In this multi-part blog series, we examine “Hiram Fee” to educate genealogical research and deduction methods.
Obituary of Hiram Jones Fee. Source: Jackson County Banner, IN (31 May 1950), p.2.
So you’re researching your ancestors and you’re trying to determine if your person of interest belongs in your family tree. In our last blog, we started with two basic steps to prevent you from adding someone that does not belong on your branch:
Step #1 advised to stop with you what you know (or, what you
have). This is especially true if your person of interest shares a name with another
local person. Step #2 advised to expand the family branches. This will help with
uncovering multiple persons with the same name, and it will assist when coming across
documents that describe a family relationship such as a step relative, niece, nephew,
uncle, aunt, or cousin.
Once you’ve expanded the family branches, it’s time to move on
to the next step:
STEP #3: EXAMINE OTHER FAMILY TREES TO GATHER CLUES.
Note this step doesn’t state “copy other family trees.” Why?
Because there are both good and bad trees out there. There are also branches that
are not complete or properly vetted; information is there as a place holder based
on Step #1 “Stop with what you know (or have).” I am guilty of having incomplete
branches until I can properly research the information and draw the conclusions.
When mapping your family tree, there’s no reason to “reinvent the wheel” when you can start from the work of others. For this blog, we’ll focus on the fifteen public trees on Ancestry.com; however, there are many other public trees on other sites that you could (or should) examine. After looking through the fifteen trees, we now have possible names and dates for Hiram and for his parents, spouse(s), and children… as well as two locations: Kentucky and Indiana.
After analyzing the tree data, seven trees have his name as “Hiram J. Fee” while six have his name as “Hiram Jones Fee.” The other two are simply “Hiram Fee.”
Eight of them don’t have any parents listed. Of the remaining seven, two have Hiram’s parents as Hiram Fee and Rebecca Ann Jones, while the other five have his parents listed as Henderson Fee and Sarah Osborne. Thirteen of the trees have his spouse as Louisa Adeline Hensley (1878-1967). Two trees also show a second wife of Susan Alice Reed (1898-1967), and only one tree has a third wife, Sallie Farmer.
Almost all of the trees agree that Hiram had three sons (James
Lawrence, Silas, Frank Finley, and Garrett Charles) and two daughters (Artie Lissie
and Annie Ethel) with his wife Louisa. Tree #9 adds Alabama, Chester, and Dora.
The two trees showing Hiram with wife Susan show two sons (Lee Clellan and Hiram)
and a daughter (Verna). None of the trees show any children with his wife Sallie.
What do you do if your person of interest is not in any other
family tree? Jump right to Step #4…
STEP #4: GATHER EVIDENCE OF POSSIBILITIES.
This step entails taking the data in Step #3 and finding every possible birth, death, marriage, or legal record for every name in those trees. It also includes searching through newspaper articles and obituaries. At this stage, we’re not attaching those records to our trees… we’re simply trying to find all available data before we can make any conclusions.
I am a firm believer that those who ignore documents because it doesn’t fit a mental picture of what they thought they should find are those persons that encounter their brick walls faster than others.
So although we started our search with an 1880 federal census of a Hiram Fee, son of Henderson and Sarah Fee, we’ll want to search all possibilities. For example, we’ll also want to find any Hiram Fee’s associated with Hiram Fee and Rebecca Wells. We’ll also want to find a record to determine why Tree #13 has a birth date of 1862, regardless of how strongly we may feel that our Hiram was born in 1875 or 1876.
We don’t want to ignore any document we find. For example, if
we find a document with “Granville R. Fee,” we don’t want to reject it because we
have “Granville W. Fee” or “Granville White Fee” on our list.
We’ll want to locate records for every combination of his spouses’
name. Tree #4 and #5 indicate that Louisa married a “Collins.” Therefore, conducting
a search for “Louisa Collins” may yield a death certificate, obituary, or other
document with very important information on it.
As we conduct our records search, more names will appear. For
those names, we may need to revert back to Step #1 and then follow steps two through
four.
Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of Stephen Farmer’s family immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky. Complete with bibliography and footnotes that supports the research. Check out LuLu’s current discounts which may save you money than purchasing through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, or other retailers.
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
“Very informative and interesting. I could not put it down.” Ms. E. Farley
In this multi-part blog series, we examine “Hiram Fee” to educate genealogical research and deduction methods.
Several weeks ago, I was on the telephone with a gentleman who had questions regarding the westward expansion from Grayson County, Virginia into Kentucky. Amidst the explanations of King George’s Royal Proclamation of 1763, Richard Henderson’s Transylvania Company, and Daniel Boone’s development of the Wilderness Trail through the Cumberland Gap, he made an inquisitive statement.
“How do people know that the person they’ve added into their tree is really the person that should be in their tree?”
Good question.
Assume I introduce myself as Phil when you and I meet on a busy
street. You would most likely accept my introduction. But how do you really know
my name is Phil? You could ask for my drivers license. But how do you know the license
is mine? How do you know the information on the license is correct? You could ask
for my birth certificate and verify my age. You could even ask for my utility bill
and verify my address.
Quite simply, given the circumstances in how the information
is presented, you’ll accept a level of data on faith. We live in a time where identification
cards are issued with additional checks and balances. We accept a drivers license
has the correct and necessary information, even if we lied a little on our height
and weight, which does not require proof. And faith only goes so far. If you were
a store clerk and I was to write you a check, you’d need some additional documents
to believe that the check was from my bank account. If you were a coroner in the
absence of verbal statements or written documents, you might verify my dental records
or DNA.
What you have then is a system of people defending their faith
or belief with the available information. I believe you are who you say you are
because you told me. Or because you have some form of identification. Or because
the science proves it. And yes, even with increasing levels of data, some people
will continue to question its validity, or refuse to accept data contrary to their
belief.
The same is true for genealogy. It is a system where you assess
historical documents, examine DNA markers, take a leap of faith, and occasionally
challenge assumptions. And regrettably, get involved in an argument as to who is
“more correct.”
So there have been a few blogs regarding cautionary advice on “user submitted data” and today’s “click and save” software which makes it easy to build your family tree, or makes it just as easy to screw it up. One blog cautioned that even with “leafy hints” you may still have to do some hard work to find the family connections. The blog on Enos “Bear” Hensley was an example of how you might have to really sort out the information at hand. There is a lot of online advice against copying another person’s tree.
One common issue you may face is what to do when confronted with
multiple people with the same name living in the same vicinity at the same time.
For example, there are about six Gary Farmer’s living in Battle Creek, Michigan.
One is my father; we have no idea who the other five are and have never met them,
yet we are constantly asked if we are related. For those researching the Osborne,
Skidmore, or any family surname where each of the branches names their children
after the patriarch, you know the struggle. For anyone researching a John Smith,
we definitely feel your pain.
Deepest sympathies for those constructing the family tree of John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.
This is probably more evident when reading forums or looking
at family trees in which aspects of multiple people are presented as one. For example,
assume there is a John Doe (1811-1879) married to Susan, and a John Doe (1816-1867)
married to Rachel. Just with two different birth dates, two different death dates,
and two different spouses, if you confused the two, then there are now eight different
combinations of John Doe’s with a John Doe (1811-1867) married to Rachel, a John
Doe (1816-1879) married to Susan, and so on.
One such name is “Hiram Fee” and using him as an example, this
blog is part one in a series that continues the education on genealogical research
and deduction methods.
I first came across a “Hiram Fee” when researching Stephen Farmer’s daughter, Malinda Farmer (1817-1900). Malinda married Enoch Osborne (1811-1860) on 04 November 1834 and together they had a daughter, Sarah J. Osborne (1845-1916). Sarah married Henderson Fee (1839-1918), the son of John Fee and Jane Lee.
The 1870 United States Federal Census shows Henderson and his
wife Sarah. Ten years later, the 1880 United States Federal Census shows Henderson
with his wife Sarah and a son Hiram, age four. The 1900 United States Federal Census
shows Henderson, Sarah, and mother-in-law “Belinda Thompson,” presumably Malinda
(Farmer) Osborne who appears to have remarried after her husband Enoch died in 1860.
1880 United States Federal Census, Harlan County, of Henderson, Sarah, and Hiram Fee.
After adding Hiram as Henderson and Sarah’s son, no leafy hint appeared. So I started a records search. Yet after searching, I had no other document that added a name to what I knew. For example, no death certificate could be found that had Hiram, Henderson, and Sarah’s names, or a marriage document with their names and Hiram’s wife. A Kentucky County Marriage Record has a Hiram Fee marrying a Sallie Farmer on 08 March 1907. But which Hiram Fee? Which Sallie Farmer?
A Hiram Fee marries Sallie Farmer on 08 March 1907 in Harlan County.
It appeared there may be several Hiram Fee’s in Harlan County
at about the same time.
So what do you now?
STEP #1: STOP WITH WHAT YOU KNOW.
If you start attaching a lot of documents and you don’t document
how you came to your conclusions, you’d be painstakingly deconstructing your tree
if your assumption was incorrect and learning the importance to document, document,
document, then verify, verify, verify.
STEP #2: EXPAND THE FAMILY BRANCHES.
When dealing with multiple names in a family surname, you may
need to go beyond a direct ancestor or descendent. I will admit that when I first
started, I didn’t add much information on the spouses’ branches. This is partly
because the amount of work would become overwhelming on family members that were
not direct descendants, and partially because I didn’t need the constant reminder
or spam that I had 1,834,273 hints on those ancestors. If you also adopted that
approach, note that from time-to-time, you may need to research the spouse family
branches, especially when two or more intermarry into the same family (e.g. Mr.
X marries Ms. Y whose brother Mr. Y marries Mr. X’s sister.)
Thus began a process of elimination in branching all of the second,
third, and fourth cousins to determine if more than one Hiram Fee was living in
the same vicinity at the same time.
Click to enlarge. Multiple Hiram Fee’s living in Harlan at the same time.
[Note: This blog edited from an earlier version. The family tree had the spouse of Jane Lee as John Gregg Fee in error.]
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
“Very informative and interesting. I could not put it down.” Ms. E. Farley
Some folks have family trees. Others describe their tree as a stump, or even a bush. Mine turned into a plate of spaghetti.
Over the past month, I’ve been busy with holidays, work, and other activities. Most of my spare time has been consumed with fixing the “problem child’s” in my family tree while researching material for the next book about Stephen Farmer.
Some of the earlier posts advised to go slowly or cut the family tree down, to be aware of user submitted data, and to be wary of leafy hints. One person in the genealogy of Stephen Farmer personified all of this advice and would live up to his nickname… Enos “Bear” Hensley.
July 1913. Far right is Enos “Bear” Hensley standing next to his eldest son William Henry Hensley.
Enos was born in 1868 to George W. Hensley (1841-1918) and Mary Emaline Hensley (1840-1910). On 12 April 1888, he first married Alice Fee, born 1872 to Abner C. Fee (1833-1914) and Lucy “Icy” Farmer (1834-1915). Alice is the great granddaughter of Stephen through William Farmer and Elizabeth Frost.
Family oral history is that Alice was declining in health and, wanting to ensure the welfare of her son William Henry Hensley, asked that Enos marry her sister, Louisiana Fee (1863-1944). Enos and Louisiana married on 17 March 1891.
This is where the tree turned into a complete mess. Enos is shown in the 1900, 1910, and 1930 United States Federal Census residing with Louisiana. Almost immediately, the 1900 census shows three children Fielding, Nettie, and Gilford… all of them born in April, February, and July 1894 respectively.
Ca. 1913. Louisiana (Fee) Hensley with her children (l-r) Corbett holding Barnett (son of Louisiana’s daughter Dona), Alice, and Myrtle.
Were the birth dates entered incorrectly by the census taker? There’s obviously no way that Louisiana gave birth to all three children. If she was married in 1891, was one of them born to Alice?
Turning to other family trees wasn’t very helpful as it seems a lot of other family genealogists were having the same difficulty.
After a week of poring through census, death, marriage, Social Security, and birth records, along with several obituaries describing step siblings and a newspaper article offering additional clues, the mothers of Bear’s children have been identified.
Along with Alice and Louisiana, Enos had children with Minerva Fee (1870-1897) and Sarah Jane Farmer (1875-?)… while still married to Louisiana. Minerva was the daughter of George W. Fee (1848-1931) and Margaret Lee Wilson (1853-1919).
Sarah is a great, great granddaughter of Stephen Farmer. Sarah was born to William F. Farmer (1853-1927) and Martha Fillmore Hall (1856-1920). William is the son of Stephen Farmer (1811-1908) and Jane Fee (1811-?); Stephen was the son of William Farmer and Elizabeth Frost. And as Stephen’s wife Jane Fee was the sister to Abner C. Fee, this also makes Sarah first cousins once removed to Alice and Louisiana. If your head hasn’t complete spun around with the multiple names and distant relationships, the graphic below helps explain it.
The next blog will be about my next problem child… Hiram Jones Fee.
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
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/
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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“Very well written and researched…” Ms. L. King
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“Wonderfully researched, well written… recommend it even if you’re not related to the Farmar’s…”Mr. D. Roark
[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.
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.
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“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
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.
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.
[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.
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.
“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.
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“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.
[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.
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.
[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.
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]
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.
