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David Vahanger Farmer

An earlier blog talked of relatives living nearby. This story is closer to home.

[Note:  Excerpted from the upcoming sequel to the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.]

An interesting anecdote about my uncle, David Lenn Farmer. Many, many years ago, my uncle felt that he would not live past the age of forty. This belief was further reinforced by a premonition – not too far from the burial site of his father and my grandfather, Jules Lewis Farmer, is a headstone for David Farmer. And the marker dates of 1901-1940 indicate he had died at the age of forty.

Unaware of any relatives living in Battle Creek, Michigan with the same name, Uncle Dave checked with the cemetery office only to hear that most of the records were destroyed in a fire. Fast forward several decades and we discovered last week that the grave of David Farmer was indeed a relative.

Family tree for David Vahanger Farmer. Click to enlarge.
Oliver G. Farmer and Margaret Skidmore.

David Vahanger Farmer was born 14 February 1901 in Lower Martins Fork, Harlan, Kentucky to Oliver G. Farmer (1851-1902) and Margaret Skidmore (1854-1911). After the death of his father in 1901, David is living in Youngstown, Ohio where a 17 September 1918 World War I Draft Registration Card lists his occupation as electrician for Yo(ungstown) Sheet and Tube Company in East Youngstown, Ohio. By 1920, he is residing with his brother John S. Farmer (1872-1920) and Sarah (Ledford) Farmer (1875-1959) on Cranks Creek Road, Cranks Creek, Harlan, Kentucky where he is working on the farm. In 1924 and 1926, David is residing at 111 Inn Road, Battle Creek, Michigan, where he is employed as a machine operator at Rich Steel Products Company.

111 Inn Road, Battle Creek, Michigan, ca.1940.

On 24 November 1928, 27-year-old David married in Steuben County, Indiana, to 19-year-old Ruby Hazel Campbell, born 30 June 1909 to Ora Daniel Campbell (1884-1971), a train dispatcher for Grand Trunk Western Railroad, and Gertrude Elizabeth Thomas (1885-1980). The Campbell’s were formerly of Pearl Street, Lansing, Michigan, before moving to Battle Creek in 1923. The marriage license notes David’s residence at 22 Union Street, Albion, Michigan, where he is employed as a mechanic. Ruby’s residence is 117 North Wayne Street, Angola, Indiana, where she is employed as an auditor. It is the first marriage for both David and Ruby.

Marriage License for David Vahanger Farmer and Ruby Hazel Campbell.

In 1929, David and Ruby are residing at 96 Grenville Street, Battle Creek, where he is employed as a barber for John Clyde Sunderland, who is living at 235 Vale Street, Battle Creek. Inn, Grenville, and Vale roads are located within the “Post Addition.”

96 Grenville Street, Battle Creek, ca.1940.

In 1892 C. W. Post of Post Cereal opened up an area between Michigan Avenue and Cliff Street for development, to finance the rehabilitation of the Beardsley farmhouse into his LaVita Inn, where he would operate his health spa. The lots in “The Cliffs” sold rapidly to the laborers in the Nichols and Shepard farm implement factory, located nearby. Ten years later in 1902 after his cereal and Postum drink factories were in full operation, Post platted the Post Addition, eighty acres located between Main Street and Inn Road, which was named for LaVita Inn. It was also bounded by Lathrop Street, named after Post’s mother’s maiden name, and Kingman Avenue, named after an early landowner of the farming land. Other streets were named for the former owners of the land, Grenville and Nelson, and his daughter Marjorie, who would inherit Post’s business and fortune after C.W. Post committed suicide. A second Post Addition was added in 1903.

Post sponsored this real estate development because he believed that a happy worker who proudly owned his own home would be a more productive and stable worker in his factory and not be lured into union membership.

Workmen in the Postum and neighboring factories could purchase inexpensive lots and homes on a sliding scale tied to their earning power. Post employed an architect at his factory, who provided approximately half a dozen standard plans for inexpensive homes distributed throughout the additions. There was a variety in the housing types in each block, with the most popular plans being the Gambrel roof Dutch Colonial and the L-shaped cottage.

The five- to seven-room homes that were built could be purchased by workers between $1,000 to $3,000. Workers made monthly payments of 1% of the total, or about $6 a month, until the balance was paid off. Workers could also purchase empty lots ranging from $175 to $800 and build homes of their own design. The generous financial terms, as well as the attractive location on the “cliffs” overlooking the city, made the Post Additions a favorite residential area in the city for working men and their families. The majority of the homes were built by the early 1920s, with only a few empty lots remaining as late as World War II.[1]

Battle Creek directories and newspaper articles.

David and Ruby do not stay on Grenville as they are noted as residing on East Michigan Avenue, Battle Creek, enjoying Thanksgiving dinner on 28 November 1929 at Ruby’s parents who are residing at 48 Iroquois Avenue. At the time, Iroquois Avenue was in the Lakeview District and just outside the Battle Creek city limits. As noted on the 1930 United States Federal Census, David moves in with his in-laws with his pregnant wife before a daughter, Sally Joan Farmer, is born on 21 June 1930. In 1931, David and Ruby are still residing with the Campbell’s on Iroquois Avenue where he is still employed as a barber.

On 05 October 1935, Ruby filed for divorce on grounds of “non support” and requested custody of Sally Joan. On 18 March 1935, the petition was filed and the non-contested divorce was granted on 24 May 1935 by Judge Blaine W. Hatch in Battle Creek Circuit Court

David died at 2:05 pm on 24 September 1941 at Calhoun County Public Hospital of bilateral chronic fibro-ulcerative pulmonary tuberculosis. According to his Michigan Death Certificate, David was still residing at 48 Iroquois Avenue per information provided by Mrs. Doris Mellin of 70 West Territorial Road, Battle Creek. That means David was still residing with his former in-laws six years after his divorce. While his death certificate indicates he was to be buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, about a mile west of his residence, David was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery on 27 September 1941.

Michigan Death Certificate for David Vahanger Farmer.
Battle Creek Enquirer (25 September 1941), p.2. Note that David’s daughter is incorrectly stated as “Sally Ann.”

Ruby remarried on 23 October 1937 in Steuben County, Indiana, to Edward Lee Willey (1909-1949), clerk, born in Battle Creek to James Stephens Willey (1874-1951) of Chester, Pennsylvania, and Sarah Ann Cash (1876-1960) of Mammoth Spring, Arkansas. It was the second marriage for both. In 1939, Ruby and Edward is residing at 42 Lathrop Avenue, Battle Creek, where he is employed as a floor contractor.

42 Lathrop Avenue, Battle Creek, picture taken ca.1940.

Ruby, Edward, and Sally Joan will soon move to Corpus Christi, Texas, before 1940, and then to California, where Edward dies on 16 December 1949 – also at the age of forty. Ruby remarried to James R. Aughton in Los Angeles, California, on 07 June 1952. It is believed James was born 09 April 1899 in England, immigrated to Detroit on 24 November 1922, and died 04 November 1989. Ruby died on 28 October 1982 in Long Beach, California.

Sally Joan Farmer was raised in California as Sally Joan Willey. She married Leroy Edmond DeMarsh, Jr., the son of the Reverend Leroy Edmond DeMarsh (1898-1937) and Mary E. Haines (1901-1980) of Portland, Maine. Sally and Leroy had three children:  Mark Demarsh, Linda Demarsh Korlaske, and Karen S. Demarsh (spouse of Ricky Ray Richuber). Sally died 07 August 2007 in Katy, Texas.

Almost thirty years later after David Vahanger Farmer’s death, I was born at Lakeview Hospital on 03 January 1972. At the time, my parents were residing on Winter Street, Battle Creek. After the military moved us to Oklahoma, Hawaii, and Texas, we returned to Michigan and lived in Jackson for about a year. We later returned to Battle Creek in the spring of 1980 moving into a house at 104 Grand Blvd, living there about a year, and then moving again in the summer of 1981 to 23 Caine Street. Both Winter Street and Grand Blvd are within a mile of David and Ruby’s residence on Iroquois; in their backyard is Territorial Elementary where I attended second grade. Our house on Caine Street was in the Post Addition and walking distance from David’s home on Inn and Grenville.

23 Caine Street, Battle Creek, picture taken ca.1940.
Click to enlarge.

Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the Farmer family’s 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.

Click me for more info

“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

[1] Butler, Mary G. “Post Addition.” Heritage Battle Creek. 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2018:
http://www.heritagebattlecreek.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77&Itemid=73
Bowman, Jennifer. “The Post Addition Once Thrived in Battle Creek. Will It Survive?” Battle Creek Enquirer. 08 June 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2018:
https://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/story/news/local/2017/06/08/post-addition-once-thrived-battle-creek-survive/375817001/

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James Farmer and the Election of 1824

With the end of this week’s mid-term elections, it seemed like a good time to discuss James Farmer’s first year as a representative in Kentucky’s House of Representatives.

[Note:  Excerpted from the upcoming sequel to the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.]

In 1824, at the age of twenty-five, James Farmer, the son of Stephen Farmer, followed in his great, great grandfather Edward Farmar’s political steps and was elected to Kentucky’s House of Representatives. After taking several oaths required by the Constitution of the United States and of the Kentucky constitution, the Honorable James Farmer took his seat in the chamber to represent Harlan and Bell Counties.

The first order of business was to elect the Speaker of the House. Samuel Brents of Green County nominated George Robertson of Garrard County, and Robert Mosely of Ohio County nominated Robert J. Ward of Scott County. After two votes in which James voted for Robertson, Ward was elected as Speaker.

Governor Joseph Desha laid out in his letter a vision and mission for the legislature which included internal improvements, a review of the recent United States Supreme Court decision regarding claimant laws, a reorganization of the Judiciary, the sale of lands west of the Tennessee River, and a concern about the currency of the country.

It was during this session that the United States Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, under a Congressional resolution approved on 26 May 1824, sent copies of the Declaration of Independence to each state’s executive branch, to which Governor Desha presented a copy to the House on November 3. The next morning on 04 November 1824, a fire destroyed the State House.

Completed in 1824 at a cost of $40,000, the Kentucky Capitol burned down later that year on November 4.

The State House was the fifth location for legislative operations. The first location was a log house between Mill Street and Broadway before moving into a frame house on Wapping Street a year later in 1793, and then into a $3,500 stone building constructed in 1794. When the third State House burned down on 25 November 1813, a temporary building was rented for ten years until the new two-story, brick State House was finished in 1824 at a cost of $40,000. The legislature occupied the two rooms on the first floor while the courts occupied the second floor. Two detached wings were used as offices for state officials. Today, only the east wing which had survived the 1824 fire remains.[1]

The legislature met at a Methodist Church on the public square. Of the many orders and resolutions passed that day was a committee to determine where to continue holding the next meetings over the next several months.

Frankfort, Nov: 4TH, 1824;

Sir,

The undersigned take the liberty to inform you and the honorable House of Representatives, that they have been appointed a committee on the part of the citizens of the town of Frankfort, to provide such rooms, and make such arrangements for the accommodation of the General Assembly, as have been rendered necessary by the late calamitous conflagration of the Capitol. The committee, influenced by their own and by the unanimous feelings of their towns-men, have no other wish than to provide for the Legislature every accommodation that can render their situation agreeable, and suitable for the despatch [sic] of their public business. And in this sentiment we will take pleasure in co-operating with any committee that the General Assembly will appoint, and in giving every possible aid in our power, in procuring and preparing for the reception of the two houses, such rooms as your committee may select. We can venture to assure you that there is not a house in our town, that is not entirely at your service.

We have the honor, to be,

With great respect,

Yours, &c.

J. BROWN,

DANL. WEISIGER,

J.J. CRITTENDEN,

J.HARVIE,

J.J. MARSHALL.

HON: ROBT. J. WARD,

Speaker of the House of Representatives.[2]

On November 5, J. Dubley and Dabney C. Cosby reported that,

“…Your committee have examined Captain Daniel Weisiger’s ball room, the house occupied by Mr. Benjamine Luckett, the Share holders room in the bank of Kentucky, and the meeting house and seminary on the public square, and are of opinion that the two latter buildings are better calculated to serve the purposes of the present General Assembly, than any of the others; and therefore recommend, that a committee be appointed to have said houses prepared forthwith.”[3]

James was appointed to the committee to investigate and prepare the best location to conduct the legislative business along with Thomas Kennedy of Garrard County, William Hunter of Franklin County, Martin Hardin of Hardin and Meade Counties, Presley Morehead of Logan County, and Thomas Middleton of Warren County. It was decided that the Senate was to meet at the seminary, and the House was to meet at the meeting house on the public square.

To make room for all members of the House, the pews were removed and two fireplaces were erected. Stoves were also placed at each end of the lobby. Additionally, due to times where the member of the House conducted business at the Senate, the committee determined that the seminary was too small to accommodate any considerable number of House members, but did identify a few rooms that could hold twelve to fifteen members. For those rooms, they installed cheap carpeting and furnished them with settees and chairs. They also laid gravel along the walkway between the meeting house and seminary to “render the communication easy and convenient.”

In the meantime, calls were made to determine if the Capitol could be rebuilt within its present walls, or if an entirely new building would have to be constructed. Other calls were made to relocate the seat of government from Frankfort to a more central and eligible site.

As the six-year term of the current representative in the United States Senate, Isham Talbot, was soon to expire on 04 March 1825, the House was directed by Governor Desha to elect a replacement. Joseph H. Holt of Bourbon County nominated John Rowan who was representing Jefferson and Oldham Counties, and with a vote of 78-16, Rowan’s nomination then went before the Kentucky Senate. With a total vote of 105, Rowan was declared Kentucky’s new Senator over incumbent Talbot who received four votes. Rowan would hold the office until 04 March 1831 when he was replaced by Henry Clay.

On November 13, James was assigned to the committee to examine the Treasurer’s office along with Thomas Joyes of Jefferson and Oldham Counties, Richard Forrest of Washington County, Joseph G. Hardin of Monroe County, Bourne Goggin of Pulaski County, and David Gibson of Gallatin County. Three days later, a letter arrived from Samuel South.

“It is with the deepest regret that I have to inform you, that in the confusion of the moment, on the day in which the Capitol was burnt, there wa lost out of the public Treasury, between the sum of $2000 and $3000. On the first cry of fire, I rushed out of my office and run [sic] into the upper stories of the Capitol for the purpose of aiding in the attempt to preserve the building; upon my return in a few moments, I found that a multitude had carried every thing out of the office. I endeavored immediately to regain possession of and to take care of all the effects which had been removed from my office, and which lay in confused and scattered heaps in the public square. My first object and enquiry [sic] was to find and secure the money which had been in the Treasury, being about $2650, as nearly as I can recollect or ascertain without a more extensive and laborious calculation than I have yet been able to make…”[4]

Samuel goes on in his letter describing how he searched all of the papers and furniture to no avail, and that he was apprehensive to announce it was missing, lest any dishonest person steal it, or make it public so that in case it had been stolen, would hinder the ability to catch the thief.

1824 was also the year of a presidential election involving six candidates, all from the Democratic-Republican Party, the only political party in the United States.

The candidates for president in the election of 1824 were (clockwise from lower left) William Crawford, Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson. Graphic from National Geographic.

Secretary of State John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, the son of the second President of the United States John Adams, was an accomplished politician who helped craft the Monroe Doctrine, negotiated the end of the War of 1812, and negotiated the Adams-Onis Treaty that acquired Florida.

General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, was portrayed as a quick-tempered duelist and brawler, but his involvement in the Creek War of 1813-1814, the War of 1812, the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, and the First Seminole War kept newspapers busy writing about his successes.[5]

Secretary of War John C. Calhoun from South Carolina, who was also the former Secretary of War under President James Madison, emerged as the political favorite early in the year, and despite two strokes in the summer of 1823 and in May 1824 that left him nearly blind and immobile, recovered to stay in the race.

As defined by today’s politics, “The Great Compromiser” Speaker of the House Henry Clay from Kentucky emerged as the only candidate “running” for office with impassioned speeches and a platform that defined his “American System” which included tariffs to protect and promote American industry, a national bank to foster commerce, and federal subsidies for infrastructure improvements.

Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford of Georgia was a war hawk who had strongly supported the War of 1812 and strongly defended slavery; he would later withdraw as a candidate for the presidency, and would later win the vice presidency with backing from both Adams and Jackson, although he backed Jackson and vehemently opposed almost all of Adam’s policies.

Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson would drop out of the race early in the process.

With only four candidates remaining, twenty-four states participated in the election, and although Jackson had the most popular and electoral college votes, the election results announced on 01 December 1824 declared that no candidate had the majority of the electoral college vote of 131 needed to win the presidency as required by Constitution. As a result, the decision went to a vote in the United States House of Representatives per the Twelfth Amendment.

The Kentucky House met on December 24 to discuss their desired candidate and submit their choice to their Congressmen. Clay, a native son of Kentucky, was their first choice, but with the lowest votes, was removed from consideration per the Constitution in which only the top three candidates were eligible. Henry Crittendon of Shelby County proposed votes go to Jackson as a “very large majority of the people” of Kentucky preferred Jackson over Adams or Crawford. After a vote on December 31 in which James Farmer voted yes, the resolution was sent to the Senate where they concurred on January 8, and was approved by Governor Desha on January 11.

Clay fully supported Adams, and with his backing and a campaign of encouraging “friends,” Adams won the contingent election on 09 February 1825, with eight Congressmen from Kentucky voting for Adams, and four voting for Jackson. Adams then appointed Clay as Secretary of State in what has been referred as the “corrupt bargain.” Jackson, with the majority of the popular and electoral votes, had fully expected to become the next President, and when faced with his loss, ultimately began his next bid for the office, which he won four years later in 1828 against Adams. The 1824 election would effectively split the Democratic-Republican Party and by 1828, the Jacksonian Democrats led the Democratic Party, and Adams and Clay led the National Republican Party that later became the Whig Party and the forerunner of today’s Republican Party.

Of the many bills introduced during the 1824 session, James was directly involved with the following in order of involvement:

11 November 1824:  Farmer proposed a bill to amend the Act concerning the Turnpike and Wilderness road, and for other purposes that had been approved six years prior on 29 December 1828. James, along with Burton Litton of Whitley County, Uriah Grisham of Rockcastle County, and Charles M. Cunningham of Pulaski County were assigned to the committee. The bill was introduced again on December 5. On 07 January 1825, Farmer sent the bill over to the Senate, and on January 12, Governor Desha signed and approved An act amending the law concerning the Turnpike and Wilderness road.

22 November 1824:  Farmer presented the petition of the citizens of Rockcastle, Clay, Whitley, and Knox Counties that a new county be formed from parts of the four counties. On December 6, Robert Mosely of Ohio County, and assigned to the committee of propositions and grievances, reported that the petition be rejected, which it was after two readings.

16 December 1824:  Farmer was appointed to a select committee with Wiley C. Williams of Lawrence and Morgan Counties and Jeremiah Cox of Grayson County regarding a bill introduced by Cox to “further regulate the pay of the sheriffs for comparing polls for Governor.” On 12 January 1825, Governor Desha signed and approved An act to further regulate the pay of sheriffs for comparing polls for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor.

16 December 1824:  Farmer was appointed to prepare a bill with Benjamin Hardin of Nelson County and William Wade of Mercer County for the benefit of the heirs of John H. Holt. The bill was reintroduced on December 20 and read twice. On December 23, the committee for courts of justice led by Benjamin Hardin, and to which the bill was sent, was read again and ordered to be read a third time on December 24, although the minutes do not reflect that it had. On 12 January 1825, Governor Desha signed and approved An act to benefit John H. Holt.

08 January 1825:  Farmer presented the petition of Goodman Oldham who sought compensation for apprehending several persons who were convicted of a felony. The petition was read and referred to the committee of claims.

James would also later serve in the House of Representatives in the 1825, 1826, 1834, and 1875 sessions.

Looking for a unique Christmas present this year?  Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the Farmer family’s 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.

click me for more info

“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

Footnotes:

[1] Quinn, “Kentucky’s Capitol Buildings.”

[2] Journal of the House of Representatives (1824), p.43.

[3] Journal of the House of Representatives (1824), p.47.

[4] Journal of the House of Representatives (1824), p.95.

[5] Of interest is that all of Adam’s opponents were involved in publicized duels. Crawford shot and killed Peter Lawrence Van Alen in 1802, and was in a duel on 16 December 1806 in which Crawford’s left wrist was shattered by a shot from John Clark. Jackson dueled Waightsill Avery in 1788 where both men shot into the air, having made a secret arrangement to do so before the duel. In May 1806, after Charles Dickinson shot Jackson near the heart, Jackson shot and killed him. On 19 January 1809, Clay, while Speaker of the House in Kentucky, and Humphrey Marshall, another member of the Kentucky Assembly, dueled in Indiana near Shippingport, Kentucky. Clay, with a shot in the thigh, and Marshall, with a chest graze, both survived.

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Kentucky to Oklahoma

After moving to Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, we discovered we weren’t the first family members who lived here.

In December 2015, I accepted a new job in Shawnee, Oklahoma and in March 2016, my wife and I purchased a home here.

Shawnee is a nice little town in Pottawatomie County with a population of about 32,000. After the Civil War, several Indian tribes were relocated to the area to include the Sac and Fox, followed by the Kickapoo, Shawnee, and Pottawatomie, who continue to reside here. During the Land Run of 1891, white settlers staked claim to surplus lands of the Sac and Fox, Pottawatomie, and Shawnee east of the Land Run of 1889. During the Land Run of 1895, settlers moved further west into Kickapoo territory.

The early settlers of 1892 initially called the new town they started “Brockway” but later changed it to Shawnee after the tribe who lived here. Between 1892 and 1895, the population grew from 250 to 2500 and rivaled Oklahoma City. Primarily an agricultural community, the area was well suited for growing potatoes, peanuts, peaches, and cotton with seven cotton gins and two cotton compresses by 1902. Between March 1901 and March 1902, 375 railroad cars of cotton products were shipped out of Shawnee, along with 150,000 bales of cotton. Cotton production dropped in the 1920’s due to a boll weevil infestation. In 1930, an election moved the county seat in Tecumseh five miles north into Shawnee.

Shawnee, Oklahoma, 01 September 1899.

Today, Shawnee is known for Shawnee Mills’ flour and the birthplace of Sonic, the fast-food drive-in.

The area was also home to connections of several ancestors, which we did not realize until after we moved here.

Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma

The town of Asher is twenty-six miles south of Shawnee. Asher also thrived as a cotton farming community until the boll weevils decimated crops and fires destroyed the cotton gins. In 1927, oil was discovered and resurrected the town.

The town is named after George “Matt” Asher, the son of Dillon Asher of Clay County, Kentucky. Matt purchased land in 1892 to establish a farm but he never lived in Asher. George’s sister, Margaret, married on 17 March 1830 to my fourth great uncle James Farmer, the son of Stephen Farmer of Harlan County. She would later pass away in December 1830 during childbirth. When James remarried to Susannah Skidmore on 15 December 1841, their first son was named Dillon Asher Farmer, after Margaret’s father.

James Farmer and Susannah Skidmore

In researching my paternal grandmother’s ancestors, I found that Rosebell Baker’s aunt, Mary Jane Baker (1847-1922), the sister to Rosebell’s father James Madison Baker (1840-1915). This would make Mary Jane by fourth great aunt. Mary Jane married on 26 July 1875 to Lafayette Bingham (1827-1910) in Knox County, Kentucky, before they moved to neighboring Cleveland County, Oklahoma by 1895. Sometime before 1910, they moved to Tecumseh. Mary Jane is enumerated with her son Ramy Bingham (1880-1961) in the 1920 US Federal Census as living in Rock Creek Township – a small rural area in the country one mile north of our home. I may go do some digging at the local courthouse to see if we’re living on land once owned by them.

Mary Jane and Lafayette are buried in the Tecumseh Cemetery less than five miles west of our house.

Headstone of Lafeyette Bingham, Tecumseh (OK) Cemetery.

I also came across a distant relative who moved with several family members to Bales Township near present McLoud, which is less than twenty miles northwest of Shawnee. I recall they moved there before 1900, presumably with one of the land rushes, but soon returned to Kentucky by 1910. Unfortunately, what I can’t recall is their name so I can include that information in this blog.

It is an amusing curiosity as to whether all of these Kentuckians who resided so closely to each other at the same time knew each other. And then when you add my wife’s family tree, it really gets interesting.

Her great grandfather was Wiley Green Haines (1860-1928), who for almost thirty years was US Deputy Marshal of Indian Territory. Before relocating his family to Hominy, Oklahoma near the Kansas border sometime around 1898, Wiley lived in Clifton – fifteen miles north of Shawnee near present Meeker.

Campaign photo for Wiley Green Haines for the Osage County Sheriff’s race, taken in 1928 shortly before he died of a heart attack at the age of sixty-eight.

Imagine all of these distant relatives on multiple family tree branches rubbing elbows at Shawnee’s general store, or helping to get a cart out of the mud, or gathering for a social function, and then going their separate ways back home, or to another town, or to another state.

For my wife and I, it’s all in reverse – coming from separate states, meeting in Oklahoma, and then settling where our ancestors once lived.

It makes the world a little bit smaller.

Looking for a unique Christmas present this year?  Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the Farmer family’s immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky. Complete with bibliography and footnotes that supports the research.

click me

“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

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Rachel Astley, Wife of Edward Farmar?

A lot of family trees have the wife of Edward Farmar as “Rachel Astley.” It is uncertain as to how or when this information was presented and perpetuated as fact, but it may be in error.

Note:  The following has been excerpted and edited from the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.

Edward Farmar was only fourteen years old when his mother, Madame Farmar, died in late 1686. Per her will, he was placed under the guardianship of Dr. Nicholas More, Esq., who at the age of forty-seven, was half the age of Edward’s late father. On 22 December 1670, and with her father Samuel’s consent, Dr. More married young Mary Hedge who was sixteen years his junior. They both had children about Edward’s age:  Samuel, Nicholas Jr., Mary, Sarah, and Rebecca.

The More family were Anglicans, as Nicholas had attended St. Gregory Church by St. Paul, London; Mary was from the parish of St. Catherine, Coleman, London. The family had sailed from London four years earlier on 21 September 1682 to Philadelphia, where soon after Nicholas’ arrival, he was chairman of the Pennsylvania Provincial Council in 1682, secretary to the Council in 1683, member and Speaker of the Assembly in 1684, and chief judge of the Provincial Court in 1684.

Within a few months after appointed Edward’s guardian, Nicholas More died in early 1687.[1] Dr. John Goodson, a Quaker, was chosen as Edward’s new guardian by 29 March 1687. He had a daughter, Sarah.

At the age of nineteen, Edward Farmar asked Sarah Goodson for her hand in marriage. His proposal created a matter of objection with John that was referred to a group of arbitrators consisting of two Quakers (John Delavall and Samuel Carpenter) and two non-Quakers selected by Edward (Andrew Robeson and ex-Quaker Robert Turner).[2] The minutes from those monthly meetings, including the women’s monthly meetings, documents that the dissension between Edward and John must have been so great as to last the span of six months, and in which other Friends became involved to reach a mutual agreement between them.

“If anyone objects to the marriage, they should speak now or forever hold their peace…” One of many Quaker Monthly Meeting minutes detailing the feud between John Goodson and Edward Farmar.

 

Despite the fact Edward was well-educated and soon to be a wealthy landowner, we may never know the reason why Sarah was not fond of Edward. Perhaps she saw him as a brother rather than a suiter. Perhaps he was too stubborn and persistent for her, as evidenced by the six month disagreement with her father.

Sarah subsequently married 25-year-old Samuel Cart of Abington Township, a merchant, on 12 April 1693. Seventeen years later in 1710, Edward Farmar and Samuel Cart were elected to represent Philadelphia County in the Provincial Assembly. Time may have healed Edward’s heart break and bitterness toward Sarah, or working with his former fiancé’s husband may have been awkward.

Based on the birth of their eldest son Samuel in 1695, we generally accept that Edward married Rachel ___ in 1694 at the age of twenty-two. Many family trees have Edward’s wife as “Rachel Astley,” with claims to her maiden name perpetuated with “user submitted data.”

The Astley-Farmar marriage may be due to an interpretation of a 06 July 1705 parish record in Highley, Shropshire, England. However, there is no record that Edward stepped down from his duties as judge and travelled back to England. It is also unlikely that a marriage in Philadelphia would be recorded in a Shropshire record as occurring ten years after the birth of their first child. Further, the neighboring parish records in Oldbury, Shropshire, England have numerous baptismal, marriage, and burial records for several Farmers, including the following:[3]

30 June 1706, Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Farmer, yeoman, & Rachell, baptized

31 August 1707, Ann, daughter of Edward Farmer & Rachell, baptized

22 May 1709, Thomas, son of Edward Farmer & Rachell, baptized

21 May 1710, Joanna, daughter of Ed: Farmer & Rachell, baptized

15 May 1712, Ed:, son of Edward Farmer & Rachell, baptized

13 September 1712, Rachell, wife of Edward Farmer, buried

21 February 1728, Edward Farmer, buried

It is most likely that a separate Edward Farmer married Rachel Astley in Highley, probably the church she attended, and later attended the church in Oldbury, probably Edward’s home town. Based on the dates, the presence of other Farmer family members, the difference between the Irish –ar and English –er spelling of the surname, and the fifteen mile distance between Highley and Oldbury, the consensus is that Edward Farmar, immigrant to Pennsylvania, did not marry Rachel Astley. This is further substantiated by numerous Astley’s in Shropshire, yet an inability to locate the Astley surname in the Philadelphia region until it first appears in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.

Jim White in his book Boone Family to America, 1670-1720, Volume II (2009) has Edward’s marriage of 1697 in Chester County to Rachel Ellis, born in Tyddyn Y Garreg, Merioneth, Wales on 27th day 1st month 1675. [4] Her parents were Robert and Elin Ellis “Preachers of Righteousness” who immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1690.[5]

More research is required to determine the validity of White’s claim, which is difficult as the book does not disclose the source. Also, each of the children of Robert and Elin Ellis name their children with the same names, further compounded by the changing of the Ellis surname to “Roberts.”[6]

However, there is a lot of other evidence that connects the interactions of Rachel’s siblings and their descendants with the Farmar family and/or other families connected with the Farmar’s.

The last mention of Edward’s wife Rachel is 30 November 1731 for the sale of land to William Lowther of Abingdon Township.[7] It is unknown how or when she died or where she is buried, presumably at St. Thomas Episcopal Church. There is no record that indicates Edward remarried nor is there a wife mentioned in his will.

Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the Farmer family’s immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky. Complete with bibliography and footnotes that supports the research.

click me

“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

 

[1] Mary Hedge More married John Holme of Philadelphia on 03 January 1687/8, his second marriage. Mary died intestate on 17 November 1694. By 1696, John Holme moved from Philadelphia to Monmouth River, Salem County, New Jersey before dying testate in 1704. (Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.96).

[2] Robert Turner is mentioned throughout the book as 1) a witness to the land transaction between Edward’s brother Richard Farmar to Thomas Webb and from Webb to his mother Madame Farmar; 2) his letter regarding Widow Katherine’s construction of a brick house on Second Street; 3) his letter to William Penn regarding the burning of limestone by Samuel Carpenter; 4) his letter regarding the building of new homes in Philadelphia; 5) In May 1682, Joseph Fisher and Robert Turner each purchase a 5,000 acre plantation from William Penn.

[3] Fletcher, Shropshire Parish Registers, Diocese of Hereford (vol. 16), p.22-23, 29.

[4] Browning, Welsh Settlement of Pennsylvania, p.518.

[5] White, Boone Family to America, 1670-1720, Volume II, p.86. While providing information regarding the Ellis family, no evidentiary proof within this source ties Rachel Ellis with Edward Farmar.

[6] Glenn, Welsh in the Merion Tract, p.284-285. All of the children of Robert Ellis took the surname Roberts when they arrived to America.

[7] Cook, “Farmer of Ardevelaine,” p.110.

 

 

 

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Samuel Farmar, Merchant of Norfolk

In 1685, Major Jasper Farmar’s son, Major Samuel Farmar, remained in Ireland while the family moved to Pennsylvania. Four years later, Samuel would also immigrate to America. This is the story of his son, Samuel Farmar, Merchant of Norfolk.

In the previous blogs, we mention how Burke’s Landed Gentry states that Major Samuel Farmar’s “valuable estates in Virginia” were “lost by his children, in consequence of their adherence to the royal cause in the American war.” The following has been excerpted and edited from the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.

Major Samuel’s son Samuel, and therefore a nephew of Edward Farmar, was a merchant of Norfolk, Virginia. He married Susanna ___ and together they had two sons:

Samuel Farmar, born in 1752. Died on 21 April 1791 at the age of thirty-nine and buried at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Norfolk, Virginia.

Robert Farmar, born in 1753. Died on 16 March 1842 at the age of eighty-nine in Norfolk and buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Norfolk, Virginia.

An early mention of Samuel Sr. appears in 1761 to which he is paid £50 for land purchased by the Borough of Norfolk to develop the “Fort Land,” between the southwest angle of Main and Fayette Streets and Elizabeth River.[1]

And another mention in the Virginia Gazette on 07 September 1769 where Samuel is selling a chariot and wishes to form a joint venture to put his negro slaves to work.[2]

After the start of the American Revolutionary War on 19 April 1775, tensions had escalated in Virginia. The Whigs/Patriots controlled most of the Virginia Assembly and with the recruitment of a militia as early as March 1775, controlling the available weapons, ammunition, and gunpowder became a challenge for both sides of the conflict. The Virginia Governor, John Murray, the 4th Earl of Dunmore (“Lord Dunmore”), ordered his troops to remove the gunpowder from storage in Williamsburg to a Royal Navy ship, which in turn, caused an uprising with the militia. Lord Dunmore abandoned his Williamsburg residence in June 1775 and soon four warships, the Dunmore, the Liverpool, the Otter, and the Kingfisher were positioned in a threatening line along the Norfolk waterfront. At first, this was an assuring sign for a city that had strong Loyalist support from the mercantile community of merchants, clerks, and shippers who considered a war with England a path to commercial and financial ruin.

By mid-October, General Thomas Gage, under orders from Lord Dunmore, was raiding the counties in Virginia to disrupt the Whig military supplies… counties such as Montgomery and Wythe/Grayson where disruption of the lead mines was occurring in Edward’s grandson William’s neighborhood.

By the end of October, the Whigs had captured a British ship that had run aground near Hampton, Virginia as well as several sailors. Lord Dunmore reacted by issuing a proclamation on 07 November 1775 to declare martial law and promised freedom for slaves who left their owners and joined the British. 80,000 to 100,000 negro men ran from their plantations and enlisted. By 30 November 1775, Lord Dunmore was confident that he had a sizable army to “reduce this colony to a proper sense of their duty.”[3]

Soon after the British defeat at the Battle of Great Bridge, and fearing for his own safety, Lord Dunmore along with other Loyalist merchants, sought refuge on board the Fleet. One merchant was William Farrar who had arrived from England to America in 1764. On 12 December 1775, Farrar hired the Peggy to move his goods out of Norfolk. Regrettably, the Peggy was captured by an American privateer about four leagues from Bermuda, but then was recaptured by the British and brought to New York. Farrar and his family were aboard the Fleet with the Governor as attested by a letter from Lord Dunmore.

George Washington knew Lord Dunmore well, and although Dunmore was on a ship, Washington wrote a letter to Charles Lee in late December:

“if that Man is not crushed before Spring, he will become the most formidable Enemy America has…” and that “nothing less than depriving him of life or liberty will secure peace to Virginia”

By autumn 1775, Norfolk was effectively blockaded by land with the American troops, and with the small British fleet in the harbor. On 14 December 1775, Colonel Robert Howe’s North Carolina Regulators and Colonel William Woodford of the 2nd Virginia Regiment moved their 1200 men into Norfolk. After surmising the strategic positioning of the British ships and their ability to navigate and deploy their forces, Howe and Woodford recommended to the Virginia Assembly that Norfolk be abandoned and burned.

On 24 December 1775, Henry Bellew, the captain of the Liverpool, sent an ultimatum into the town, stating that he preferred to purchase provisions instead of taking them by force. Howe rejected the ultimatum, knowing full well what had happened three months earlier to Falmouth, Maine, and prepared for a bombardment. On December 30, Bellew suggested that it would “not be imprudent” for women and children to leave the town, who by the prior week had made their exodus with the majority of the 6,000 inhabitants of the city. Howe refused to withdraw his men, telling Bellew…

“I am too much an Officer… to recede from any point which I conceive to be my duty.”[4]

Between 3pm and 4pm on 01 January 1776, the four warships with more than 100 guns opened fire on the town and into the evening. Landing parties were sent ashore to retrieve provisions and to set fire to buildings that Patriot snipers had been using as posts from which to shoot at the fleet.

The British succeeded in setting most of the waterfront ablaze. The next morning Colonel Howe reported that “the whole town will I doubt not be consum’d in a day or two”[5] and in a letter to the Virginia Assembly, Howe wrote of the events on that day:

“Between three and four o’clock, a severe cannonade began from all the shipping, under cover of which they landed small parties, and set fire to the houses on the wharves. The wind favoured their design and we believe the flames will become general…. In the confusion which they supposed would ensue, they frequently attempted to land; but this, by the bravery of our officers and men, we have hitherto prevented, with only a few men wounded on our side, and we persuade ourselves, with a good deal of loss on theirs. Their efforts and our opposition, still continue… We have stationed ourselves in such a manner as will, we believe, render everything but burning the houses ineffectual. We wait with impatience your further orders…”[6]

Colonel Howe’s report to the Virginia Convention omitted that the Patriot militia had targeted, looted, and burned some Loyalist properties that continued for three days. A newspaper account published by Lord Rawdon prompted some questions about the Patriots’ involvement, but many assumed that British forces were responsible for most of the damage, and no inquiries were made in the immediate aftermath. It was not until 1777 that the full extent of Patriot participation in the burning was acknowledged. Damage to the town by the Patriot forces significantly exceeded that done by the British, destroying 863 buildings valued at £120,000. In comparison, the British bombardment destroyed only nineteen properties worth £3,000.

“Incident in the Burning of Norfolk.”

 

By the time order was restored, much of Norfolk had been destroyed, but Howe repeated the recommendation that the entire town be annihilated. The Assembly approved Howe’s plan, and by February 6 the remaining 416 structures were destroyed. The Patriot forces withdrew from Norfolk to other nearby posts. They were organized three months later in March 1776 under the command of General Charles Lee to evict Lord Dunmore from a camp he had established near Portsmouth. Lord Dunmore finally abandoned Virginia in August 1776.

William Farrar filed claims for losses that amounted to “the loss of land, negroes, household goods, and houses at Norfolk, valued at £4,572.” His claim was reviewed on 08 October 1777 by a commission of the Virginia House of Delegates, where he was eventually allowed £100. Farrar would submit another claim in 1778 requesting an increase in compensation.[7]

The day after Farrar’s 1777 review, Samuel had his claim reviewed.[8] The Schedule of Claims has Samuel’s losses at five houses valued at £768 destroyed by “State troops” before January 15 with P. Watlington and J. Bishop providing proof of loss.[9]

Another claim was sent on 15 May 1778 from “Samuel Farmar, merchant, late of Norfolk, Virginia, for the loss of 300 acres, a house, goods, furniture and debts, which were not valued.”[10] On 07 November 1778, “Agreeable to an Act of Assembly for Sequestering British property,” Thomas Newton, Esq. was appointed Commissioner for the Estates of Samuel Farmar and twenty-eight other persons, presumably those listed in the October 1777 review.[11]

In addition, after Samuel Sr.’s death on 13 May 1780 in Bermuda, his widowed wife Susanna submitted a claim for losses on 16 June 1781, producing several letters, including those from Lieutenant Governor George Bruere of Bermuda, of which are included in the book.

The petitions by Samuel Farmar Sr., Susanna Farmar, and their son Samuel Jr. appeared to have no effect. In a letter dated 04 March 1782 to Colonel William Davies from Thomas Newton, Jr…[12]

“Dear Sir

I shall be much obliged if you’d send me down half a doz’n Commissions for this Borough. We have now near fifty men & expect soon to have enough to have two Companies. Don’t forget to have the Escheated lands of this place inquired into, the Caveats enter’d against the Sales are frivolous & ought to be set aside. There is considerable property to be sold yet vizt: Boners’, Farmars’, & Doct Campbell’s & some others.

I amd Dr. Sir,

Yrs:  respectfully.”

On 17 May 1786, there were additional hearings regarding Loyalist claims, including Samuel Jr.’s in which several letters describe the Farmar family’s escape from Norfolk aboard the Fleet with Lord Dunmore to Bermuda, the valued loss of property and slaves of both Samuel and Robert, and description of property which has not sold yet.

In a letter dated 26 June 1788, Susanna’s sister-in-law, Elizabeth (Halroyd) Farmar, wrote to her husband Dr. Richard Farmar’s cousin, Hugh Hovell Farmer, Esq. of Dunsinane, County Wexford, Ireland,[13] that…

“There is in Virginia a nephew of Mr. Farmer’s, his eldest brother’s son. His father died in Bermuda, and there is a farm in County Cork (Ireland) upon lease for three lives. Mr. Farmar is the last, but his nephew is heir as eldest son of the eldest son. The troublesome time in America has been the reason it has not been looked after before, and as they were of the Tory party, he could not come here for some time. If you can be of service to him in certifying the identity of Mr. Farmar being one of the three brothers, it may be of service. The Americans, on his joining Lord Dunmore, seized and destroyed all they had in Virginia.”[14]

Remarkably, even with the loss of land, estate, and income, Susanna and her sons Robert and Samuel not only continue to return and reside in Norfolk, but help it rebuild. By the end of 1783, not more than twelve houses had been rebuilt. By the end of 1796, 700 to 800 houses had been built. In February 1788, the first organized fire department was established by an act of the Assembly, in which the charter members included both Robert and Samuel, as well as three other original subscribers to the Fort Land Project of 1761.[15]

Samuel Jr. died on 21 April 1791. His mother Susanna died 20 September 1807 and was buried at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Norfolk, Virginia forty-one yards from her son.[16] The church, having survived the city’s destruction during the American Revolutionary War and the American Civil War, still has a British cannonball lodged in its wall.

Robert Farmar is listed in the 1801 City Directory as a “commission merchant” with his store at 24 Main Street.[17] The directory also has his residence at No. 22 Bank Street, a road that Robert laid out in 1796 and originally called “Farmer’s Lane” from 1797 to 1800. In 1805, Robert deeded the road to the borough described as “an 18-foot strip of land running from Main Street near the Market House to a bridge across the Back Street to Catharine Street.”[18]  In 1821, Robert is renting a new three-story brick storefront on Bank Street.

Robert lived to be eighty-nine when he died on 16 March 1842. His will, dated 24 March 1838, bequeaths most of his estate to his friends George and Mary Wilson of Nansemond County, Virginia, late of the Isle of Wight. The full last will and testament has been included in the book.

Robert Farmar was buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Norfolk, Virginia. In 2018, The Norfolk Society for Cemetery Conservation restored the table top to his tomb with a new marker that reads:

“Sacred To The Memory of Robert Farmar, Son of Samuel & Susanna Farmar, A native of the Borough of Norfolk, Virginia, Born 1753, Died here in the Borough of Norfolk, Virginia, March 16, 1842, A man upright in his conducts, Greatly esteemed by all who know him, And died much lamented.“[19]

Restored grave of Robert Farmar

Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the Farmer family’s immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky. Complete with bibliography and footnotes that supports the research.

click me

“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

 

 

[1] Whichard, The History of Lower Tidewater Virginia, p.397.

[2] Virginia Gazette, 07 September 1769, p.4.

[3] Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation, 07 November 1775.

[4] Letter from Robert Howe to Henry Bellew, 30 December 1775.

[5] Letter from Robert Howe to the President of the Convention in Williamsburg, 02 January 1776.

[6] Letter from Robert Howe and William Woodford to the Virginia Convention, dated 10 o’clock pm, 01 January 1776.

[7] “Loyalist Claims, Series II – Virginia, Claims,” p.3.

[8] Journal and Reports of the Commissioners Appointed by the Act of 1777, p.7

[9] The schedule states “before January 15, 1775.” As the Burning of Norfolk occurred in January 1776, the dates within the schedule are in error.

[10] “Loyalist Claims, Series II – Virginia, Claims,” p.3.

[11] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.108.

[12] Thomas Newton (21 November 1768 – 05 August 1847), a prominent politician who at the time of the letter was commissioned by the Governor of Virginia as judge of the court of Oyer and Terminer (“hear and determine”). His role was to inquire into all treasons, felonies, and misdemeanors and determine the outcome according to law.

[13] Hugh Hovell Farmar, son of Dr. Hovell Farmar (1701-1758) of Mount Hovell, County Cork and Katherine Dorothea, eldest daughter of Christopher Russell, Esq. Dr. Hovell Farmar was the son of Robert Farmar, Esq. (1677-1743) of Fergus, County Cork and Grace Hovell, daughter of William Hovell, Esq. of Mount Hovell. Robert Farmar was the son of Richard Farmar. Hugh Hovell Farmer was therefore first cousins-twice removed with Dr. Richard Farmar (Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland (1858), p.368-369).

[14] Cook, “The Farmars of Ardevalaine,” p.108. Original citation Eliza Farmar Letter Book, 1774-1719, MS, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

[15] Whichard, History of Lower Tidewater Virginia, p.430.

[16] McPhillips, “St. Paul’s Churchyard.”

[17] Jordan, “Norfolk Directory 1801,” p.15.

[18] Whichard, The History of Lower Tidewater Virginia, p.428.

[19] “Norfolk Society for Cemetery Conservation,” Facebook.

 

 

 

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Dr. Richard Farmar

In 1685, Major Jasper Farmar’s son, Samuel, remained in Ireland while the family moved to Pennsylvania. Four years later, Samuel would also immigrate to America. This is the story of his son, Dr. Richard Farmar, who settled in Philadelphia.

In the previous blog, we mention how Burke’s Landed Gentry states that Major Samuel Farmar’s “valuable estates in Virginia” were “lost by his children, in consequence of their adherence to the royal cause in the American war.” The following has been excerpted and edited from the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.

Major Samuel’s son, Richard Farmar, was a doctor, and according to a notice in the 11 October 1739 edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette, he recently arrived and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One can imagine Dr. Farmer attending to his uncle in the six years prior to Edward Farmar’s death in 1745.

“…Richard Farmar, Professor of Physick, Surgery, Chymistry and Pharmacy (lately come to this City and settled next Door but one to Owen Owen’s in Market-Street)…”[1]

Various other notices also appeared in the Pennsylvania Gazette including the sale of a female slave, property, and various items from his shop on Second Street. These articles, along with other research regarding wills, real estate, indentured servants, and philanthropy, have been included in the book.

Richard married first, Mary ___, and from this marriage came two sons:

Richard Farmar, died on 07 September 1779 and buried at Christ Church.

William Farmar. No other information available, presumed to have died very young.

Both sons died with no children. When his wife Mary died on 01 December 1745, she was buried at Christ Church. Dr. Farmar married second, Sarah Carmick, born 15 January 1721/2, daughter of a prominent merchant, Peter and Sarah (Hall) Carmick of Salem, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[2] Dr. Farmar and Sarah had one daughter, Sarah Farmar, born in 1753.

Richard’s wife Sarah died 02 July 1761 and was buried next to her sister Elizabeth (Carmick) Campbell at Christ Church. Shortly before 12 November 1763, Richard sailed from Philadelphia to Bristol, England and married third, Elizabeth “Eliza” Holroyd.

Dr. Farmar built a new “mansion house” for his wife Eliza as reported in a 1774 letter she wrote to her nephew John Holroyd. It is this house that has been described as being identical to Madame Farmar’s house; Madame Farmar as wife to Major Jasper would have been Richard’s grandmother. If the houses of Madame Farmer and Dr. Farmar were identical as mentioned, the house was described as follows:

“The only one of the old Colonial houses with a gable pointed toward the road. It was a two-story brick house, very substantially built. The materials were imported. The entrance was by a massive door which swung back into a wide hallway, brilliant from floor to ceiling with plate glass mirrors. The rooms on the first floor opened into the hallway on each side. They were wainscoted to the ceiling. One was also paneled most artistically. In this room a massive iron safe was built into the wall. The place was heated by large open fireplaces.”[7]

Soon after the start of the American Revolutionary War on 19 April 1775, Richard’s wife Eliza 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…”[8]

When the British captured Philadelphia on 23 September 1777, General George Washington sought a way to recapture the city. On 04 October 1777, British Lieutenant General William Howe was headquartered with his troops in Germantown Township at James Logan’s house, now occupied by his grandson Dr. George Logan.[9] Washington divided his army into four groups with each group marching in the night along different paths. The American forces attacked in the pre-dawn fog with initial success. The British retreated, burning the fields to cover their escape in the smoke.

Some of the retreating British troops took refuge in the house of Benjamin Chew, which had been vacated on 04 August 1777. After bombarding the house to no affect and after trying to storm the house, Washington stopped his efforts and cordoned the house. This half hour delay, along with the fog, limited ammunition, lack of coordination, and several blunders, including one of his brigades never advancing and a drunk commander, General Adam Stephen, firing into General Anthony Wayne’s troops, costs Washington the victory.

The Siege of Chew’s House during the Battle of Germantown.

 

After three hours and surrounded by British troops, the American troops surrendered the “Battle of Germantown” en masse and the remaining troops re-organized at Pennypacker’s Mill. The battle wasn’t a total defeat. Not only did it provide a morale boost because of the near win, but it proved that Americans could stand up and fight against the British, which influenced the French to assist the American cause. Fortunately for Washington, had the British exploited the battle field and pursued Washington’s army, they would have defeated the entire American force, and presumably could have ended the war. One of the soldiers that fought with distinction was General Anthony Wayne, a native of Chester County, Pennsylvania.[10]

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.[11]

Howe had decided to make one last attempt to destroy Washington’s army before the onset of winter. Through the reports of Lydia Darragh, a Quaker housewife, Washington was provided advance notice of Howe’s troop movements. Washington needed to ensure a victory as word about his leadership in the Continental Congress had started rumors of his replacement. His men were also cold, hungry, tired, unpaid since late summer, and discouraged having lost two major battles and the City of Philadelphia. By December 1, Washington was disappointed that the British had not yet attacked.

On midnight of December 4, Howe’s 14,000 men marched out of Philadelphia to Whitemarsh Township. That morning, 15,000 men of the Continental Army were awake and prepared, although Washington finds the British forces “much stronger than I had reason to expect for the accounting I had received…”[12]

Near Chestnut Hill in the pre-dawn hours on December 5, a short and fierce fight ensued and the Pennsylvanians retreated when the militia commander, General William Irvine, was captured. In three days of maneuvering, Howe’s troops moved back and forth across the American front, keeping about a mile away, while the Americans shadowed the British and denied Howe any point of attack. As Howe’s soldiers marched and countermarched, they burned the houses in Cresheim and Beggarstown. Johann Ewald, a German officer serving with the British, describes the scene on the night of December 6:

“The sight was horrible. The night was very dark. The blazing flames spread about with all swiftness and the wind blew violently. The cries of human voices of the young and old, who had seen their belongings consumed by the flames without saving anything, put everyone in a melancholy.”[13]

Robert Morton, a Quaker teenager from Philadelphia, writes in his diary that the soldiers…

“…committed great outrages on the inhabitants… as if the sole purpose of the expedition was to destroy and to spread ruin and desolation, to dispose the inhabitants to rebellion by despoiling their property…”[14]

Throughout the day of December 7, Howe made one last effort in a series of small-scale skirmishes in the thick woods known as the Battle of Edge Hill, but no full-scale battle developed. The next day, Howe, realizing he can neither outflank Washington nor draw him into the open, marched back to Philadelphia. Washington is disappointed as noted in his letter to Congress.

“I sincerely wish, that they had made an Attack… The Issue in all probability, from the disposition of our Troops and the strong situation of our Camp, would have been fortunate and happy… At the same time I must add that reason, prudence, and every principle of policy, forbad us quitting our post to attack them. Nothing but Success would have justified the measure, and this could not be expected from their position…”[15]

Battle of Whitemarsh

 

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 arrive at Valley Forge to the manor home of Edward Farmar’s grandson, Lieutenant Colonel William Farmar Dewees. 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. For six months from 18 December 1777 to 19 June 1778, the army faced supply shortages, malnutrition, starvation, and disease where 1,700 to 2,000 soldiers and 1,500 horses died.

General Washington had earlier sent Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Stewart to defend the Dewees home. 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 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.[16]

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. Two sons were born to them; the eldest, Richard Farmar Bowers, was ordained minister of the Wesleyan United Society of Kensington, on 01 January 1827. The house passed on to Pastor Bowers, and when he died, “The Bowers Mansion” became the property of his second wife, whose maiden name was Marie Tilton. She occupied the house until her death in 1886, when the lot was purchased and the house demolished for a new Young Men’s Christian Association building.[17]

Richard’s wife Eliza died 11 August 1789 and was buried at Christ Church cemetery in Philadelphia. Richard died less than two years later and was also buried 18 January 1791 at Christ Church.

During the American Revolutionary War, Richard’s brother Samuel was in Norfolk, Virginia. He didn’t fare so well.

To be continued…

Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the Farmer family’s immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky. Complete with bibliography and footnotes that supports the research.

click me

“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

 

 

 

[1] Pennsylvania Gazette, 11 October 1739, p.3; Pennsylvania Gazette, 25 October 1739, p.4; Pennsylvania Gazette, 01 November 1739, p.4.

[2] Abstract of Peter Carmick’s will:  “1754, July 13. Carmick, Peter, of Philadelphia, but late of Salem Town and Co., merchant… Children— Stephen, Elizabeth Campbell, and Sarah Farmar, Dec’d son John mentioned. House and lot of 16 acres in Salem Town; two lots of marsh and 12 a. of land in said Town, next to the Meeting House; sawmill on the West side of Morris River in Cumberland Co.; land on either side of said river; 1,000 acres in Piles Grove, Salem Co.; personal property. Executors — the son and daughters. Witnesses—John Hatkinsori, Daniel Dupuy, John Reily. Codicil of July 5, 1755, makes unimportant changes. Witnesses—William Savery Branson van Leer, John Reily. Proved Feb. 20, 1759 (Honeyman, Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, Vol. III, 1751-1760, p.53).

[3] Neible, “Account of Servants Bound and Assigned Before James Hamilton, Mayor of Philadelphia,” p.200.

[4] “Abstract of Wills at Philadelphia.” Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania vol. 3, p.189-190.

[5] Honeyman, Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, Volume III, 1751-1760, p.32-33.

[6] Cook, Farmer of Ardevalaine, p.118. Original citation Loose Surveys, Philadelphia Contributionship; Microfilm Roll #3, HSP.

[7] Billopp, A History of Thomas and Anne Billopp Farmar, p.13. Original citation Pennsylvania Magazine of History, vol.4, p.451.

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

[9] James Logan died in 1751. The house, named “Stenton Mansion” was inherited by his son William Logan, and after his death in 1776, passed to William’s son Dr. George Logan.

[10] Anthony Wayne (01 January 1745 – 15 December 1796). Member of Pennsylvania Assembly, 1774-1775, 1784. Member of the Committee of Safety, 1775. Commissioned Colonel Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment, 03 January 1776. Commissioned Brigadier General in the American Army, 21 February 1777. Beveted Major-General, 10 October 1783. Elected to United States Congress from Georgia, 1719-1722. Appointed General-in-Chief of the United States Army with the rank of Major General, 03 April 1792.

[11] 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.

[12] “The Battle of White Marsh,” MyRevolutionaryWar.com.

[13] “The Battle of White Marsh,” MyRevolutionaryWar.com.

[14] “The Battle of White Marsh,” MyRevolutionaryWar.com.

[15] “The Battle of White Marsh,” MyRevolutionaryWar.com.

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

[17] Billopp, A History of Thomas and Anne Billopp Farmar, And Some of Their Descendants in America, p.13.

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Major Samuel Farmar

In 1685, Major Jasper Farmar’s son, Samuel, remained in Ireland while the family moved to Pennsylvania. He would soon follow…

In an earlier blog, we explored whether Major Jasper Farmar’s son, Richard, made the trip to Pennsylvania in 1685. After examining the land deeds and other resources, Richard either remained or returned to Ireland soon after voyaging with his family. Burke’s Landed Gentry states that Richard…

“was obliged to leave Ireland in 1689, and retired with his family to Taunton Deane, in Somersetshire. He returned to Ireland in 1691…”[1]

We do know Richard’s brother, Samuel Farmar, after signing his name to his father’s will, remained in Ireland. Samuel, who was born about 1657, was a Major in the British Army who had married Lucy Wakeham in 1683.

Like his brother, the political shift in Ireland would cause Major Samuel to leave Ireland in March 1689.

King James II (1633-1701) portrayed in his role as head of the Army, wearing a General Officer’s State coat (ca.1685).

 

On 23 April 1685, King James II[2] was coronated at Westminster Abbey. Soon his nephew, the Duke of Monmouth, led a rebellion in southern England that was easily defeated. As a result, many of the rebels were executed or condemned to indentured servitude in the West Indies, including the names of several Farmers.

A digital reproduction of the first of 19 sheets of a copper engraving of the coronation procession of James II of England and Queen Mary of Modena.

 

As a Catholic, James passed several acts and appointed persons to office which caused him to lose favor with his Protestant subjects, including Major Samuel.

One such appointment on 05 April 1687 forced the Protestant Fellows of Magdalen College in Oxford to elect Anthony Farmer as the president in violation of their right to elect someone of their choice. Farmer was said to be a lewd womanizer and a drunk who frequented the local taverns along the River Thames and “did very often come into the college late at night, so much in drink, that he could scarce go or speak.” Other testimony stated he enticed others into “several debaucheries, both at taverns and bawdy-houses” than attending to academic duties. One witness claimed that Farmer received money to “publicly expose unto him a naked woman…”

One of those providing evidence against Farmer was William Levett, Doctor of Divinity and Principal of Magdalen Hall, whose testimony also disparaged Farmer’s character and temperament.

“Frequent complaints were brought to me by some of the masters that he raised quarrels and differences among them; that he often occasioned disturbances, and was of a troublesome and unpeaceable humour…”[3]

Anthony Farmer’s appointment and subsequent rejection escalated tension between James and the Anglican establishment, and was one of many events that led to the Glorious Revolution in 1688.

On 30 June 1688, a group of seven Protestant nobles invited William, Prince of Orange and James’ nephew, to come to England with an army. William arrived on 05 November 1688 with 18,000 troops and James was captured while trying to flee to France. William allowed James to escape on 23 December where he was received by James’ cousin, King Louis IV of France. By fleeing, Parliament declared that James had abdicated the throne and declared James’ daughter Anne as queen. Likewise, the Parliament of Scotland also declared on 11 April 1689 that James had forfeited the throne.

Portrait of William III, Prince of Orange, Stadholder and since 1689 also King of England. Probably based on a Sir Peter Lely prototype.

 

With the help of French troops, James landed in Ireland in March 1689, where James was still considered king. It was also where he was in favor of the predominantly Roman Catholic citizens who supported the Stuart monarchy during the wars throughout the 1640’s. They were the same wars in which Major Samuel’s father, Major Jasper Farmar, served and subsequently lost a portion of his land.

William counterattacked with English, Scottish, Dutch, and Danish troops to defeat James at the Battle of the Boyne on 01 July 1690, where James fled back to France. In late 1690, William’s forces occupied the ports of Cork and Kinsale during the First Siege of Limerick. After the Second Siege of Limerick and the subsequent Treaty of Limerick signed on 03 October 1691, Major Samuel’s brother, Richard, returned from England to his estates in Ireland.

Major Samuel immigrated to America where he purchased several large and valuable estates in Virginia[4]. He married again in 1704 to Mary Wilkinson, daughter of Cuthbert Wilkinson, Esq.

From the marriage of Major Samuel and Mary came the following children:

Samuel Farmar, “Merchant of Norfolk” (1707-1780)

Dr. Richard Farmar (1709-1791)

Robert Farmar (1711-1758). Robert was an officer in the Royal Navy and was killed in action off Dunkirk on board the Augusta.[5]

According to Burke’s Landed Gentry…

“Samuel, major in the army, who purchased several valuable estates in Virginia, which were lost by his children, in consequence of their adherence to the royal cause in the American war.”[6]

The estates were lost by his children? To be continued…

Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the Farmer family’s immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky.

click to learn more

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

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

“Amazing research!“
Ms. J. Shipley

 

 

 

[1] Burke, Sir John Bernard. A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland (1858), p.368.

[2] James was the Duke of York and the proprietor of New York when William Penn was made proprietor of Pennsylvania.

[3] Howell, T.B. A Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and Other Crimes and Misdemeanors, vol. 12 (1816), p.13.

[4] Burke, Landed Gentry in Ireland, p.217; Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland (1858), p.368.

[5] Cook, Lewis D. “Farmar of Ardevalaine, County Tipperary, Ireland and of Whitemarsh, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.” The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, vol. 21, no. 2 (1959) p.108-109..

[6] Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland (1858), p.368.

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Who was on the Bristol Merchant in 1685?

When writing the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh, the research that created the biggest headache was in determining who arrived in America, who stayed, who died, and who returned to Ireland.

We know the Farmar family embarked on the Bristol Merchant which may have left Liverpool on 11 August 1685, arrived into County of Cork, Ireland for more passengers, and then arrived into Pennsylvania on 10 November 1685.

70 passengers and their belongings were on the Bristol Merchant, similar to this ship pictured above

 

The first item to discern was… who made the voyage? Several resources have a different account of the passenger list, which has been compiled below.[1]

Major Jasper Farmar (b, c, d, e, f, g, h)
Mary Farmar, wife of Major Jasper Farmar (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h)
Edward Farmar, son of Major Jasper (a, b, c, d, e, f, g)
Richard Farmar, son of Major Jasper (b, g)
Sarah Farmar, daughter of Major Jasper (a, b, c, d, e, f, g)
John Farmar, son of Major Jasper (a, c, e, f, g)
Robert Farmar, son of Major Jasper (a, b, d, e, f, g)
Catharine Farmar, daughter of Major Jasper (a, b, d, e, f, g)
Charles Farmar, son of Major Jasper (a, b, c, d, e, f, g)

Jasper Farmar, Jr., son of Major Jasper (a, b, c, d, e, f, g)
Catharine Farmar, wife of Jasper Jr. (a, c, d, e, f)
Thomas Farmar, son of Jasper Jr. (a, c, d, e, f)
Elizabeth Farmar, daughter of Jasper Jr. (a, c, d, e, f)
Katherine Farmar, daughter of Jasper Jr. (c, d, e, f)

Edward Batsford, step-son of Major Jasper (a, c, d)

About twenty [b] artisans and Servants, all from Ireland [a]:
Joanna Daly, also “Joan Daly” and “Joane Daly” (a, c, e, f)
Philip Mayow (a, c, e, f)
Helen Mayow, wife of Philip Mayow (a, c, e, f)
John Mayow (a, c, e, f)
John Whitlow, also “Whitloe” (a, c, e, f)
Nicholas Whitlow, also “Whitloe” (a, c, e, f)
Thomas Young, also “Younge” (a, c, e, f)
___ Young, wife of Thomas Young (a, c, e, f)
William Winter (a, c, e, f)
George Fisher (a, c, e, f)
Arthur Smithy, also “Smith” (a, c, e, f)
Thomas Alferry (a, c, e, f)
Henry Wells (a, c, e, f)
Robert Wilkinson, also “Wilkison” (a, c, e, f)
Elizabeth Mayow (a, c, e, f)
Martha Mayow (a, c, e, f)
Albert Dawson (c)
Sarah Burke, possibly also “Sara Binke” (a, c, e, f)
Sheele Oceven, possibly also “Thebe Orevan” and “Shebe Orevan” (a, c, e, f)
Andrew Walbridge (a, c, e, f)

Thomas Webb (e, f, h)
Daniel Webb, son of Thomas Webb (e, f, h)

Servants of Thomas Webb:
John Beltshire (e, f)
John Robinson (e, f)
Richard Ford (e, f)
James Banbury (e, f)
Thomas Case (e, f)
Henry Ford (e, f)
John Fox (e, f)
Derby Haley (e, f)
Joseph Case (e, f)
Thomas Burke (e, f)
John Garrett, also “Garrell” (e, f)
John Mehone (e, f)
David Quinn (e, f)
Mary Widdam (e, f)
Prudence Stuart (e, f)
Katherine Robinson (e, f)
Richard Muske (e, f)

Nicholas Scull, Major Jasper’s nephew through Jasper’s sister Alice (a, e, f, h)

Servants of Nicholas Scull:
Samuel Hall (a, e, f)
Cornelius Davye (a, e, f)
George Gooding (a, e, f)
Miles Morin (a, e, f)
Daniel Morin (a, e, f)
John Ward (a, e, f)
Mary Cantwell, also “Cantrell” (a, e, f)

Thomas Carter, Sr. (e, f)
Frances Carter, wife of Thomas Carter Sr. (e, f)
Thomas Carter, Jr., son of Thomas Carter Sr. (e, f)
Henry Carter, son of Thomas Carter Sr. (e, f)
John Carter, son of Thomas Carter Sr. (e, f)
Ann Carter, daughter of Thomas Carter Sr. (e, f)

Jonathon Thatcher (e, f)

Ann Besor, from Bristol, bound for Virginia.[2]

 

The second hurdle was to determine whether Major Jasper Farmar died prior to the voyage, died en route, or died after arriving into Philadelphia.

Dies before the voyage? “When all arrangements had been made for the voyage Major Farmar died, when his widow, Mary and children… embarked on the ship Bristol Merchant, John Stephens, master, and arrived at Philadelphia November 10, 1685…”[3] If Major Jasper dies before the voyage, why is his name on the manifest list?

Dies before he arrives? “Major Farmar did not live to see his colony established as his death occurred just as the vessel came to port in Philadelphia…”[4] and “Some records state that Major Jaspar and his son Jaspar, Jr. both died on the voyage…”[5]

Dies after arriving? “Major Farmar arrived at Philadelphia, September 10, 1685, on board the Bristol Merchant, Captain John Stevens commander, with his family…”[6]

It is generally accepted, based on dates of Major Jasper Farmar’s will and the names on the manifest, that members of the family died en route and were buried at sea.

 

The third hurdle was determining the children referenced in the will of Major Jasper Farmar’s wife, Madame Farmar, dated 31 October 1686:

“In the name of God, Amen. I, Mary Farmar, widdow and relict of Major Jasper Farmar of Ireland, being weak in health but in perfect memory, blessed by God, doe make this my last Will and Testament in manner and forme followeing, that is to say, Imprimis, I give and bequeath my Soule into the hand of my God my Creator who give it me, and who alone is able to keepe it, and my body to be buried with or neare my children in this towne of Philadelphia…”[7]

Which of the children are buried in Philadelphia who preceded Madame Farmar in death? John Farmar witnessed the will which names Edward Farmar, Edward Batsford, Sarah Farmar, and Katherine (Batsford) Farmar (the widowed wife of Jasper Jr.); therefore, they all survived Madame Farmar. Administration on the estate of Madame Farmar’s other son, William Batsford, states he “died at sea without a Will coming from Ireland to this Province in the eighth month 1684” and was granted “in the second month (April) 1687” to “Edward Batsford, his brother.” It is inferred that William died during his trip in October 1684 on a separate ship as his name does not appear on the manifest of the Bristol Merchant. (reference Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.90.)

Cook states that “[Katherine, Robert, and Charles] were possibly deceased by 31 October 1686, the date of the will of Mary Farmar…”[8] Some accounts state that Katherine Farmar, the daughter of Major Jasper Farmar and Mary Gamble, died and was buried at sea with her father and her brother Jasper Jr. That no records exist for Katherine, Robert, and Charles, after 1685, it is accepted that they are the children referenced in Madame Farmar’s will.

 

The next hurdle was determining who remained in Pennsylvania. John Farmar is presumed to have returned to England where he married Mary Hayles in 1686 and had a son, John.

The last obstacle was determining if Richard Farmar had joined his family across the Atlantic, and if he did, whether he remained in Pennsylvania. Any evidence is circumstantial, but Richard may not have been on the Bristol Merchant. Only two cited resources have Richard making the voyage, whereas one resource states “[Major Jasper] also settled any financial obligations he may have felt necessary with his two grown sons, Richard and Samuel, who had elected not to make the voyage to America…”[9]

That Richard remains in Ireland is further supported by the last will and testament of Major Jasper Farmar dated 25 September 1685, with Richard’s inclusion on the same line as Samuel Farmar and Mary (Farmar) Webber (who also did not make the voyage).

“In the name of God, Amen. I, Major Jasper Farmer being weak in health but in perfect memory blessed be God doe make this my last Will and testament in manner and forme following that is to say, Imprimus. I give and bequeath my Soule into the hands of Almighty God that gave it and my body to be buryed wherever it shall please the Lord I dye… Item, I give and bequeath unto my sonns Richard Farmer and Samuel Farmer and my daughter Webber in Ireland tenn shillings a peece to bye them mourning rings, and to my sonn Jasper Farmer and daughter Web tenn shillings a peece to buy them rings…”[10]

Deposition: “Major Jasper Farmer to his son Richard Farmer. Be it remembered that Samuel Hunt of Philadelphia in the province of Pensilvania, being legally attested before me Humphrey Morrey, one of the justices of the peace of the County of Philadelphia, Deposeth and saith as followeth, that is to say. That he this Deponent, about the tenth day of September which was in the year 1685, saw a certain Deed from Major Jasper Farmer to Richard Farmer, of that date, sealed and executed by the said Major Farmar unto the said Richard Farmar for a certain ferme purchased by the said Major from one Sir Boyle Maynard, and upon delivery thereof this Deponent heard the said Major demand of Richard Farmar whether he was satisfied and whether he owed him anything. Whereunto the said Richard answered that the said Major owed him nothing upon any account whatever, or words to that effect. And this Deponent further saith that he, this Deponent, was desired by Major Jasper Farmar, since deceased to draw his the said Jasper’s last Will and Testament, dated the twenty fifth day of September 1685, which Will this Deponent drew according to his directions, and which said Will and Testament he the said Major Jasper Farmar, being of sound and perfect memory, at the same time did seal and execute and publish in this Deponent’s and Edward Farmar’s presence, who have subscribed their names as witnesses thereunto. In witness whereof the said Deponent hath hereunto set his hand the 8th day of the 5th month July 1687. (signed) Saml Hunt. Attested by and before me, the day and year aforesaid Humphrey Morrey.”[11]

The disposition of Samuel Hunt attests that on 10 September 1685, he personally saw Major Jasper and his son Richard agree to the settlement of the farm, and witnessed Major Jasper write his will on 25 September 1685. Samuel Hunt isn’t listed on the Bristol Merchant manifest,[12] and Samuel Farmar’s signature on the back of the will further proves the document was written before the family set sail, but still does not prove Richard stayed in Ireland.

“By deed of 23 April 1685, Richard Farmer of Arderrack, Co. Corke, Ireland, gent., conveyed to Thomas Webb of Racannon, Co. Limerick, gent., for £144,4 sterling money of England, his one-quarter part of 5,000 acres granted by patent and which by mutual consent of the patentees is to be divided by the Surveyor General resident in Pennsylvania, together with his share of such goods and servants as were carried over there…”[13]

“…That said Richard Farmer assigned unto said Thomas Webb for £144, 4, sterling money of England all his right and title in his said fourth part of the said 5,000 acres and his property of such goods and servants as were carried over by the said Jasper Farmer, Jr. when the Patent was granted…” [14]

Although most accounts chronologically state that Richard “soon” or “shortly after” sells his quarter share of the land during the probate of his father’s will, the date of the land deed implies that four months before the family departs for Pennsylvania, Richard deeded his share of the 5,000 acres along with his belongings already in America which arrived on his brother’s trip in 1682, to his brother-in-law Thomas Webb. If so, why would Richard make the voyage and leave behind his wife and four children under the age of nine?

[The other big question:  Why did Thomas Webb sell his land to Madame Farmar?]

If Richard had arrived in America, he soon returned to Ireland based on a deed from 3 August 1687:

“John Barnes of Bristol Township, Philadelphia County conveyed to Edward Batsford of the town of Philadelphia, yeoman, for £225 a tract of 500 acres on Tacony Creek in Bristol Twp., subject to a mortgage to secure three bills of exchange for £140 drawn on Edward Boyle of Co. Cork, Ireland, Esq., reciting that “Whereas Mistris Catherine Farmer, relict and executrix of the deceased Jasper Farmer (Jr.) late of the Co. of Cork in the said Kingdom of Ireland, Gent., did also this day draw three bills of exchange containing 50 Pounds upon Richard Farmer of the Co. of Tipperary in the said Kingdom of Ireland, Gent., payable in three score days sight thereof unto the said Richard Barnes or his order,” the £190 money of England, being in current silver money of the said Province, £237,10.”[15]

Burke’s Landed Gentry states that Richard “was obliged to leave Ireland in 1689, and retired with his family to Taunton Deane, in Somersetshire. He returned to Ireland in 1691…”[16] His will is dated 01 January 1690 and was proved 28 March 1691, naming wife Elizabeth (daughter of Robert Phaire of Grange, County Cork), and children:  Jasper, Robert, John and Elizabeth.[17]

It is presumed that the following is simply stating that Richard has died by 1767, as Edward was the last surviving son of Major Jasper, as it pertains to the ownership of the original 5,000 acres.

“At a Special Meeting at the Governors on Monday the 19th of October 1767: Peter Robeson agt Jno. Morris, On Caveat… Jasper the Son dyed and left his Share of the said Land to his wife Catharine who afterwards married one Billup. Richard also dyed Edward only survived…”[18]

 

Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the Farmer family’s immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky.

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

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

click to learn more

[1] Sources:

a. Bean, Theodore W. History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (1884), p.1139.

b. Mann, Charles S. “Fort Washington Historic Environs.” Historical Sketches: A Collection of Papers Prepared for the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, vol. 2 (1900), p.203.

c. Billopp, Charles Farmar. A History of Thomas and Anne Billopp Farmar, And Some of Their Descendants in America (1907), p.11-12.

d. Jordan, John W., Edgar Moore Green, & George T. Ettinger. Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of The Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, vol. 1 (1905), p.43.

e. Cook, Lewis D. “Farmar of Ardevalaine, County Tipperary, Ireland and of Whitemarsh, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.” The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, vol. 21, no. 2 (1959), p.90-91. Original citation “A Partial List of the Families Who Arrived at Philadelphia Between 1682 and 1687,” Philadelphia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 8 (1884), p.336.

f. Ralston, Harold A. “Ship Passenger Lists, Scot and Irish.” Our Ralston and Belden Family Histories. 2007-2017. Retrieved 24 September 2018:
http://www.ralstongenealogy.com/sislist.htm#forty8

g. Yeakle, William A. “Whitemarsh.” Historical Sketches. A Collection of Papers Prepared for the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, vol. 1 (1895), p.18-19.

h. Baker, Jr., C.A. “Chapter 21, My Pennsylvania Ancestors, Part 1.” Baker Family Tree. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2018:
http://bakerfamilytree.blogspot.com/2009/01/

“In late August of 1685, Jasper and Mary Farmar, six of their children including three children from his wife’s first marriage, plus his son Jasper and his wife and their three children, and his daughter (name unknown) and her husband, Thomas Webb, and their son, and at least twenty of their servants and their children boarded the ship “Bristol Merchant” in Ireland bound for Philadelphia. Also on board was Nicholas Scull, son of Jasper’s sister Alice, and his seven servants…”

[2] “Indentured Servants Basic Search Results” Virtual Jamestown. Retrieved 24 September 2018:
http://www.virtualjamestown.org/indentures/search_indentures.cgi?start_page=522&search_type=basic&db=bristol_ind&servant_ln=%

[3] Bean, History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (1884), p.1139.

[4] Mann, “Fort Washington Historic Environs,” p.204.

[5] Billopp, A History of Thomas and Anne Billopp Farmar, p.12.

[6] Mann, “Fort Washington Historic Environs,” p.203. The date of 10 September 1685 is a misinterpretation of the Julian and Gregorian calendars.

[7] “Colonial Estates – Philadelphia, PA & Bucks County, PA,” Hobbs and Phillips Family Genealogy. Retrieved 29 April 2018:
http://www.angelfire.com/ga/hobbsphillips/colonialestates.html;
Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.93.

[8] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.90-91.

[9] Baker, “Chapter 21, My Pennsylvania Ancestors, Part 1.” Note that Samuel will eventually immigrate to Virginia in March 1689.

[10] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.93-94.

[11] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.92. Recorded 9th day of 5th month 1687 in Philadelphia Letters of Attorney Book D-2-4, 166, now in Bureau of Land Records, Department of Internal Affairs, Harrisburg.

[12] “Samuel Hunt” is not on the manifest, but “Samuel Hall” is. Is it possible that Samuel Hunt was on the Bristol Merchant and that the surname is incorrect due to mistranslation?

[13] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,”, p.91. Recorded 1st day 12th month 1685 in Deed Book E-l-5, p.156.

[14] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.91-92. Acknowledged in Open Court 3rd day 12th month 1685 and recorded 10th day of 12th month 1685 in Deed Book E-l-5, p.174.

[15] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.90. Recorded in Philadelphia Deed Book E-l-5, 542.

[16] Burke, Sir John Bernard. A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland (1858), p.368.

[17] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.99.

[18] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.92.

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Genealogy and… Star Trek?

When doing your family genealogy, you might find that you’re related to someone famous… such is the case in my family tree.

When doing your family genealogy, you might find that you’re related to someone famous… either a professional athlete, or historical figure, or actor. You may have met someone who proudly exclaims that they’re related to George Washington, or they’re a direct descendant of royalty.

Today’s story starts all the way back to the 1600’s. Major Jasper Farmar married first Mary Gamble and they had a son, Jasper Farmar Jr. When Mary died, Major Jasper married the widow Mary Batsford in 1671. She brought into the marriage her three children William, Edward, and Katherine Batsford. Major Jasper and Mary had a daughter Sarah, and had a son Edward Farmar born in 1672.

Jasper Farmar Jr. married his step-sister Katherine Batsford on or about 06 July 1674. Together, they had a son, Thomas Farmar born in 1674. When Jasper Jr. died at sea on his second voyage to Pennsylvania in 1685, the Widow Katherine remarried Captain Christopher Billopp. Billopp had two daughters from a prior marriage, Anne and Mary. Katherine’s son Thomas married his step-sister Anne in 1703. Mary married twice; once to Reverend Brooke, who was lost at sea en route to England in 1707, and second to Reverend William Skinner of Perth Amboy.

Katherine died before April 1700. When Captain Christopher Billopp wrote his will on 25 April 1724, he devised his Indians Land plantation in New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey to his daughter Anne (Billopp) Farmar. The will also devised his Bentley Manor (New Jersey) to his daughter Mary (Billopp) Skinner of Perth Amboy during her life only. However, if Mary should pass away with no sons, then the property would pass to Anne (Billopp) Farmar’s second son, Christopher, or to his surviving brothers in succession, so long as they adopt the surname Billopp. Mary had no children when she died in 1725. Thomas and Anne’s son Christopher had died, so Thomas Farmar, Jr. qualified as heir and, accepting the terms of his grandfather’s will, changed his surname from Farmar to Billopp.

By tracing Jasper Jr.’s branch of the family tree, you find Jane Waddington Wyatt, who many may know as the actress in the 1950’s sitcom Father Knows Best and several motion pictures.

If you’re a big Star Trek fan, you may know her as Amanda Grayson, the mother of Spock, who first appeared in the episode Journey to Babel (1967) and in Star Trek IV:  The Voyage Home (1986).

“When you go back in time to save some whales, can you grab some missing information for the family tree?”

Jane would be my ninth cousin, as we share the same 8th great grandfather, Major Jasper Farmar, who died 333 years ago while moving his family to America.

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And in another 212 years on 06 January 2230, Spock will be born.

“We’re related to the Farmer’s? Seems logical.”

Live long and prosper.

Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the Farmer family’s immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky.

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

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

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William Penn and the Farmar’s

As large landowners in southeast County Cork, Ireland, the Penn’s and the Farmar’s knew each other and continued their relationship into early 1700 Pennsylvania. The following is excerpted from the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.

Musketeers at the Battle of Stratton, 16 May 1643. This battle during the English Civil War (1642-1651) shows an example of how the men under Major Jasper Farmar’s command would appear.

As early as 1677, William Penn was part of a group purchasing land in the western side of present New Jersey. Once the land was acquired, they immediately encouraged its settlement, particularly among English Quakers. Surprisingly, British Parliament and King Charles II granted Penn a charter in March 1681 as the sole proprietor of land that would become Pennsylvania. Historians have suggested that the British government, by granting the land to Penn, had hoped the troublesome Quakers would leave England. Some historians suggest that it was part of a debt repayment to his father Sir William Penn. Others suggest that, through his relationship with the Duke of York, it ensured James a friendly neighbor who was concurrently the proprietor of New York immediately to the north of “Penn’s Land.”

To build his new province, William began negotiating and purchasing tracts of land from the local Indians. Penn then immediately began an active promotion throughout Europe to market and resell his property. To attract settlers in large numbers to his new province, William wrote a glowing prospectus in various languages that promised religious freedom as well as other advantages about the new land in America. Within six months he had parceled out 300,000 acres to over 250 prospective sellers, mostly rich London Quakers. Eventually he attracted other persecuted minorities including Huguenots, Mennonites, Anabaptists, Catholics, Lutherans, and Jews from England, France, Holland, Germany, Finland, Wales, and Ireland.

One of his first customers was Major Jasper Farmar. Major Jasper had lived for many years upon his estate in Garranekinnefeake, or “Garron Kenny Fange” Parish, village of Midleton, County of Cork, Ireland. His brother, John Farmar, resided on his estate in the neighboring village of Youghal. William Penn’s father had been granted lands in County Cork, Ireland for his services during the English Civil War. With Sir Penn’s failing health, William was sent to manage the estate in 1666, and when Sir Penn died in 1670, young William, then twenty-six years old, inherited “Penn’s Castle” – over 5,000 acres across eight square miles of land near the present village of Shanagarry. The villages of Midleton, Youghal, and Shanagarry neighbor each other, and as large landowners in southeast County Cork, the Penn’s and Farmar’s knew each other.

As early as 29th day 10th month 1669, Penn writes in his diary…

“[29th day 10th month 1669] Major fformer & J.Bolese came to me. I had advise from F. din’d and sup’d at sh. I have perus’d Part of ye Jusu. Book.”[1]

[22nd day 11th month 1669] I mett Ger. ff’tz Ger’ld about ye windmill, we concluded on 44lb per An’o & what It shall be adjudg’d more worth by Farmer, & Gale. I paying quitrent.

[10th day 12th month 1669] we left youghall, & w. H. his daughter, R.C. & P.C. & ye rest of us Came to M. ffarmers, & thence to shangary, where we lay being Civilly treated.

[21st day 11 month 1669] I went & Coll Wallis to Coll. Phairs, about ye reference the land was returned 4s 3ds per acre. I paying quitrent. I abated 6d per Acre, & h’t was 3s 9d p Acre. we so agreed on all sides. He before C.Phair Beul ffarmer, Wallis &c: gave vp Inchs y’e hous not to touch & arrears of rent to pay. so we return’d home to C.Phairs ser’t 1s.

[1st day 12th month 1669]. M. ffarmer & M. woodly Came to C. Ceuls I. spoak to them. from thence we Went to Corke. J. Boles being with us. we meet with Coll. Phair. His wife. & seuerall of his ffamely.”[2]

Coincidentally, the Puritan immigration into America’s provinces came to an abrupt halt when Sir Oliver Cromwell came to power, since the primary reason to flee England, religious freedom, was removed. In an ironic twist of fate for a Royalist supporter, the restoration of the monarchy with Charles II in 1661 restored the “need” for immigration, and presumably from his acquaintance and conversations with Penn, provides Major Jasper with the seeds of thought to immigrate to Pennsylvania. Additionally, years earlier his great grandfather, George Fermor, had purchased shares in the Second Virginia Company Charter which funded the Jamestown, Virginia settlement as early as 1609 in which Major Jasper’s distant cousin, Thomas Farmer, had been living since 1616, although not much had been heard from him since 1632.[3]

Penn undoubtedly described Pennsylvania as being more beautiful and fertile than Ireland, with temperate weather, friendly Indians, plenty of wild game, and religious freedom – all overseen by a democratic government operating under a constitution where power was derived from the people.

Major Jasper, dissatisfied with the turbulent political and financial condition of affairs by which he was surrounded, and through his friendship with Penn, was led to embark for a new life by taking up a “Plantation” in the new Province of Pennsylvania. But at the age of seventy-two, with a wife in her late forties, and at least seven children still living at home, it was a personal investment fraught with doubt. One has to wonder the emotional debate and discussions between Major Jasper, Mary, and their children.

In 1682, Major Jasper sent his 29-year-old son, Jasper Farmar, Jr., to make a voyage of investigation in “Penn’s Land.” Pleased at what he discovered, Jasper Jr., on behalf of himself, his father Major Jasper, and his brother Richard, took up, in two tracts, five thousand acres of land by a proprietary patent dated 31 January 1683.

“L. S.: William Penn, Proprietary and Governor of Pennsylvania and the Territories thereunto belonging. At the request of Jaspar Farmar, Junior, in the behalf of his father, Major Jaspar Farmar, his brother Richard and himself, that I would grant him to take up 5,000 acres of land, being of the lands by the Indians called Umbilicamence, fronting At one end upon the River Schuylkill. These are to will and require thee forthwith to survey or cause to be surveyed unto him the said five thousand acres in the aforementioned place where not already taken up, according to the method of townships appointed by me, and make return thereof unto my Secretary’s office. Given at Philadelphia the 3lst of the l0th month, 1683.
Wm. Penn.
For Thomas Holmes, Surveyor-General.”[4]

Every obligation Major Jasper had with his family who wished to remain in Ireland, including his son Samuel, had been settled in preparation for the trip. His oldest daughter Elizabeth had died in 1682, and his daughter Mary Webber, who did not make the trip, had married and received from her father a large dowry. In late August 1685, Major Jasper’s family, as well as the family of his son Jasper Jr., the family of his daughter Katherine Webb, and the servants of all three families, boarded the ship Bristol Merchant commanded by Captain John Stephens. By doing so, Major Jasper Farmar made a full life-changing decision backed by a strong financial commitment. The trip was extremely expensive. Not only were there the costs of the passage for all of his family and their servants, but there was also the added expense to ship all of the family belongings, including their furniture.

The weakness and loss of weight for the passengers aboard the Bristol Merchant left them vulnerable to diseases, and at the age of seventy-five, Major Jasper Farmar was especially vulnerable. Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Mary Farmar buried her husband Major Jasper, her stepson Jasper Jr., her stepdaughter Katherine, and perhaps several others whose names have been lost in history. After a ten-week voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, the Bristol Merchant arrived into the port of Philadelphia, on 10th day 9th month 1685.[5]

“Madame Farmar” settled the land with her family in the fall of 1685, and the surroundings must have been like the Old World, all within eyesight of the neighboring “Manor of Springfield” – land located northwest of Madame Farmar that William Penn had gifted to his first wife, Gulielma Maria Springett in 1681. The entire Farmar plantation would soon become Whitemarsh Township within Montgomery County, and is so named today in the same boundary lines.

Thomas Holmes’ “A Mapp of Ye Improved Part of Pensilvania in America, Divided Into Countyes, Townships and Lotts….” (published circa 1687). Farmar’s plantation located in the center of the map, in present Whitemarsh Township.

Lime was manufactured in Whitemarsh at a very early day, and probably earlier than at any other place in the province. In a letter from Dr. Nicholas More,[6] a physician from London, Chief Justice, and President of the Free Society of Traders, dated from his residence at Green Spring, in the manor of Moreland, 13 September 1686, to William Penn, then in England, that…

“Madame Farmar has found out as good limestone on the Schuylkill as any in the world, and is building with it; she offers to sell ten thousand bushels at sixpence the bushel upon her plantation, where are several considerable hills, and near to your manor of Springfield.”[7]

Madame Farmar was not only optimistic and energetic, but an astute and proven business woman, frequently mentioned with very great respect. James Logan writing to William Penn of Madame Farmer, says “she is a woman of great business ability, and tact.”

Madame Farmar died in late 1686, leaving her estate to her surviving 14-year-old son Edward Farmar. Beginning in the early 1690s, Edward began buying land and selling parcels of the original 5000 patent in 100- to 200-acre plots. The sales served two purposes, one of which was to raise money to cover his expenses, and the other was to satisfy one of the agreement terms when the land was purchased from William Penn. Penn had stipulated that the property was to be subdivided as it was never his intention to re-create a large feudal estate in America as existed in England and Ireland.

In a letter from William Penn to James Logan, Penn references Edward’s desire to confirm ownership of 100 acres in the Manor of Springfield and to sell him an additional 100 acres for £100, a request not satisfied until 1713.

London 28th 5 m 1702
“…pray quiet ed. Farmer, J. Growden, &c: till my son comes, unless I should have more time to [be] perticuler now, w’ch is doubtfull, the winde being faire, after long westerly winds… For the land, It is asking me so much mony out of my pocket. Nor will I let it goe for 4 or 500 acres, but to reduce his other pretentions, & give security for the overplus of the value, if any. And in case it ever was a part of the Mannor of Springfield, I can part with such a quantity. But more of this per my son; only tell ed. Farmer no body else, if not he, shall have a foot of the land requests of me. vale.”[8]

With all of the land buying and selling, Edward has not sold enough property in forty-four years to satisfy William Penn’s agreement with his father Major Jasper Farmar and his brother Jasper Farmar, Jr. as evidenced by the minutes of the Assembly on 11th day 12th month 1734/5:

“That the late Prop’r was pleased to Grant to his father and Uncles who were purchasers of the Tract of 5,000 Acres of Land since called White Marsh the Priviledge of two Fairs every Year and a Market once a Week to be kept on the said Tract of Land provided that within five years they should procure twenty familys to settle and dwell there, which he confesses was not complyed with…”[9]

Edward was commissioned as one of the Justices of the Peace for Philadelphia County on 02 September 1701, and again on 04 September 1704.[10] It was an office he would hold for twenty-six consecutive years to 1727, and again continuously from 1728 until his death in 1745 for a span of over forty years.

For Edward, the office gave him the opportunity to work with his 25-year-old nephew Thomas Farmar, the son of Edward’s brother Jasper Jr. and Widow Katherine, who had made the trip to Pennsylvania at the age of ten on the Bristol Merchant. Thomas was personally appointed by William Penn as the High Sheriff of Philadelphia City and County on 20 June 1700 and was appointed again in 1701.

Part of his duties was to act as a water bailiff with the power to execute all legal process against any person, ship, or goods upon the Delaware River. Believing that the commission infringed upon his authority, Governor Robert Quary of Carolina complained on 14 November 1700 to the Lords of the Admiralty and the responsibilities were removed from Thomas.[11] As High Sheriff, Thomas was to keep the peace and enforce the law, while his uncle Edward Farmar as Justice of the Peace would have tried the cases and meted the punishment to those Thomas arrested. Among his other duties was to collect taxes, a task he did not do well for fear of making himself unpopular with the citizens who did not like the levies. After Edward Shippen,[12] Nathan Stanbury, Isaac Norris, and William Carter made a complaint to the Council on 03 February 1702, the responsibility was then relegated to William Tonge who was appointed on recommendation of the Governor and Council as “under sheriff” to collect the taxes and do it promptly.[13] Additionally, John Furnis was also employed by William Penn in 1701 to collect the £2000 tax in the town, “after Thomas Farmer had failed to discharge his Duty therein.”[14]

Thomas held the office until he resigned his commission in August 1703 with a desire to move back to England as noted in the Council minutes.

“Thomas Farmar High Sheriff of the City and County of Philadelphia acquainted ye Board that having a design to transport himself to England he must crave leave to lay down his said office, and therefore requested the Board that another might be appointed.”[15]

Another Farmar-Penn connection occurs on 22 August 1751, when 27-year-old Lady Juliana Fermor, Edward’s third cousin-twice removed, marries 49-year-old Thomas Penn, the son of William Penn, in St. George’s Church in Hanover. A section has been included in the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.

[1] Penn, “William Penn’s Journal of His Second Visit to Ireland,” p.59.

[2] Penn, “William Penn’s Journal of His Second Visit to Ireland,” p.59, p.62, p.63, p.65. Penn’s use of the abbreviations “F.” or “ff.” may also reference Major Jasper, but have been omitted. References to “M. ffarmer” and other various spellings denotes Major Jasper, whereas the omission of “M.” may be to Jasper’s brother John.

[3] Farmer, “Thomas Farmer, Jamestown Adventurer:  His History, Descendants, & Ancestors,” p.15-16. Major Jasper Farmar’s grandfather, George Fermor, and Thomas Farmer’s father, John Farmer of Cookham, were second cousins as both were the great grandchildren of Thomas Richards alias Fermor. It is highly questionable if Major Jasper (born 1610) knew Thomas Farmer (born 1593) as Major Jasper was age six when Thomas departed for Virginia in 1616. It is possible that during the return trips Thomas made to England, that he did meet Major Jasper, or news of Thomas’ stories in America from other relatives may have reached Major Jasper.

[4] Bean, History of Montgomery County, p.1139.

[5] Mann, “Fort Washington Historic Environs,” p.203 states “September 10, 1685” possibly due to a mistranslation between Julian and Gregorian calendars.

[6] Bean, History of Montgomery County, p.vii of Appendix. Nicholas More, a physician from London, arrived soon after William Penn, in 1682, and had conveyed to him by patent, 7th of Sixth Month, 1684, the manor of Moreland, containing nine thousand eight hundred and fifteen acres. About 1685 he commenced thereon the erection of buildings, where he lived and died, calling the place Green Spring.

[7] Bean, History of Montgomery County, p.1139; Hobson et al., Centennial Celebration of Montgomery County, p.53; Published in Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 4, p. 445.

[8] Dunn, et al., The Papers of William Penn, Volume 4:  1701-1718, p.179 & p.181. Joseph Growden claimed 14,000 acres between Poquessing Creek and Neshaminy Creek, but William Penn had agreed to a total of 10,000 acres if Growden could find his father’s deed, and only 5000 acres if not.

[9] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.97. From the minutes of 11th day 12th month 1734/5.

[10] Reference Martin’s Bench and Bar of Philadelphia for additional dates and Justices.

[11] Dunn, et al., The Papers of William Penn, Volume 4:  1701-1718, p.75.

[12] Edward Shippen (1639-1712), a wealthy Quaker merchant, Mayor, Speaker of the Assembly, Chief Justice, and president of the Provincial Council. Born in Methley, Yorkshire, England, he removed to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1668 and then to Philadelphia in 1693-1694. His “Great House,” which was on Second Street, north of Spruce, and overlooked Dock Creek and the river beyond, was occupied for a time in 1699 by William Penn and his family during his second visit (Myers, Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey, and Delaware, 1630-1707, p.332).

[13] Browning, “Philadelphia Business Directory of 1703,” p.734; Scharf, History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, p.180.

[14] Roach, Colonial Philadelphians, p.50. “John Furnis,barber in 1701, had arrived in October 1683 with his father Henry Furnis, and relatives most of whom, including John , were indentured to Robert Turner for four years. Henry took up on rent in 1685 a 50 by 100 foot lot at the northwest corner of Vine and Second Street “in the Governor’s Land adjoining the city;” here he, a sadler by trade, was taxed on an estate rated at £30 in 1693. In 1701, when John Furnis applied for the headland due his relatives, amounting in all to 350 acres, he [was appointed by Penn].”

[15] Minutes of the Provincial Council, vol. 2, p.66.

Philip Farmer is currently assisting families break down their genealogical brick walls and find information on their ancestors. He is also the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the Farmer family’s immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky.

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