"[4] George Eyre's decision to settle in Britain's North American colonies has sometimes been characterized as a case of "accidental immigration," given the 27-year-old's large inheritance in England and apparent lack of motive for leaving it behind.
The 1894 compilation Extracts From American Newspapers Relating to New Jersey: 1704–1775 comes closest; editors Nelson and Honeyman note obliquely that "George Eyre...while on a visit to this country in 1727...met Mary Smith, the daughter of Hon.
The same document proves, conclusively, that the Eyres made use of forced labor; a March 1737 advertisement in the American Weekly Mercury offers thirty shillings to anyone who can return a 20-year-old runaway "servant man.
The Eyre brothers had, in any case, taken full control of Philadelphia's greatest shipping business by the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and their new position helped them make decisive contributions to the independence effort.
[7] During the apogee of their power in the late 18th and early 19th centuries the Eyres had personal friendships with such influential political figures as George Washington,[8][9] John Sergeant,[10] James Madison,[11] and Henry Clay.