Posts - Page 3 of 7 - PHILIP ALAN FARMER

January 23, 2022January 23, 2022

Jane Fermor, Pirate? Arrgh.

History has been unkind to Jane Fermor Killigrew (1583-1648), daughter of Sir George Fermor and Mary Curson. Pirate? Prostitute? Affair? Divorce?

Jane Fermor, the daughter of Sir George Fermor and Mary Curson, was baptized on 28 October 1583, and married at the age of twelve on 08 October 1596 to Sir John Killigrew V of Arwenack, Cornwall, son of John Killigrew IV and Dorothy Monck.[1]

History has not been kind to Jane. According to a heavily embellished story reprinted here,

LADY JANE, the widow of Sir John Killigrew, sat in one of the windows of Arwenick house, looking out upon the troubled waters of Falmouth Harbour. A severe storm had prevailed for some days, and the Cornish coast was strewn with wrecks. The tempest had abated; the waves were subsiding, though they still beat heavily against the rocks. A light scud was driving over the sky, and a wild and gloomy aspect suffused all things. There was a sudden outcry amongst a group of men, retainers of the Killigrew family, which excited the attention of Lady Jane Killigrew. She was not left long in suspense as to the cause. In a few minutes two Dutch ships were seen coming into the harbour. They had evidently endured the beat of the storm, for they were both considerably disabled; and with the fragments of sail which they carried, they laboured heavily. At length, however, these vessels were brought round within the shelter of Pendennis; their anchors were cast in good anchoring-ground; and they were safe, or at least the crew thought so, in comparatively smooth water.

As was the custom in those days, the boat belonging to the Killigrew family, manned by the group of whom we have already spoken, went off as soon as the ships were anchored and boarded them. They then learnt that they were of the Hanse Towns, laden with valuable merchandise for Spain, and that this was in the charge of two Spanish factors. On the return of the boat’s crew, this was reported to Lady Killigrew; and she, being a very wicked and most resolute woman, at once proposed that they should return to the ships, and either rob them of their treasure, or exact from the merchants a large sum of money in compensation. The rude men, to whom wrecking and plundering was but too familiar, were delighted with the prospect of a rare prize; and above all, when Lady Killigrew declared that she would herself accompany them, they were wild with joy.

With great shouting, they gathered together as many men as the largest boat in the harbour would carry, and armed themselves with pikes, swords, and daggers. Lady Jane Killigrew, also armed, placed herself in the stem of the boat after the men had crowded into their places, and with a wild huzzah they left the shore, and were soon alongside of the vessel nearest to the shore. A number of the men immediately crowded up the side and on to the deck of this vessel, and at once seized upon the captain and the factor, threatening them with instant death if they dared to make any outcry. Lady Jane Killigrew was now lifted on to the deck of the vessel, and the boat immediately pushed off, and the remainder of the crew boarded the other ship.

The Dutch crew were overpowered by the numbers of Cornishmen, who were armed far more perfectly than they. Taken unawares as they were, at a moment when they thought their troubles were for a season at an end, the Dutchmen were almost powerless.

The Spaniards were brave men, and resisted the demands made to deliver up their treasure. This resistance was, however, fatal to them. At a signal, it is said by some, given by their leader, Lady Jane Killigrew, – although this was denied afterwards, – they were both murdered by the ruffians into whose hands they had fallen, and their bodies cast overboard into the sea.

These wretches ransacked the ships, and appropriated whatsoever they pleased, while Lady Jane took from them “two hogsheads of Spanish pieces of eight, and converted them to her own use.”

As one of the Spanish factors was dying, he lifted his hands to heaven, prayed to the Lord to receive his soul, and turning to the vile woman to whose villainy he owed his death, he said, “My blood will linger with you until my death is avenged upon your own sons.”

This dreadful deed was not allowed to pass without notice even in those lawless times. The Spaniards were then friendly with England, and upon the representation made by the Spanish minister to the existing government, the sheriff of Cornwall was ordered to seize and bring to trial Lady Jane Killigrew and her crew of murderers. A considerable number were arrested with her; and that lady and several of her men were tried at Launceston.

Since the Spaniards were proved to be at the time of the murder “foreigners under the Queen’s protection,” they were all found guilty, and condemned to death.

All the men were executed on the walls of Launceston Castle; but by the interest of Sir John Arundell and Sir Nicholas Hals, Queen Elizabeth was induced to grant a pardon for Lady Jane.[2]

In every instance of the various versions of this story, neither the date, the names of the ships, the names of those involved, nor other details are mentioned. These missing details are early indications that it is probably more myth than truth, and upon further investigation, the story is completely false and essentially based on Mary (Wolverston) Killigrew’s act of piracy in January 1583 before the death of Sir John Killigrew III in 1584.[3]

While the history books have maligned Jane for her “atrocious” piracy, nothing compares to the disparaging remarks from Martin Lister-Killigrew, heir of Sir John Killigrew’s estate.

But this worthy gentleman, ye last Sir John Killigrew, was hardly got over this difficulty, when he fell under a much greater Affliction, as aforementioned, the Prostitution of his Wife; who caused herself to be called, or unaccountably was known by ye name of, Lady Jane. Arrived to that shameful degree, Sir John, in point of honor and for quietness of mind, found himself under a necessity to prosecute a divorce from her in ye Archbishop’s Court, which lasted so many years and so very expensive, as quite Ruined his Estate, to ye degree of his being often put to very hard Shifts to get home from London upon ye frequent recesses of ye process, but at length obtained ye Divorce in all its formal Extent…[4]

But was there an affair, and was there a divorce? For the town of Penryn, the story continues for almost 400 years.

Excerpted from the upcoming book “Thomas Fermor and the Sons of Witney,” a 767-page historical account of the Fermor / Farmar / Farmer family from 1420 to 1685.

[1] Vivian, The Visitations of Cornwall, Comprising the Heralds’ Visitations of 1530, 1573, & 1620 (1887), pp.268-269. Sir John Killigrew V, son of Dorothy Monck and John Killigrew IV (d. 1605), son of Mary Wolverston and Sir John Killigrew III (d. 1584), son of Elizabeth Trewynard and John Killigrew II (d. 1567), son of Jane Petit and John Killigrew (d. 1536).

[2] Timbs et al, Abbeys, Castles, and Ancient Halls of England and Wales; South (1872), pp.529-531. For other variations, reference in addition to many other publications: 1) Davies, The Parochial History of Cornwall, vol.2 (1838), p.6; 2) Redding, An Illustrated Itinerary of the County of Cornwall (1842), p.134; 3) Salmon, Cornwall, ed.2 (1905); 4) Hitchins et al, The History of Cornwall, vol.2 (1824), p.291; & 4) Lysons et al, Magna Britannia, vol.3 (1814), p.120.

[3] Gay, Old Falmouth (1903), p.15. The attribution to Lady Jane may have begun with William Hals’ unpublished Compleat History of Cornwall, first started in 1685 and continued until 1736, until Hals died in 1737. The second part of his work was published in 1750 as Complete History of Cornwall, Part II being the Parochial History whereas the first part contained so many scandalous details that prevented its publication. However, Hals’ work did form the basis of Davies’ Parochial History of Cornwall together with additional efforts from Thomas Tonkins (Pearce, “Hals, William,” Dictionary of National Biography, vol.24 (1890), pp.123-124.) “There appears to be but little doubt that Hals was rather a scandalmonger, and also seems to have had some private grudge against the Killigrews, and in fact almost every other Cornish family, and the story has therefore been discredited by subsequent historians…” (Whitley, “Dame Killigrew and the Spanish Ship,” Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, vol.7 no.27 (1883), p.283.) For a reprint of Hals’ account, reference: 1) Whitley, “Dame Killigrew and the Spanish Ship,” Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, vol.7 no.27 (1883), pp.282-283; & 2) Baring-Gould, Cornish Characters and Strange Events (1909), pp.135-137.

[4] Worth, “The Family of Killigrew,” Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, vol.3 no.12 (April 1871), pp.272-273. Martin Lister (1666-1745) married Anne Killigrew, daughter of Frances Twysden and Sir Peter Killigrew (ca.1634-1705), the son of Mary Lucas and Sir Peter Killigrew (ca.1593-1668), the brother and heir of Sir John Killigrew (1583-1633), Jane’s ex-husband. Mary Lucas was the daughter of Elizabeth Leighton and Sir Thomas Lucas II, the son of Sir Thomas Lucas and Mary Fermor, the daughter of Maud Vaux and Sir John Fermor who were the parents of Sir George Fermor, father to Jane Fermor. As part of his wife’s inheritance, Martin adopted the Killigrew surname. His family memoir was written in 1737 by Edward Snoxell, acting secretary for Killigrew, with Killigrew’s contributions. (“Lecture on ‘Extinct Cornish Families,’” The Royal Cornwall Gazette, no.4510 (13 March 1890), p.6.

March 17, 2021March 17, 2021

Barnabas O’Brien & Mary Fermor

Excerpted and edited from a new book to be released soon.

In the early seventeeth century, the family patriarch exercised total parental control and carefully orchestrated the right marriage contracts of their children, a normal practice in a society that regarded family discipline as a guarantee of public order, and in which young men and women depended on their fathers for their living allowances. It was a complex process with an accepted set of protocols involving three general stages, with customs, practices, and timeline varying with each family. First, informal enquiries were made to the prospective spouse’s family to gather general information before securing permissions – sometimes royal permission – to proceed with more formal discussions. Second, the two families, sometimes using a broker, negotiated the financial arrangements, especially the bride’s dowry and jointure, and secured the signing of the marriage articles and the settlement of estates. This stage often took months to complete as it involved the exchange of sensitive details relating to rentals, debts, mortgages, liabilities, general income and expenditure. Finally, the marriage ceremony took place followed by the consummation of the marriage, which was delayed if the couple were too young.[1] While intermarriage with English wives offered advantages to Irish nobles increasing their social status, wealthy and well-connected English families were reluctant to send their daughters to a country associated with incivility, barbarism, rebellion, and popery.[2]

Donough O’Brien, fourth earl of Thomond, was the fourth largest landowner in Ireland. Most of the Thomond estate was in County Clare, in the baronies of Bunratty and Tulla, with additional acres in neighboring Counties Limerick and Tipperary and in the Counties of Carlow, Dublin, Westmeath, and Queen’s. In September 1614, Thomond in his bridal search for his second son, Barnabas, upset the English courtier Thomas Butler, tenth Earl of Ormond. Ormond objected to the uninvited and “distasteful” overtures made to his only daughter, Elizabeth, who at the approximate age of twenty-two had been recently widowed with the death of her first cousin, Theobold Butler, first Viscount Butler of Tulleophelim, Ireland, a year earlier in December 1613. Thomond’s persistence left Ormond feeling “abused and dishonoured,” since he felt the match “might breed destruction to her, and dishonour to himself, in regard of his engagement to His Majesty, from which he never purposes to digress.” If Elizabeth defied his wishes by seeking an “unfit match” with Barnabas, Ormond threatened to “forget her to be his daughter.” [3] The situation may not have been whether Thomond was a “good match” because even if Ormond had better plans for Elizabeth, James I had intervened and obliged Ormond to marry his daughter to the court favorite Richard Preston, Lord Dingwall of Scotland and later first Earl of Desmond. Ormond did not approve of Preston and was very averse to the marriage but realized the dire consequences of opposing the king. Preston and Elizabeth married shortly soon after; Ormond died on 22 November 1614 at his home in Carrick and buried the following spring, 17 April 1615, at St. Kenny’s church at Kilkenny.[4]

On 17 July 1615, “Barnaby” married Mary Fermor, the youngest surviving daughter of Sir George Fermor.[5] Mary had been previously married to Scottish nobleman Robert Crichton, eighth Lord Crichton of Sanquhar, and the son of Edward Crichton. Crichton was a Member of Parliament in 1585 and 1587, and was appointed to a commission as Justice of the Peace, but after abusing his office, was discharged and allowed to remain as Sheriff of Dumfries. After a brief time sitting on the Privy Council, he entered the court of King James VI of Scotland as a diplomat, a position that made Crichton unpopular with his influence over the king.[6] For his role in the murder of the fencing master, John Turner, Crichton was hanged 29 June 1612 on a gibbet with a silken halter in Great Palace Yard, before the gate of Westminster Hall. After dying penitent professing his Catholic faith, his body was taken by Lord Dingwall and Robert Kerr, Lord Roxburgh, and returned to Scotland.[7]

Sir George Fermor had died on 01 December 1612 and was buried the next day. The widowed Mary (Curzon) Fermor and her eldest son, Sir Hatton Fermor, arranged the marriage settlement. The £4500 received by Barnaby mentioned in a quadripartite indenture dated 11 June 1616 granting him Castle Carlow[8] may have been paid by Sir Hatton Fermor and his mother Mary, and that in return, Barnaby’s father was to grant them land of equivalent value in Ireland to live on.[9] If so, the indenture indicates the Fermors were either expanding their estate holdings or investing in a future relocation.

Despite the grand castle, large estate, and beautiful surroundings, in 1616 Barnaby asked Sir Richard Boyle, Baron of Youghal (later first Earl of Cork), to meet him and Mary at Youghal so that “his wife think she is in England.” [10]

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[1] Ohlmeyer, Making Ireland English: The Irish Aristocracy in the Seventeenth Century (2012), p.174.

[2] Ohlmeyer, Making Ireland English: The Irish Aristocracy in the Seventeenth Century (2012), p.185.

[3] Ohlmeyer, Making Ireland English: The Irish Aristocracy in the Seventeenth Century (2012), p.103, 174. King James I and IV of Scotland and England had a series of personal relationships with male courtiers, called his “favorites,” suspected to have been the king’s homosexual partners.

[4] Carte, The Life of James, Duke of Ormond, vol.1 (1851), p.cxv.

[5] Lenihan, Limerick; Its History and Antiquities (1884), p.157 erroneously states he married “Mary, youngest daughter of Sir James Fermor, Knight, lineal descendant of the Barons Lempster, Earls of Pomfret…”

[6] Paul, The Scots Peerage Founded on Wood’s Edition of Sir Robert Douglas’s Peerage of Scotland, vol.3 (1906) p.230.

[7] Letters and State Papers During the Reign of King James the Sixth (1838), p.36-37; Henderson, Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, vol.13 (1888), p.91; “1612: Robert Crichton, Lord Sanquhar and mediocre swordsman.” ExecutedToday.com. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 05 March 2021. In July 1617, James I was entertained at Sanquhar Castle by William Crichton, 7th Lord Sanquhar and Robert Crichton’s son. “Doubtless it was a convenient stopping-place, but the royal visit must have awakened unpleasant memories in the family, since only five years earlier James had condemned his host’s predecessor in the title to an ignominious death by hanging before the gates of Westminster Hall on the charge of having instigated a murder, for which the unfortunate sufferer had at least some provocation, seeing that the victim, one Turner, had, whether intentionally or not is uncertain, put out one of his lordship’s eyes in a fencing bout…” (The Scottish Historical Review, vol.10 (1913), p.27).

[8] Burnbury, “Carlow – The Castle & The County.” TurtleBurnburry.com. 2000.

[9] Burnbury, “Carlow – The Castle & The County.” TurtleBurnburry.com. 2000.

[10] Ohlmeyer, Making Ireland English: The Irish Aristocracy in the Seventeenth Century (2012), p.185.

December 20, 2020December 20, 2020

Hark The Herald Angels

Edward Farmar was one connection away from George Whitefield who popularized the beloved Christmas carol “Hark the Herald Angels.”

On 18 December 1739, Edward in a letter to his cousin Nicholas Scull writes…

“…I was in hopes since this Gentleman Mr. Whitefield had preached up the Doctrine you yourself applauded so much that it might have had that Impression on you as to Convert you from that Damnable Doctrine of free thinkers…”[1]

Edward’s reference to “Mr. Whitefield” is undoubtedly Reverend George Whitefield (also Whitfield, 1714-1770), an evangelist and one of the founders of Methodism. Four months after Edward’s letter was written, Whitefield visited Whitemarsh Township. Whitefield traveled from Philadelphia with a company of forty horses and arrived at about nine o’clock on the morning of 18 April 1740. For a community of about fifty households, a crowd of two thousand from the surrounding townships awaited. With his theater, rhetoric, and patriotism, Whitefield loudly called upon the crowd to repent, in a revival movement that would be termed the “First Great Awakening.”[2]

Benjamin Franklin, having first heard Whitefield in London and again during his 1739 visit to Philadelphia, remarked how he had a “loud and clear voice.” While Whitefield was preaching at the court house steps at Market Street and Second Street, Franklin walked away to conduct an experiment. Franklin concluded that if audience members took up two square feet, more than 30,000 could hear Whitefield’s open-air sermon.

In the same year Edward’s letter was written, a contemporary of Whitefield, Charles Wesley (1707-1788), in a collection titled Hymns and Sacred Poems published “Hymn for Christmas-Day.” The 1739 poem began with “Hark how all the Welkin rings / ‘Glory to the King of Kings’ “

What’s a welkin? By definition, the song would have translated to “hark how all the heavens ring.” It is plausible that Edward may have sung the hymn about welkins while attending St. Thomas Episcopal Church.

It wasn’t until 1753 when Whitefield published A Collection of Hymns for Social Worship that he changed the lyrics to “Hark! the Herald Angels sing / Glory to the new-born King!” The subtle changes do give the carol more of a Christmas message.

The hymn would go through a few more lyrical and composition changes to the beloved Christmas carol today, with Whitefield’s changes remaining largely intact.

[1] The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol.40, p.120. Edited to remove modern misspellings.

[2] “A Bit of Local History,” The North Wales Record (25 February 1893).

December 18, 2020December 20, 2020

Quarantine! The John Wiley Farmer Family

Excerpted from the upcoming sequel to the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.

John Wiley Farmer, was born in Dent County, Missouri on 18 March 1859 to Hiram David Farmer and Mary “Polly” Jones.[1] When his father Hiram died, “Wiley” was four years old and was compelled to work tending to the family garden and other chores with little time for school.

On 26 February 1881, when Wiley was twenty-one years old, he married Virginia Belle Johnson. Virginia’s mother had died in 1861 when she was young. Her father was William F. Johnson of Tennessee, a prosperous farmer, an active member of the Christian church, and a cousin of President Andrew Johnson.

Wiley rented his family farm for one year until he sold his Missouri property and set out for Montana with his father-in-law and family, the Mark Morris family, the William B. Daniel family, the Hills’ family, the Warner Johnson family, and the Hedricks family.

After traveling up the Missouri River, Wiley and Virginia arrived into Fort Benton on the General Terry on Saturday, 06 May 1882.[2] The family spent two months in Fort Benton and then took secured pre-emption claims on Little Belt Creek near the Highwood Mountains, twelve miles northeast of Belt. Wiley and his father-in-law were still improving their Highwood land months later in February and March of 1883.[3]. The Farmers homesteaded on the ranch farming, raising cattle and many fine horses.

In February 1900, a smallpox outbreak occurred in the “Missouri Ridge” despite quarantine efforts. Afflicted were the Crocker family and Mrs. L. Nottingham, whose husband was arrested for breaking the quarantine. Other reported diseases in the area included a virulent case of diphtheria, a prevailing epidemic of mumps, scarlet fever, whooping cough, chicken pox, and a disappearing outbreak of measles.

The brother of the children’s school teacher, Dr. Vidal, discovered that two persons in Wiley’s household had a mild case of smallpox. The house was immediately quarantined. A barbed wire fence surrounded the house and a special officer was stationed to watch the house, day and night, and to prevent any of the vaccinated schoolchildren from playing near it.

Within a month, all eight persons in the household were showing mild symptoms – except Wiley, who “was in country when the disease developed” and was forbidden to see his family. This left Virginia, who was six months pregnant, to care for eight children alone: William Addison had turned eighteen a few weeks earlier, Abraham Jeffrey “Jeff” had turned ten a few weeks earlier, seven-year-old Wiley Lawrence, six-year-old Mary Viola, four-year-old Effie Victoria, four-year-old Louisa Virginia “Lulu”, Alfred Marion who was about to turn two, and Braxton Franklin “Frank” who was under the age of two.

By the end of March 1900, all eight members had recovered. The family was the last case of smallpox in town, and with the quarantine lifted, the family moved out to their country home.[4]

Wiley and Virginia’s daughter Mabel Marian was born in May 1900 but the joy of a newborn child soon disappeared when after a brief illness, Virginia passed away at her home on Saturday, 30 June 1900.[5] About five months later, on 26 November 1900, 18-month-old Mabel died at about 5 o’clock that evening.[6]

[1] Hiram David Farmer (12 August 1827, Harlan, Kentucky – 16 March 1863, Youngs Point, Louisiana) the son of David M. Farmer (1801-1889) and grandson of Stephen Farmer; Mary “Polly” Jones (1832-1916) the daughter of Wiley Jones (1811-1893) and Sarah Hendrickson (1814-1900).

[2] “What the Boats Brought,” The River Press (10 May 1882), p.5

[3] The Benton Weekly Record (24 February 1883), p.5; The Benton Weekly Record (10 March 1883), p.5

[4] “Disease Spreading,” The Anaconda Standard (09 February 1900), p.11; “Spray of the Falls,” Great Falls Tribune (03 March 1900), p.3; “State News,” The Butte Daily Post (06 March 1900), p.5; “In Belt,” The Anaconda Standard (26 March 1900), p.11; The Anaconda Standard (02 March 1900), p.11; Great Falls Tribune (21 March 1900), p.6.

[5] Great Falls Tribune (09 July 1900), p.7; “Of Local Interest,” Great Falls Tribune (08 July 1900), p.12. There are two 1900 United States Federal Census that enumerate Virginia. The first was completed by Thomas Gordon on 05 July 1900 for Highwood Township, Choteau County, Montana (Twelfth Census of the United States, Schedule No. 1 – Population, SD #155, ED #192, sheet 31, line 16) and the second was completed by William G. Light on 26-28 July 1900 for Belt Township, Cascade County, Montana (Twelfth Census of the United States, Schedule No. 1 – Population, SD #155, ED #144, sheet 29, line 46). It would reason that Virginia was enumerated when the census was started, and passed away before they were completed.

[6] Great Falls Tribune (27 November 1900), p.9.

September 12, 2020December 17, 2020

UPDATE: Rachel Astley, Wife of Edward Farmar?

A lot of family trees incorrectly have Rachel Astley as the wife of Edward Farmar. Is his wife Rachel Ellis/Roberts as other researchers suggest?

In an earlier post, it was related that the Astley surname first appears in the Philadelphia region around the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. Yet, on a July 1685 land deed between William Penn and the local Indians, appears the name of Will Asley. The purchased land becomes the land inherited by Edward.

Jim White in his book Boone Family to America, 1670-1720, Volume II (2009) has Edward’s wife as Rachel Ellis, the daughter of Robert and Elin Ellis who immigrated in 1690 from Tyddyn Y Garreg, Merioneth, Wales, to Philadelphia. More research was required to determine the validity of White’s claim, as the book cites a source with no mention of Edward.

Further, White’s book claims that John Farmer, Edward’s brother, is the “Quaker of Essex” who traveled throughout the America’s from 1711-1714. Julie Miller’s research of John Farmer’s diary shows White’s claim to be untrue.

That got me to thinking. Maybe White was wrong about Rachel Ellis? Maybe Edward Farmar’s wife is Rachel Asley? In writing the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh, did I perpetuate yet another erroneous mistake?

Could I prove the real identity of Edward’s wife?

Using publicly available books, I started a family tree for Rachel’s siblings, who all adopted the surname “Roberts.”

I then used my father’s autosomnal DNA results to find the name “Ellis” or “Roberts” in the family trees of 6-8 cousin matches. I had purchased an AncestryDNA kit as a Christmas gift for my father in 2017; his DNA results became an invaluable tool that proved Samuel Chase Early was his great grandfather.

It was a very tedious process of elimination for a LOT of family trees. Not only did the Ellis or Roberts surname have to appear as a direct ancestor in the cousin’s pedigree, but no other surname in my father’s pedigree had to appear in the cousin’s pedigree, or match with other surnames in the Ellis/Roberts’ pedigree.

Why? To rule out any other DNA possibilities. If a cousin descended from a Farmer, is it a match due to the Farmer DNA, or Ellis/Roberts DNA? If an ancestral Farmer married an Osborne, and the cousin’s ancestor married an Osborne, is it a match due to the Osborne DNA? This also means that some descendants of Robert Ellis were eliminated if they married into families common with my father’s pedigree.

I needed trees that ONLY share the Ellis/Roberts connection. And in doing so, could also irrefutably prove that Stephen Farmer was the great grandson of Edward Farmar.

This is not an easy task. A full pedigree will have 196 persons across seven generations. And of course, family trees have to be correct. This can be a problem when family lines abruptly stop with limited information, or when family lines have children associated with the wrong parent (e.g. a son as offspring to his step-mother). Trees with good documentation were sought and used.

Out of THOUSANDS of trees, below are eight possibilities that were considered as examples of the painstaking effort to prove the identity of Edward’s wife.

The pedigree of R.M. and J.M., sharing 16-26 cm across one segment. 5ggp Jane Roberts (1750-1820), parents unknown, married James Maxwell (1745-1821). Common surnames? 5ggp William Long (1750-1770) who married Martha Davis (1754-1840).
The pedigree of R.B., sharing 19-23 cm across one segment, and whose mother Roberts can be traced 11 generations to William Roberts (1630-1670), including those in Pennsylvania at the same time frame as Rachel Ellis. Common surnames? 7ggp Alexander Cummins (1736- ).
The pedigree of S.M., sharing 14-22 cm across one segment. 4ggp Thomas Roberts (1790-1837). Common surnames? 9ggp Peter Krehbiel (1656- ) of Switzerland with name changes through the generations similar to Grabeel of Switzerland.
The pedigree of C.C., sharing 14-16 cm across one segment. 8ggp Alice Roberts (1640-1704). Common surnames? 7ggp Thomas Worrel (1686-1732).
The pedigree of M.W., sharing 13-15 cm across one segment. 7ggp Edward Ellis (1659- ). Common surnames? 5ggp Henry Gay (1704-1779), along with Thomas and Thompson.
The pedigree of T.S., sharing 14-17 cm across one segment. 5ggp Adonijah Roberts (1755- ). Common surnames? None.

The search continues for the perfect tree, especially one that has a direct descendant of Robert and Ellin Ellis with no other surname matches. The pedigree of T.S. listed above is very promising, with further research needed into the identity of Adonijah Roberts.

For now, DNA results do suggest that the identity of Edward Farmar’s wife is Rachel Ellis.

“Very well written and researched…”
L. King

“I love your work… Very interesting!”
B. H. Baker

“Amazing research!”
J. Shipley

“Wonderfully researched, well written… recommend it even if you’re not related to the Farmar’s…”
D. Roark

“Excellent book! We highly recommend!”
E. Wolf

“Very informative and interesting. I could not put it down.”
E. Farley

July 4, 2019December 17, 2020

Edward’s Relatives & The American Revolutionary War

The following is excerpted and edited from the book “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.”

The relationship between America and England had been deteriorating since King George III’s Royal Proclamation in 1763, and after a series of parliamentary taxes in the 1760’s,[1] many questioned whether England had any jurisdiction over the colonies. By 1774, the argument was that Parliament was the legislative body of England only, and the colonies with their own legislatures had the respective authority within America. After the 1774 Coercive Acts stripped Massachusetts of their self-governance for their role in the 1773 Boston Tea Party, the First Continental Congress with delegates from the other twelve colonies met in Philadelphia from 05 September to 26 September 1774. As their appeal to King George III had no effect, the Second Continental Congress met again on 10 May 1775 and the delegates urged each colony to establish and train their own militia. By then, the first shots of war had occurred on 19 April 1775 at the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Many had hoped for reconciliation, but the king rejected Congress’ petition and issued a Proclamation of Rebellion after the Battle of Bunker Hill and Siege of Boston in June 1775. King George sought foreign assistance to suppress the “open and avowed rebellion” and encouraged citizens to “use their utmost endeavours to withstand and suppress such rebellion” including reporting anyone engaged in “traitorous correspondence.”

Elizabeth “Eliza” (Halroyd) Farmer, the wife of Dr. Richard Farmer of Philadelphia, was dismayed by the actions of the British, evidenced in a letter to her nephew Jack Halroyd, a clerk at the East India Company in London.

“June 28th, 1775
My Dear Jack-
We have nothing going on now but preparations for war… there is hardly a man that is not old but is leaving, except the Quakers; and there is two Companys of them, all in a Pretty Uniform of Sky blue turn’d up with white. There is Six or Seven different sorts of Uniforms beside a Company of light Horse and one Rangers and another of Indians: these are all of Philadelphia; besides all the Provinces arming and Training in the same Manner for they are all determined to die or be Free. It is not the low Idle Fellow that fight only for pay, but Men of great property are Common Soldiers who secretagogue hgh say they are fighting for themselves and Posterity. There is accounts come that they are now fighting at Boston and that the Army set Charles Town on fire in order to land the Troops under cover of the Smoak…
The People are getting into Manufacture of different Sorts particularly Salt Peter and Gunpowder; the Smiths are almost all turned Gunsmiths and cannot work fast enough. God knows how it will end but I fear it will be very bad on both sides; and if your devilish Minestry and parliment don’t make some concesions and repeal the Acts, England will lose America for, as I said before, they are determined to be free…”[2]

With the Declaration of Independence signed on 04 July 1776 in Philadelphia, a handwritten copy was sent to John Dunlap who printed more than two hundred copies of the “broadside” for distribution. While the document had been printed in the Pennsylvania Evening Post on 06 July 1776, the first formal public reading took place on 08 July 1776 under an order of the President of Congress on Friday, 05 July 1776.[3]

At eleven o’clock that sunny morning, the church bells and the bell at the State House began to summon the citizens of the city and from the surrounding countryside to the State House yard. Having entered through the large gate on the south side, a crude platform was to the east, constructed in 1769 by the American Philosophical Society for observing the transit of Venus. They looked around the walled area, including the prison, from which Tory sympathizers and other convicts looked down from the windows. Soldiers manned the cannons lining the sides, while wagons carrying ammunition, powder, and military stores were positioned around. Everyone waited patiently on the hard, rutted ground, with nearby willow trees offering shade.

At the first bell, the Committee of Safety, charged with the defense of the colony, assembled in their chamber. Present were Chairman George Clymer, Joseph Parker, James Biddle, David Rittenhouse, Owen Biddle, Thomas Wharton, Jr., Michael Hillegas, John Cadwallader, George Gray, Samuel Howell, Samuel Morris, James Mease, and John Nixon. Meanwhile, the Committee of Inspection, including Christopher Marshall, convened at the Philosophical Hall and soon met with the Committee of Safety.

The bells stopped at noon when a two-by-two procession entered the State House yard. At the head were constables and staff, then the Sheriff of Philadelphia William Dewees[4] and Coroner Robert Jewell, and their deputies following behind. The Committee of Safety and the Committee of Inspection followed as a body behind the procession. The restless crowd began to quiet as Sheriff William Dewees climbed the observatory stairs with his acting deputy, Colonel John Nixon, close behind, along with members of the Committee of Safety and local dignitaries.

Dewees approached the railing and addressed the crowd.

“Under the authority of the Continental Congress and by order of the Committee of Safety, I proclaim a declaration of independence.”

Colonel Nixon then stepped forward and, having been appointed by Dewees for reasons unknown, proceeded to read the document.

“In Congress, July 4, 1776. A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America. When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation…”

A loud applause erupted with the opening sentence. Colonel Nixon, in a loud and resonant voice that could be heard as far as Mr. Norris’ house on the east side of Fifth Street, continued to read, while those in attendance listened attentively, occasionally interrupting with applause. When he finished, the State House bell rang once more to the excitement of the audience and three hearty huzzahs. There was little conversation as some of the crowd made their way to Armitage’s tavern. Others followed the speakers to the courthouse, where the document was again read. The Committee of Inspection removed the king’s arms first from the courthouse and then from the statehouse. They were carried to the common, where later that evening, the citizens cheered and celebrated with a great bonfire while church bells tolled through the clear, starry night.

In the spring of 1777, Colonel William Farmar Dewees, Edward Farmar’s grandson, was asked to store army supplies at Valley Forge based on its suitable location and number of storage buildings, “contrary to [his] wishes and remonstrances.”[5] His Mount Joy iron works, in partnership with David Potts, the brother of William’s wife Sarah Potts, were essential in manufacturing cannonballs, bullets, rifles, knives, bayonets, and other military supplies.

In September 1777, British Lieutenant General William Howe sailed from New York and invaded Pennsylvania from the Chesapeake Bay. After defeating the American forces at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, Howe, with information from a Tory supporter, sent Lieutenant Colonel William Harcourt with three companies of light infantry and part of the Sixteenth Light Dragoons to Valley Forge.

They arrived on September 18 and found Dewees, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton, and Captain Henry Lee trying to move the military supplies across the Schuylkill River.[6] As the British force of 400 men advanced and fired, the Americans fled by barge across the Valley Creek, where Colonel Dewees’ horse was shot while trying to cross. The British remained until the night of September 22, but not until after they had proceeded to burn the forge, sawmill, two large stone dwelling houses, two coal houses, four hundred loads of coal, and 2,200 bushels of wheat and rye as witnessed by Major Caleb North of the Tenth Pennsylvania Infantry. Losses also included his household belongings and livestock.

After the defeat at the Battle of Germantown, Washington’s army retreated along several paths and encampments until November 2, when Washington marched his forces to Whitemarsh Township. Howe, on his return march, burned all of the houses and businesses between Germantown Township and Philadelphia, including the Rising Sun Inn which was owned by William Maulsby, the son of Merchant Maulsby, Sr.[7]

Meanwhile, Colonel Dewees and a neighbor, Joseph Cloyd, were captured on 24 October while travelling along Ridge Road. They were imprisoned at British headquarters in Philadelphia for three and a half days with no food or provisions until they were transferred to a new jail for six days, again with no food, with exception to food provided by Joseph’s wife. To avoid starvation, and to ensure their release, they both swore an allegiance to King George III.

At the conclusion of the “Battle of White Marsh,” and with the British thirteen miles away in Philadelphia for the winter, the Continental Army left Whitemarsh on December 11. After an eight-day journey to travel thirteen miles, Washington and his army of 12,000 arrived at Valley Forge.

Valley Forge’s high terrain overlooking wide, open areas and the proximity to the Schuylkill River provided advantages for supply movements, training, and protection against surprise enemy attacks. Approximately 1300 to 1600 huts of varying size, material, and construction were built for living quarters by cutting down the trees and dismantling the split rail fences, which were also used for heating and cooking fires. For six months from 18 December 1777 to 19 June 1778, the army faced supply shortages, malnutrition, starvation, and disease where 11,500 horses and 700 to 2,000 soldiers died.

Colonel Dewees and his second wife, Sarah Waters, endeavored to relieve the suffering of the army at Valley Forge at their great expense. While the army was stationed in their vicinity, General Washington and his wife Martha were frequently entertained at the Dewees mansion. General Washington had sent Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Stewart to defend the manor house. During this visit, Thomas first met Edward Farmar’s granddaughter, Rachel Dewees, a young and very lovely girl who was not quite eighteen years old. In a case of love at first sight, both were married only a few months after they first met. After the wedding, the bridal party and their host of friends were returning to Thomas’ home in Bucks County on horseback when they met Washington. The General drew up his troops on each side of the road, then dismounted and congratulated Stewart and his bride. He also claimed the privilege of a kiss from the bride, who was well-known to General Washington.[8]

Dr. Richard Farmar and his wife Eliza were presumably Loyalists, and it may be no surprise that when Richard’s daughter, Sarah, fell in love with Major William Bowers, a Continental soldier, her parents were averse to the marriage. Tradition says that “Miss Sallie,” under the cover of darkness, climbed out of a second story window and eloped in 1778.

Following the British destruction of his iron works at Mount Joy and the army’s “destruction” of Valley Forge, Colonel William Farmar Dewees moved his family into his father-in-law’s home in Tredyffrin Township. He was in financial ruin, and after the war, Dewees tried to resurrect his business, but became bankrupt in 1784 when the sheriff confiscated his property and returned to Tredyffrin Township. In 1785, Dewees petitioned Congress for compensation claiming,

“a merciless enemy had either carried off or burned his property [and that the American soldiers’ destruction of the] greatest part of his standing timber and all of his fences deprived [him] of the Power to erect New Buildings, and rendered the Premises of less Value than they previously were…”

The petition was referred as early as January 1791 to the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton – the same person who was with Dewees moving military supplies when the British attacked in September 1777. It was Hamilton’s opinion that…

“it is advisable carefully to forbear a special interposition of the Legislature in favor of special claims [that the] lapse of time has added to the difficulty of investigating satisfactorily claims which generally rest on evidence merely oral, and which, instrinsically, are liable to much vagueness and abuse…”[9]

Although sympathetic to his cause, Congress never acted on the claims during William’s life for his losses for which Congress had no monies to cover the funds.[10] A petition was presented again on 25 January 1794, referred to a select committee, and rejected on 15 December 1794. Before he died in 1809, Dewees again petitioned Congress to no avail. After his death, his son William and wife Sarah continued to pursue the claim when Congress introduced a bill on 5 February 1817. President James Monroe signed a petition in 1818 granting Dewees’ widow $8,000 for the damage caused by the British, but not for the damage caused by the American army. Sarah Dewees finally received an additional $900 compensation in 1820 from the State of Pennsylvania – forty-three years after the destruction at Valley Forge. Sarah Dewees died in 1822.

Today, Valley Forge National Historic Park preserves and protects over 3,500 acres of the original site.

“Very well written and researched…” Ms. L. King

“I love your work… Very interesting!” Ms. B. H. Baker

“Amazing research!” Ms. J. Shipley

“Wonderfully researched, well written… recommend it even if you’re not related to the Farmar’s…” Mr. D. Roark

“Excellent book! We highly recommend!” Ms. E. Wolf

“Very informative and interesting. I could not put it down.” Ms. E. Farley

[1] Taxes such as the 1765 Stamp Act, 1767 Townshend Acts, and 1764 Sugar Act, to name a few.

[2] North et al, In the Words of Women, p.94.

[3] Various accounts differ on the events of 08 July 1776. This account summarized from: Keyser, The Liberty Bell, p.20-22; Hart, “Colonel John Nixon,” p.195-196; “We Declare Independence.” American Heritage.

[4] Edward’s son-in-law William Dewees, having married Rachel Farmar. One resource erroneously states “Thomas Dewees” (Hart, “Colonel John Nixon,” p.196)

[5] 33^rd Congress, 1^st Session, Rep. No. 108, “Heirs of Col. Willis Riddick [To accompany bill. H.R. No. 274]”, per the report from the Committee on Revolutionary Claims dated 17 April 1834.

[6] Henry Lee III (1756-1818), later served as Governor of Virginia (1791-1794) and father of General Robert E. Lee, commander of Army of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), first Secretary of the Treasury, and founder of the nation’s financial system, the Federalist Party, the United States Coast Guard, and the New York Post newspapers.

[7] Barnard, Early Maltby, With Some Roades History and that of the Maulsby Family in America, p.153. William Maulsby, son of Merchant Maulsby, Sr., married Hannah Coulston, the granddaughter of Jacob and Ann Rhodes, at the Old Swedes’ Church, Philadelphia, in 1756. In 1763 he removed his certificate from Gwynedd to Philadelphia. He was owner of the Rising Sun Inn, on the Germantown Road, in Germantown Township, eleven miles from the city of Philadelphia.

[8] Jordan, et al. Personal Memoirs of The Lehigh Valley, p.42-43.

[9] 28^th Congress, 1^st Session, Report from the Committee on Revolutionary Claims dated 15 January 1844.

[10] “…in June 1783, and appraisement was, on oath, made of the property destroyed by the enemy at the sum of £3,404 3s 4p… and wood destroyed at £300… and that these accounts were submitted to the Board of Treasury about the year 1784 or 1785…” (16^th Congress, 2^nd Session, No. 538 “Loss of Property at Valley Forge” dated 20 December 1820). In 2018, this is the equivalent of $828,250.

March 17, 2019December 17, 2020

Jasper’s Backyard

On this St. Patrick’s day, you may find yourself raising a pint of Guinness at Jasper’s Backyard, a popular bar and grill in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

From their website,

“The earliest purchase of land in the vicinity of Conshohocken can be traced to deeds from the Tammany Native Americans to William Penn in 1683. In that year, William Penn sold 5,000 acres to Jasper Farmer, an Irishman, whose family established the first limestone quarry in the area. Son Thomas Farmer sold 1250 acres of land, 200 of which were in what is now Conshohocken, to Radnor Quaker David Harry in 1700. In 1710, David Harry met David Jones at the Friends Meeting and subsequently sold him 160 acres of land. At the time of the borough’s incorporation 140 years later, the Jones and Harry families would own the entire east side of Conshohocken…”
Jasper’s Backyard

Close.

Major Jasper Farmar was an officer in the English Army. For his military services, he was granted a 5000-acre plantation in Garranekinnefeake Parish, village of Midleton, County of Cork, Ireland. Although living in Ireland, the Farmar’s were English, and hated by the Irish for living on confiscated land. By the end of the Irish Uprising in 1641, most of the land was confiscated from the Farmar’s and the family lived in exile in Exeter, England. Although, some of the land was returned, life in Ireland was never the same.

One of Major Jasper’s neighbors in Ireland was William Penn, who encouraged Major Jasper to immigrate to “Penn’s Land” in the Americas.

Major Jasper sent his son Jasper Jr. to investigate the Province of Pennsylvania. Liking what he saw, Jasper Jr. purchased 5,000 acres of land by patent dated January 1683 on behalf of Major Jasper and his sons Jasper Jr. and Richard Farmar. This land would become known as Farmersville (or Farmer’s Town), although most commonly known as Whitemarsh Township.

During the trans-Atlantic voyage on the Bristol Merchant in late 1685, Major Jasper, his son Jasper Jr., and his daughter Katherine Farmar, died and were buried at sea.

During the disposition of the wills, Major Jasper’s wife, Mary Batsford Farmar (“Madame Farmar”), along with Jasper Jr.’s wife, Katherine Batsford Farmar (“Widow Katherine,” the daughter of Mary), partitioned the 5,000 acres. 2500 acres went to Edward Farmar (Major Jasper and Mary’s son), and 1250 acres each went to Richard Farmar and Widow Katherine.

Through a series of transactions, Richard sold his land to his step mother Madame Farmar and returned to Ireland. By the end of 1685, Madame Farmar was now the owner of 3750 acres of land upon which a large deposit of limestone was found. Madame Farmar died in late 1686, and her son, Edward Farmar inherited the land.

Edward would continue limestone burning, build the first grist mill, build St. Thomas Episcopal Church, become a judge, and serve on the Provincial Assembly from 1710 until his death in 1745. His daughter, Rachel, would marry William Mehls Deweese, and their children would own Valley Forge when George Washington’s troops camped there in the winter of 1777-1778.

Edward’s son, Samuel Farmer, would move from Whitemarsh Township to Rowan County, North Carolina. Samuel’s son, William Farmer, would later move north into Grayson County, Virginia. While William’s son, David Farmer, would remain there, his other son, Stephen Farmer, would later move to Harlan County, Kentucky.

Sometime between 1685 and 1689, Widow Katherine remarried to Captain Christopher Billopp. Her Staten Island home, Billopp Manor, is now the Conference House, where Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge met with Lord Admiral Richard Howe in 1776. The meeting was hosted by Major Jasper’s great, great grandson Colonel Christopher Billopp to negotiate a peaceful means out of the American Revolutionary War.

Katherine Billopp died before April 1700. In June 1700, her son, Thomas Farmer, sold the 1250-acre tract to David Harry, who in later years, parceled the land to other buyers. Thomas Farmer was personally appointed by William Penn to be High Sheriff of Philadelphia City and County in June 1700. It was an office he held until he resigned in 1703 to travel to England and marry Anne Billopp, the daughter of Captain Christopher Billopp. Thomas would return to America and enter politics in New Jersey.

The Farmar’s weren’t true Irish, but having lived in Ireland, they adopted Irish customs. It is reported that in the 1800’s when they demolished Widow Katherine’s home in Philadelphia, two Irish pennies were found.

So on this St. Patrick’s Day, we celebrate the Irish spirit in all of us!

Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the family immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky. Complete with bibliography and footnotes that supports the research. Check out the current discounts through our printing partner LuLu.com which may save you money than purchasing through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, or other retailers.

“Very well written and researched…” Ms. L. King

“I love your work… Very interesting!” Ms. B. H. Baker

“Amazing research!” Ms. J. Shipley

“Wonderfully researched, well written… recommend it even if you’re not related to the Farmar’s…” Mr. D. Roark

“Excellent book! We highly recommend!” Ms. E. Wolf

“Very informative and interesting. I could not put it down.” Ms. E. Farley

March 3, 2019December 17, 2020

Part 5: Hiram Fee

The conclusion of a tutorial on deductive reason when branching your family tree using Hiram Fee as the example.

If you happened upon this blog, recommend you read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. Having performed the prior steps, it’s time to move on to Step #8.

STEP #8: NEVER STOP SEARCHING

Searching for answers on Hiram Jones Fee has been a two-year undertaking. When I first encountered Hiram as the “son” of Henderson and Sarah, he just sat there on the branch… just a leaf that needed to be completed later.

Then a few months ago in branching Stephen Farmer’s son, Lewis C. Farmer (1798-1870), I find a great granddaughter Sarah Elizabeth “Sallie” Farmer (1888-1986). Sarah was the daughter of Lorena Jane Yeary (1861-1945) and Leonard Farmer (1857-1938) who was the son of Catherine Fannie Branson (1831-1920) and William C. Farmer (1824-1910). William was the son of Lewis. Then I find another Hiram Fee as the wife of Sallie Farmer. It was through more searching that I was able to conclude that the two Hiram’s were one and the same.

Never stop searching, especially if you continue to have that nagging question that your leap of faith may have been in error. By continually searching, I found additional information about Hiram Fee that really helped with the assumptions and conclusions.

Websites are constantly updated or added. Pay attention to the emails from Ancestry.com, Family Search, or Newspapers.com about their records updates. New records added to their repository may have what you are searching for. The same goes for the notices that someone has added a story, photo, or record to someone in your family tree. That’s how I came across a “Stephen F. Lee vs. David Lee” lawsuit from 1903 that was added by another Ancestry member. In it,

“Hiram Fee above named was a son and an heir of the decd. [John Fee]… that said Hiram Fee left two other children and heirs whose names and place of residence these plaintiffs cannot after diligent inquiry ascertain, they are here sued as ‘Unknown defendants’…”
“Stephen F. Lee vs. David Lee“

Search engines are fallible. Type in some search words on Ancestry.com and nothing. Do another search, and there it is. The same goes for Newspapers.com. After typing in numerous variations of Hiram Jones Fee, Hiram J. Fee, H.J. Fee, Hiram Fee, etc., I find another obituary for Hiram Jones Fee… and I wasn’t searching for Hiram. The obituary explicitly states Lee is his son… information omitted from the other obituary. The leap of faith was correct!

Obituary of Hiram Jones Fee
Source: The Tribune, IN (29 May 1950), p.1

Countless times I’ve done a Google search and have nothing come up. Then out of the blue, conduct another search using the same phrases and, voila, there’s the information you’ve been looking for. Like this website on John Fee and Jane Lee with this additional information [edited for content and errors]:

“Hiram Fee was born ca 1843 – he was killed 188_ ‘when a gun went off accidentally in Pineville.’ He married #1 1861 Sarah J Daniels born ca 1847 daughter of __; md?? #2 Rebecca Ann Jones [Hiram and Rebecca were indicted for adultery in 1875, ‘the parties being married but not to each other’] and #3 1871 to Joyce Howard [1852-1915] daughter of James T and Minerva Lee Howard. [check marriage order – Joicy had married Jasper Jones by 1903 Circuit Court LEE case] Hiram’s children, Hiram, Sally, Polly Jane and Boyd are named in the LEE vs LEE Circuit Court case in 1903 which also states that there were 2 more children of Hiram, whereabouts and names unknown!”
“Hiram J FEE was born 16 Feb 1876 and was raised from the age of three by his uncle and aunt, Henderson and Sarah OSBORN FEE. He married first in June of 1892 to Louisa “Ludie” Adeline HENSLEY born April 1879 died 1967. They set up housekeeping on Henderson’s farm on Turtle Creek. When she and Hiram divorced, Ludie took Annie Ethel with her and left the other six children with Henderson & Sarah. Hiram married #2 17 Feb 1907 to Sallie FARMER who is believed to have married next to a HUDSON [sic, HUTTON]. Hiram married thirdly to Susie REED who had been married to an EVERSOLE by whom she had two daughters, Maud and Flora. Hiram deserted her and she married Lewis HENSLEY. Hiram spent his last years in the homes of his son J. Lawrence and daughter Arta, dying at the former’s home in Brownstown, Indiana 27 May 1950.”

I wish the website had a better bibliography. The search is on for the 1875 indictment!!

Join or search as many online sites that you can. For example, even though you have a Newspapers.com account, search the digitized newspapers at the Library of Congress. Newspapers.com doesn’t have the Harlan Daily Enterprise, but NewspaperArchive.com does!

Fulton History has obscure newspapers that have solved countless brick walls. For many years, my mother and her cousin have searched state libraries and many, many dead ends to find information on their grandmother, Sallie (Sexton) Addington. With newspaper articles on “Little Johnny has a runny nose today,” surely there is some article about a woman who died from a stove explosion? Within a few minutes on Fulton’s, there it was as front page news.

Connect with other family members by joining a Facebook group, or contacting the owner of a tree, or contacting living relatives. Since publishing this blog series, I’ve been in contact with Ms. Jan Fee, the granddaughter of Hiram Jones Fee through Hiram Jr. Her personal accounts of the family history have been very educational and fill in a lot of blanks that records don’t disclose. After countless fruitless searches, she sends the 1920 Kentucky marriage bond for Hiram Jones Fee in which he marries widowed Susie Eversole and discloses that his mother is Rebecca Wells. Another leap of faith was correct!

1920 Kentucky Marriage Bond of Hiram Jones Fee and Susan (Reed) Eversole.

Go old school and get offline. Even if distance prevents you from searching paper records, contact local historical and genealogical societies for their assistance. Find someone local who is willing to volunteer their time. Make a tax deductible donation that benefits your search, and their cause. Additionally, new books are published that may have what you are looking for.

The take away from this blog series is that you should never copy another person’s family tree. Looking back at the fifteen trees that Ancestry presented as their leafy hint, my family tree would have been a total mess had I accepted all of the suggestions! Worse, I would have been perpetuating the same errors that lead to brick walls, as was the case in determining the ancestors of Stephen Farmer.

Just go slow, document, verify, and never give up.

Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of Stephen Farmer’s family immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky. Complete with bibliography and footnotes that supports the research. Check out the current discounts through our printing partner LuLu.com which may save you money than purchasing through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, or other retailers.

“Very well written and researched…” Ms. L. King

“I love your work… Very interesting!” Ms. B. H. Baker

“Amazing research!” Ms. J. Shipley

“Wonderfully researched, well written… recommend it even if you’re not related to the Farmar’s…” Mr. D. Roark

“Excellent book! We highly recommend!” Ms. E. Wolf

“Very informative and interesting. I could not put it down.” Ms. E. Farley

March 1, 2019December 17, 2020

Part 4: Hiram Fee

A tutorial on deductive reason when branching your family tree using Hiram Fee as the example.

If you happened upon this blog, recommend you read Part 1, Part 2, and/or Part 3. Having performed the prior steps, it’s time to move on to Step #6.

STEP #6: APPLY THE HARD PROBABILITIES TO YOUR POSSIBILITIES.

At this point, there may be no “smoking gun” that outright gives you the information you’re looking for. This is where you really need to dig into the collected records and go back through Step #1 thru Step #5… again. This is where you need to examine everything on a record. This is where we may need to correlate a lot of circumstantial evidence.

By now, we have to question if the obituary of Hiram “Pappy” Fee, Jr. is for the son of Hiram Jones Fee?

Obituary of Hiram “Pappy” Fee, Jr
The Courier-Journal, IN (25 Dec 1997), p.9

No death certificate could be found. No marriage record indicating spouse or parents could be found.

First, we analyze the information in his siblings’ obituaries. That gives us location. Next, we search the city directories of those locations. That gives us possible spouses and occupation. Going back and following Step #1 thru Step #5, we find the 1997 obituary correlates location and occupation. Further research shows that Hiram Jr.’s children listed in the obituary have a mother named Colleen Flannery. Applying Step #5, when placed in chronological order, the collected records suggest that all of them pertain to one person.

1953: Jeffersonville City Directory with wife Colleen and occupation as “A&P Bakery (Lou[isville]).”
1955: Jeffersonville City Directory with wife Colleen and occupation as “mixer A&P (Lou[isville]).”
1970: James Fee’s obituary states “[brother] Hiram Fee, Jr. of Jeffersonville…”
1971: Granville Fee’s obituary states “[brother] Hiram Fee, Jr., of Jeffersonville…”
1973: Garrett Fee’s obituary states “[brother] Hiram Fee, Jr., of Jeffersonville…”
1981: Paul Fee’s obituary states “[brother] Hiram Jr. of Jeffersonville…”
1984: Arta Farmer’s obituary states “[brother] Hiram Fee of Clarksville.”
1997: Obituary for Hiram “Pappy” Fee, Jr., 74, [of Clarksville] died Wednesday [24 December 1997] at Audobon Hospital [Louisville]… a native of Harlan County, Ky., a retired baker for A&P bakeries in Louisville… with burial in Jeffersonville…” The obituary also lists surviving siblings, but neither of them are the children of Louisa Hensley or of Sallie Farmer.

Yet we still have not proven that he is the son of our Hiram Sr. There is still a high probability that there are two Hiram Jr’s in the Clarksville area.

From the obituary, we can deduce that Hiram Jr. was born in or around 1923 and that he was formerly of Harlan County. A records search brings up a 1940 federal census of Knox County in which “H.J. Fee, age 16 (born about 1924), stepson” is living with a “Lee Fee, age 19, stepson” in the household of Lewis Hensley. Hensley’s wife is “Susie” with an additional step daughter, Flora Eversole, age 21.

*Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940, Kentucky, Knox County, Magisterial District #5, Supervisor’s District #9, Enumeration District #61 & 62, Sheet #3A, Line #21-31 (06 April 1940).*

Going back through the steps, we find a birth date of 21 January 1923 and “Susan Hensley” as the mother of Hiram Jr. The death date on his tombstone is 24 December 1997 that matches the obituary date. But we still haven’t correlated Hiram Jr. with Hiram Jones Fee.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141047943

Going back through the steps, we find a record with a birth date of 12 January 1923 and “Susan Fee” for Lee Clellan Fee. His tombstone is inscribed with a death date of “…son of Mrs. Louis Hensley…” All this information matches the 1940 federal census, but again, we still haven’t correlated Hiram or Lee with Hiram Jones Fee.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15052391

It’s a small article on page nine of the Jackson County Banner (21 August 1957) that states “Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Fee and Mr. and Mrs. Garrett Fee were called to Cincinnati Tuesday by the death of Mr. Fee’s brother, Lee Fee.”

*Jackson County Banner, IN ( 21 August 1957), p.9*

With all of this information, as well as the records for E.B. Hensley, Bruce Hensley, Keith Hensley, Norma Stopher, and Irene Williams, we can conclude with higher probability that Hiram Jones Fee and Susan Alice Reed had sons Hiram Fee and Lee Clellan Fee.

However, we’re still back to the 1880 federal census with Hiram Jones Fee enumerated as the son of Henderson Fee and Sarah Osborne which conflicts with the death certificate stating that Hiram Fee and Rebecca Jones are his parents.

*Death Certificate of Hiram Jones Fee (1875-1950)*

STEP #7: TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH.

With extremely limited information, yet armed with your knowledge of family history, local history, social customs, and personal experiences, start asking “what if…?”

In a time where large families were needed to work the farm, where are the other children of Henderson and Sarah? Is there any evidence other than an 1880 federal census that Hiram is Henderson and Sarah’s son? Again, “no data is data…”

It’s the 1910 United States Federal Census that has the most interest. Henderson and Sarah now have a household that includes Louise Hensley and Granville, Artie, Finley, Garrett, and Ethel Fee.

*Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910, Kentucky, Jackson County, Magisterial District #3, Supervisor’s District #11, Enumeration District #94, Sheet #6, Line #72-80 (28-29 April 1910)*

Instead of daughter-in-law and grandchildren, Louisa and children are listed as nieces and nephews. Just to double verify, were they the children of one of Sarah sisters who married a Fee (or Hensley)? Mapping out Sarah’s siblings shows no Fee’s or Hensley’s. Are they the children of Henderson’s siblings? No, except Hiram Jones Fee.

What if the 1880 census is incorrect? What if Hiram was living with Henderson and Sarah, and although he’s listed as a son, he really isn’t their son? Is there a family situation that justifies this conclusion?

There may be.

HJF’s father Hiram had been previously married to Sarah Jane Daniels and had a son, John who was born in 1867. Later, Hiram married Joyce Howard on 02 October 1871. Together they had Granville (born 1871), Sarah (born 1874), Mary Jane (born 1876), David (born 1879), and Boyd (born 1881).

What if a pregnant Joyce was too busy to care for HJF with 3-year-old Granville, 2-year-old Sarah, and Mary Jane on the way? What if HJF was placed in his uncle Henderson’s home, especially when considering that Henderson and Sarah were married on 21 April 1861, and having no children in the fourteen years since, welcomed HJF as their own?

There may be another family situation. The “Rebecca Jones” from Hiram Jones Fee’s death certificate may be Rebecca Wells (1845-1924), the daughter of Clayborn Wells and Rebecca Midgett formerly of Tennessee who moved to Kentucky. With the birth of David Fee in 1879 and Boyd in 1881 (with evidence to suggest they were Joyce’s children), Hiram was still married, and therefore didn’t remarry to Rebecca. With no marriage license, was Hiram considered an illegitimate child and all of the stigma that it carried in 1875?

What if at the age of thirty, Rebecca did not want to raise Hiram? Did having a child hinder her chances of getting married now that she was in her thirties? What if Joyce refused to raise a child that wasn’t her son, especially due to her husband’s infidelity? With Hiram Jones Fee’s birth date of 16 February 1875, he would have been six months old when Rebecca married Marion Alexander Jones on 16 August 1875. What if Marion refused to raise Hiram because he wasn’t his son?

So which is correct… the 1880 census or the 1910 census? If you can answer the “what if” questions with a degree of certainty, the leap of faith conclusion is that Hiram Jones Fee must have been Henderson’s nephew.

Going back to Step #1 thru Step #7 for both Louisa Hensley, Sallie Farmer, and Susan Alice Reed, our tree now looks like this.

Click here to see how the family tree is starting to look.

Next blog: the final step and conclusion.

Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of Stephen Farmer’s family immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky. Complete with bibliography and footnotes that supports the research. Check out LuLu’s current discounts which may save you money than purchasing through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, or other retailers.

“Very well written and researched…” Ms. L. King

“I love your work… Very interesting!” Ms. B. H. Baker

“Amazing research!” Ms. J. Shipley

“Wonderfully researched, well written… recommend it even if you’re not related to the Farmar’s…” Mr. D. Roark

“Excellent book! We highly recommend!” Ms. E. Wolf

“Very informative and interesting. I could not put it down.” Ms. E. Farley

February 27, 2019December 17, 2020

Part 3: Hiram Fee

A tutorial on deductive reason when branching your family tree using Hiram Fee as the example.

Assuming you have been following this blog series on determining if your person of interest belongs in your family tree, we’ll skip the introductions and move on to the next step. If you haven’t been following along, recommend you read Part 1 and Part 2.

Obituary of Hiram Jones Fee.
Source: Jackson County Banner, IN (31 May 1950), p.2.

By this point you have now amassed a large number of documents on your person of interest and possible associates such as their parents, spouses, children, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Time to move on to Step #5:

STEP #5: APPLY THE EASY PROBABILITIES TO YOUR POSSIBILITIES.

Wait, what? Aren’t they the same?

No. Possibility means something may happen. Probability applies a belief to that possibility, typically based on increasing amounts of credible evidence. For example, it is possible it may rain today. If you don’t see any clouds, the probability that it may rain is low. If you see dark clouds and lightning in the distance, the probability increases. Another example: it is possible that aliens exist. The probability that aliens exist is, well, dependent on what evidence you want to believe.

Essentially, you’re “playing the odds.” If you come across five documents that all have the same information, the odds are great and you have high probability that the information among the documents correlate. In most cases, a record with ever-increasing data provides even higher probabilities. For example, if you find a will with a name, what’s the probability that it is the will of your person of interest? What if we add a location? What if we start adding a spouse’s name? Then start adding children? And what if the will was dated near the suspected death date?

Be wary of user-submitted data such as anything from Family Data Collection, other family trees, and even Find A Grave. As they are resources and not sources, they do not increase probability; they simply provide additional possibilities.

To really apply probabilities, it helps to have some knowledge of local history, whether it be city, county, state, country, or other locale, and to have some family history, whether it be true or false. For example, in an earlier blog trying to locate the father of Lucinda Baker, taking that extra leap of faith that Samuel Chase Early was her father was in the fact that he ran for sheriff of Knox County… family history was that Lucinda’s husband John Linville was sheriff (which turned out to be false.)

In genealogy, you may see language like “probably,” or “may have,” or “it is believed,” or other verbiage that makes an argument with the data provided. That is because in some cases, you have to make an educated guess. However, there does become a point where you can’t keep throwing “what if’s” at the problem. Occam’s Razor in problem solving states that “simpler solutions are more likely to be correct than complex solutions.” Or as the US Navy noted in 1960, “keep it simple, stupid.”

Remember the 1880 federal census where Hiram is enumerated as the 5-year-old son of Henderson Fee (age 41) and Sarah (age 30). Henderson’s age matches our known birth date of 1839; Sarah’s age of 30 is five years lower than our expected age of 35. So what do you believe? Sarah “probably” 1) lied about her age, or 2) didn’t know her age, or 3) really wasn’t born in 1845.

The 1880 census shows she cannot read and she cannot write, whereas Henderson can. Sarah’s death certificate, with information provided by Henderson, has her birth year as 1845. Her age on prior 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses all suggest she was born in 1845. It is probable that Sarah didn’t know her age; maybe the census guy came around when Henderson was away? It is also probable that Sarah lied about her age; a socially acceptable trait, particularly with women who want to remain young. But what if it isn’t Sarah Osborne, which is to say, Ms. Osborne passed away and Henderson remarried another Sarah? What if aliens abducted her and replaced her? Ok, now we’re getting silly, but you see where too many “what if’s” can be detrimental to solving the problem.

Also, sometimes no data is data. What do I mean by that? No other census could be found for a Henderson and Sarah Fee; therefore, the probability is high that the 1800 census is of our target couple. Be prepared to lower your probabilities if/when another record surfaces… this is where most people start getting into forum arguments because they’ve held onto their beliefs with what records they’ve located.

In addition to Step #4 with looking at other family trees, obituaries and media articles are my go-to for genealogical problem solving. If you read the obituary of John who has a wife Mary and sons Jim, Jack, and Jose, then read the obituary of Mary who had a late husband John and sons Jim, John, Jack, and Jose, then read an obituary of Jim who was the son of John and Mary and survived by brothers Jack and Jose, then… well, you get the picture. Did you notice one obituary included a son John, whereas the others didn’t? I have solved more brick walls in obituaries and media articles than any other source.

Obituaries provide birth dates, death dates, residence, parents, spouses, siblings, extended family, occupation, and other information, that when paired with other records, increases the probabilities that the record(s) match your person of interest. Again, no data is data. No sibling listed in the obituary? They probably died before their sibling did. Or they were a step-sibling. Or they moved away and nobody knows their status. Or someone just plain forgot in their remorse. Or purposely omitted them due to the fight they had during the last Thanksgiving dinner. Or they were abducted by aliens.

Using the sample of records and obituaries collected from Step #4, we start branching the family tree of Hiram Fee.

Click here for the sample records collected.

Click here to see how the sample records start to branch out the family tree.

Note that so far, we’ve only used death certificates, obituaries, and one marriage record.

The very observant cynic will notice that this is just an incomplete tree about a “Hiram Jones Fee.” But is it the son of Henderson and Sarah? To finish this family tree, we’ll need to get religious and hurdle a few problems.

Coming up in Part 4 of this blog series, taking the leap of faith…

Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of Stephen Farmer’s family immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky. Complete with bibliography and footnotes that supports the research. Check out LuLu’s current discounts which may save you money than purchasing through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, or other retailers.

“Very well written and researched…” Ms. L. King

“I love your work… Very interesting!” Ms. B. H. Baker

“Amazing research!” Ms. J. Shipley

“Wonderfully researched, well written… recommend it even if you’re not related to the Farmar’s…” Mr. D. Roark

“Excellent book! We highly recommend!” Ms. E. Wolf

“Very informative and interesting. I could not put it down.” Ms. E. Farley