Alongside him, he grew up with a brother George and a sister Augusta. Soon after the birth of George in New York, they would move to Connecticut in sometime during or before the summer of 1870, christening George in Norwich in November of 1870. The family would then reside between 1870-1880 in the Preston/Norwich area within New London County, Connecticut for the early years of their lives, Jacob Sr. working as a baker. Jacob Sr. would also manage a boarding house in Norwich during 1882.His bakery business in Norwich was successful enough to warrant a delivery driver, listed in the obituary of William L.Rose in 1910.

ree — Fire in Bakery (Courtesy: The Boston Globe)

In the early winter of 1887 Jacob Leyrer Sr.’s Connecticut bakery had a fire, costing $3,000 in damages—an ironic precursor of the later tragedy that would follow (by inflation, that is valued at over $80,000 today). On May 26, 1888, Laurentius and Magdalena Yunker would officially transfer their bakery property located on Front St to Dora (not to Jacob Sr.) in a property agreement, the Leyrer family still living in Norwich at the time prior to their Keyport purchase. The purchase was probably initiated due to the costly damages caused in the 1887 damages to his bakery in Norwich, and he needed another location. From Magdalena Yunker’s obituary from 1909, it discusses that Lawrence had previously been a baker in New York on Bleeker Street until 1877. They had moved to Keyport

ree — Jacob Leyrer Advertisement (Courtesy: Keyport Enterprise)

because they felt like “the climate here would be beneficial to her health,'' after Mrs.Yunker not recovering from an epidemic of diphtheria and scarlet fever, the Yunker’s themselves losing 4 children in the process. During 1888, they ultimately decided to sell their business in Keyport to the Leyrer’s in the hope that a visit to Germany would improve her health. Mr.Yunker would eventually reopen his new bakery on building on Stout St. in 1890/1891, after their return from Europe.

At this time it was a popular belief that diseases and their transmission was widely believed to be somewhat dependent on climate. In 1848, some details to the cause of fever included in Buchan's Domestic Medicine included the idea of ‘bad air’ and other nonsensical ideologies still unknown to the medical field at the time. Treatments, like in Mrs.Yunker’s case, it is said that “Treatments relied heavily on a 'change of air' ” was used alongside prayer and minimal use of medicine (Marsh). Studies have also shown that this Victorian habit was a construct that coincided with their beliefs in both tourism and disease at the time and most likely had little significance to actually benefiting health.The ideology and habit of “climate therapy” would eventually be abandoned during the early 1900s (Morris), around the time when modern medicine finally had been able to make somewhat of an impact.

ree — Leyrer Bakery (Courtesy Les Horner Historical Photos)

Augusta Leyrer in the meantime would marry, first to husband August Grotozky in 1881, then to Felix Messerschmidt in 1885. George and Jacob would remain unmarried, assisting in their father’s bakery. It does appear, unfortunately that all of the 3 siblings had not left any children behind.

Here are some additional articles/documents about the family below:

The Accident and Tragedies to Follow

On the morning of Friday, November 29, 1889, at around 5:30 in the morning, the day after Thanksgiving, the bakery of Jacob Leyrer & Sons had caught ablaze. Many mixed accounts of the blaze were published but in general—Jacob Leyrer Sr. would perish in the initial blaze, injuring Dora, George, and severely burning Jacob Jr., who is said to have gone back into the blaze to rescue his parents at the time. The Keyport Enterprise published at the time...

“Mr.Leyrer's families were all in bed and most of them had barely time to escape in their night clothes. Jacob Leyrer,jr., was terribly burned about the head, neck,shoulders,hands,and arms….He was on his way to arouse his parents, when the floor gave way and precipitated him into the fiery blaze below.”

The flames were able to be put out by around 7:30, with Keyport and Matawan companies known to respond. Jacob Leyrer Sr. remains were then found 11:45 that morning, burned beyond recognition, so destroyed by the flames that it was said to only weigh around 15 pounds. Jacob Sr. had initially escaped, but had went back into the fire to recover papers, and was then likely overcome by smoke. Those papers were found in his hands, likely $400 in funds stored in a tin box he hoped to recover in order to pay off a flour bill. What was left of his remains were then buried in Green Grove cemetery. The origin of the fire was also not certainly identified. There are many conflicting stories, including that the sons and assistants were prepping in the bakery at the time, and had originated from lard that had boiled over from making crullers (The NY Times), or in the rear of the Leyrer property, specifically from a clothing store that had recently opened, or from a lamp explosion. However, in general across differentiated accounts, the details do still remain the same, and the damage and losses are accounted for.

The story made national news at the time, published in larger papers like The New York Times, The Sun, and even in papers from California to Wisconsin. Damages were estimated between $50,000-$75,000 ($1.3 Million-$2.1 Million by inflation) worth in property damages at the time—those involved struggling with insurance companies in trying to settle their debts. The properties damaged include Jacob Leyrer’s bakery along with Alexander Block’s Dry Goods Store ($35,000 in stock, rebuilding, might resume business), Shultz’s tea shop (Phoebe Shultz, $3,000 loss in tea stock,reopened business in the store adjoining Woodruff’s), William H. Collard’s Grocery Store ($5,000 in crockery and grocery rebuilding/reopening), T H. Robert & Co. Hardware ($3,000, especially water damage, reopening), lost everything), Anna L.Conover/Mrs. T.W Seabrook ($5,000), Thomas L. Seabrook ($1,500). Some of the small damages and personal properties lost include to Mrs. Arose (lived over tea store, lost everything), Joseph Dey (lost everything),Mrs. Van Tassel (away at the time,lost everything), S. P Walling (lost most of property), John Antony shoemaker (building torn down, resumed business in the house of Margaret Owens on Main St.), store windows crack/damaged on the northerly side of Front St., and some sparks setting fire to Theodore Marks house was put out and saved.

Jacob Jr. had also told the press that ....

".... after his escape from the burning building he ran into the adjoining house, and from a window in Joseph Dey's apartment he tried to cross by means of a clothes line to the room of his parents in order to alarm them, but the line broke and fell into the area way receiving serious injury by the fall....it is now probable that he will recover"

Only a few weeks later after this article was written,on the morning of December 26th, less than a month after the accident had occurred, Jacob Leyrer Jr. would pass away from his injuries in the Pavilion Hotel—he was only 23 years old. He is buried alongside his father in the Green Grove cemetery. Jacob Leyrer’s property, including his horses,wagons,and chattels would be auctioned later that month. Dora went to her daughter’s house for recovery.

As for the rest of the family, some, such as the Leyrer’s, are just destined to meet an untimely fate. Augusta would soon pass away in 1891 in Brooklyn at the age of 29, her brother George passing away unmarried in Brooklyn in 1896 at the age of 27. Dora’s fate is unknown; she might’ve remarried in New York following the death of her first husband, with the last trace of her appearing on the 1892 Brooklyn census living with her son in law and son George.

Brief History of KFD

There are many resources out there in regards to the history Keyport Fire Department. Passionate individuals and authors including Tom Gallo,Jim McTeran, and Tim Reagan published a book in the Images of America series titled Keyport Firefighting, going into amazing detail on the specifics of the firefighting industry through the history of Keyport. This is specifically taking the story of Jacob Leyrer Jr. into consideration and why this memorial exists in the first place. (Some Images from the book below mention Jacob Leyrer Jr.)

Jacob Leyrer Sr. & Jacob Leyrer Jr., Buried in Green Grove Cemetery

What initiated the firefighting industry was the lack of one—The Great Fire of 1877 . On the evening of September 21, 1877 and into the morning, the conflagration had consumed over 2 dozen businesses. It was dubbed “Keyport’s Terrible Calamity” by the Monmouth Inquirer, with $200,000 worth of property damaged (nearly $5 million today). Although not published, lives were probably lost. A couple weeks following the disaster, on October 10, 1877 Keyport Fire Engine Company was organized—Jacob Leyrer Jr. a founding member.

Thanks to the hard work of Jim McTernan and Tim Reagan, both volunteer firefighters and dedicated researchers at the time, were able to, in October 1996, recover Jacob Leyrer Sr.’s and Jr.’s lost headstone, and honor him with a new one in its place in Green Grove cemetery. The memorial in town was created to honor the “supreme sacrifice” he gave in the line of duty. Unfortunately, as I have confirmed through genealogy, no living relatives were able to the memorial service. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation honors Jacob and writes:

"This firefighter line of duty fatality occurred before the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial was built in Emmitsburg, Maryland. While this firefighter has not been officially honored at the Memorial site, there are plans to do so when resources are available."

Jacob Leyrer Jr. is the only firefighter to die in Keyport to die in the line of duty thus far.