Don’t believe Amazon’s “used book available.” I know how many books have sold, and it’s no where near the number of used books that is advertised. It may sound like a low price, but the resellers are buying it from the same source (Lulu.com) and charging you more for the shipping.
I prefer you buy through Lulu.com. As an author, the retailers charge a VERY HIGH markup to me. I make practically nothing when you buy it through Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Plus, Lulu offers discounts that Amazon or Barnes & Noble doesn’t, which means you might be able to purchase the book cheaper on Lulu… even if you have Prime. The book is shipped from Lulu, so you’re not saving time either… the book will arrive just as fast.
Check often to see the current offer at Lulu.com.
However, I understand if you’re looking to use that gift card.
Stephen Farmer of Harlan County, Kentucky. Who is he? Where did he come from? For many branching their family tree, most have hit a brick wall with these questions.
In 1782 and in 1795, we find Stephen Farmer purchasing large tracts of land in Lincoln County, Kentucky an area which will later become Knox County in 1799, and will later become Harlan County. The 1795 deed has Stephen purchasing 481.75 acres of land at forty shillings an acre, or £963,10.
But he doesn’t immediately move to Lincoln County. What we do find is that sometime prior to 1796, Stephen relocates to Hawkins County, Tennessee and resides there for about seven years. It is from Hawkins County that the Ledford’s joined the Farmer’s in their move to Kentucky, as supported by census records and the Ledford family history in John Egerton’s book, Generations: An American Family (1st ed. 1983, 2nd ed. 2003). It’s also further supported by Stephen’s grandson, Felix Gilbert Farmer, as he recounts his father William’s birth in Reverend John J. Dickey’s diary.
The evidence we have raises a lot of questions.
The £963,10 paid by Stephen for his land in 1795 is the equivalent of $165,203 today, and that’s just for one of the tracts he buys. How does he afford this large sum of money?
Why didn’t Stephen move to Kentucky in 1795? Why wait before moving?
Where in Hawkins County did Stephen and his family reside?
Where were they living prior to Tennessee?
In the 500-page book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh, we trace the Farmer’s arrival into Philadelphia from Ireland in 1685, to the “hornet’s nest of rebellion” in Rowan County, North Carolina, and into the New River Valley of southwestern Virginia. The book includes a biographical sketch of Stephen Farmer that provides answers to the questions above, as well as a special chapter as to why many family trees erroneously have John Farmer as his father. For those not related to Stephen Farmer, the book is not a “family tree” and the historical narrative provides insight into the westward immigration experienced by many early American families.
Philip Farmer is the 4th great grandson of Stephen Farmer and author of Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh. He currently assists others with their genealogical brick walls.
When branching your genealogy, go slow or risk having to cut the family tree down.
For those researching their genealogical roots, Ancestry.com offers convenience. They offer access to records, a social media outlet for networking, and positive reinforcement to continue your search.
The advertisements make it sound so easy. Enter a name and some vital information such as a birth date or spouse’s name, and a leaf appears hinting that a record may be attributed to the person you seek. Even the commercials make it appear that Ancestry will map out your entire branch.
If only it were that easy.
You still must determine if the hinted record actually belongs to your person in question. Be prepared to think that it does, only to find another record that proves that it isn’t. For example, you see a census record, attach it to your tree, and proceed to fill in the names of the spouses and children. Then later, you find a will and realize you had the wrong person.
Trying to fix your tree and determine which record should be kept or which record should be ignored will consume a lot of time. In most cases, it will take more time to untangle your branches than it did to grow them. It’s a painful lesson learned to always document, document, document. And document some more until you are absolutely sure or have reached a strong level of confidence.
Which brings us to “user submitted data” such as browsing other family trees, forum posts, “US & International Marriage Records, 1560-1900”, Family Data Collection, and Yates Publishing.
Before I continue, let me make clear that I am not denigrating the hard work others have put into their trees or the information they have publicly shared for others to fact-check. And, I am not faulting Ancestry or Yates Publishing for their “service.” I am recommending that others use them as a resource(a starting point), but not as a source(actual fact).
What is “user submitted data” and why should you be cautious?
First, raiding other family trees and reading forum posts as a resource should be self-evident that other professional or armchair genealogists have submitted their opinionbased on an actual record. Hopefully, their source has been referenced for others to find it. In the absence of any citation, information that may have appeared on their source and omitted in their reporting can skew the interpretation of the facts.
For example, I find a marriage record for Ebenezer Geezer and Sally Spinster and write about it in a forum post or add it as a note in my gallery. But there’s more than just the names of the bride and groom, such as where and when were they married? What if I originally misread the dates and location? It now becomes easy for others to latch onto and continue to spread the misinformation.
As for “US & International Marriage Records, 1560-1900”, Family Data Collection, and other data furnished by Yates Publishing, they appear to be official-sounding sources. But they’re also user submitted. If I put Ebenezer Geezer in a family tree and attribute all sorts of erroneous information to him, this unverified data finds its way into databases where it is resold.
Even the fine print provided by Ancestry absolves them of any liability and leaves the verification to their members.
“Millions of individual records were created (while gathering genealogical data for use in the study of human genetics and disease) from birth, marriage and death records; obituaries; probate records; books of remembrance; family histories; genealogies; family group sheets; pedigree charts; and other sources… When you find the name of an ancestor listed, confirm the facts in original sources, such as birth, marriage, and death records, church records, census enumerations, and probate records for the place where the even took place… Despite the absence of cited documentation, the electronic rights to the data were purchased, rather than see it destroyed.”
Essentially, like everything on any other genealogical site or service, they’re hints, not facts. And like every other hint or “fact”… verify, verify, verify.
In 1682, Major Jasper Farmar sent his son Jasper Jr. to purchase 5,000 acres in Pennsylvania. Jasper Jr. then made the return trip to Ireland to gather his family and sail again for Philadelphia in 1685. Like his father and his sister, he never arrived and was buried at sea.
Jasper Jr.’s son Thomas Farmar, who was ten years old, and nephew to 14-year-old Edward Farmar (Major Jasper’s son), would grow up on Staten Island after his mother, Widow Katherine, remarried a British naval officer, Captain Christopher Billopp.
On 20 June 1700, at the age of twenty-five, Thomas was personally appointed by William Penn to be High Sheriff of Philadelphia City and County. He was reappointed until he resigned his commission in August 1703, when he sailed to England and married his step-sister Anne Billopp, Captain Billopp’s daughter.
In 1705, Thomas returned to America and settled on Staten Island. The 1708 Census of Staten Island has Thomas, age thirty-three, his children, and “Nansie Farmar, a woman.” Nancy was a common nickname for Ann, Anna, or Agnes in the eighteenth century.
Fast forward eighty-two years to 1790 and we find Edward Farmar’s great grandson Stephen Farmer marrying Nancy Russell according to family tradition. Nancy’s background to include her birth date, birth place, parents, and siblings is just as elusive as Stephen’s.
Stephen and Nancy moved from Virginia, into Tennessee, into Kentucky, and back into Tennessee. When using the 1840 federal census in locating Stephen and Nancy’s residence, or determining if they had passed away, there is an enumeration for “Sarah Farmer” in Hawkins County, Tennessee with information that closely matches Nancy Russell, assuming her husband Stephen had passed away.
Up to 1840, Nancy’s name has not appeared on a birth certificate, marriage license, census record, land deed, or any other reputable proof that Stephen’s wife is named Nancy. Given that we have no record for a “Nancy Russell,” have we mistaken the name of Stephen’s wife, and her name is actually Sarah?
Perhaps her birth name was Sarah Ann Russell and she had the nickname Nancy?
More information can be found in the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh available now through our partner LuLu Printing.
Some records are not on Ancestry.com and require good research, like this land abstract for Stephen Farmer, Harlan County.
Just type in a name and a leaf appears! But what happens when your branch isn’t growing? Be prepared to do some real digging…
Genealogy is a billion-dollar industry that has spawned profitable websites, television shows, books, and a cottage industry with DNA testing. A 2014 study found that genealogy is the second most popular hobby in the United States after gardening. It is also the second most visited category of websites after pornography.
At the forefront of genealogical research is Ancestry.com. Their slick marketing suggests that just by typing in a name, voila!… a leaf will appear to help you build your family tree.
If only it were that easy. While leafy hints do suggest that a document may pertain to your relative, be aware that the record may not be associated with the person you are looking for. As Ancestry explains, the user must still determine if the record is factual and relevant.
Sometimes, there are no hints, even when you continue to add more information such as birth date, birth place, death, marriage, spouse, children, residence, gender, and other vital data. If you were relying on the software to build your tree, you may discover that you’ll need to invest a lot of time into your research.
Here are some tips to help you:
Conduct a surname search of the available records. If your results come up empty, try different variations of the name which may have been phonetically entered into the record. For example, if you’re looking for your great grandfather John Rhodes, try Rhodes, Rhoads, Roads, Roades, etc.
What happens if your surname search yields no results? It may be possible that the records are not indexed, and you may find yourself conducting a line-by-line item search of names in the record collection, with many of the names written in poor manuscript.
As with any record you find or that is presented as a hint, always run a proof test. Are the source records accurate? Does the data make sense? Have you resolved any conflicting evidence?
While genealogical sites have their exhaustive databases, you should try using other services. For example, the search engine on the Library of Congress’ digital newspaper collection yields better results than Newspapers.com, but Newspapers.com has more functions. By searching the Library of Congress first to find the article I need and then going to Newspaper.com to retrieve and store the article works best.
Other family trees, books, and articles are good resources – even better if they cite the source. However, be cautious – there are some bad family trees and books out there. Regrettably the incorrect data finds its way into numerous trees which is then cited as “fact” in forums.
Be cautious with “member submitted data” such as Family Data Collection and Yates Publishing. They may be a good starting resource, but they are unreliable sources. The data is inputted by members and then quoted back to other members as “fact” (either directly or indirectly through a third party). For example, if a user created a person called “Ebenezer Geezer b.1765,” and another user were to add Ebenezer to their tree, Ancestry.com will provide “Ebenezer Geezer b.1765” as a record from “The Family Data Collection.”
Always document the location of your source and your conclusion, even if you think it is wrong or irrelevant. You may find a second source that supports the first source. If you had rejected the first source, you may discover that trying to find it again takes more time than when you originally found it.
If a leaf doesn’t appear, don’t be discouraged. Spend the time to do your research the old-fashioned way. You’ll find those late night stints to be even more rewarding.
Philip Farmer has been helping families break down their genealogical brick walls. He has also authored a biographical history book, Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh, that captures a family’s story of continual immigration to the edge of America’s expanding frontier.
Have you hit your brick wall? Let go of what you “know”
Frequently, I’m approached from others about their brick wall. Just in the past few months…
…A family looking for their grandfather who died in Ohio in February 1913. I found he was murdered in Kentucky in November 1914 while betting a watch on a game of cards.
…Two separate families for information on Rose who had five children, all by different fathers in the 1890’s. I found three of the fathers; still looking for the other two.
…Several families looking for the father of two children, born to a woman in the 1860’s whose husband was tried, convicted, and hanged. Contrary to public belief, the father never hanged; one of the children was his and the other was adopted.
…A LOT of families with their brick wall about Stephen Farmer (1766-a.1840), progenitor of Harlan County, Kentucky. I can trace his roots all the way to 1066. Yes, that’s ten sixty-six.
They all have a common theme: holding on to what you “know.” How many times do you convince yourself because “family history is…” or “this genealogy book has…” or the worst culprit of “everyone says…”? Here’s another personal favorite: “Families stayed in one spot, so it can’t be XXX because they’re living in YYY…”
Sometimes, you need to let go of what you know… not completely, just enough so you do not limit your search or neglect what was always true. It may require you to continually ask “what if…?” or “is it possible that…?” Family history is that Rose’s daughter married a sheriff. Actually, her father was sheriff, but knowing/keeping that tidbit helped.
And Stephen… Almost every family tree has John as his father which can be traced back to two genealogy books as early as 1966, yet can be refuted with DNA and good digging. His ancestors lived a fascinating life, and while we can’t yank the wrong books off of the shelf, I wrote one to correct it. More info at www.philipalanfarmer.com.
In 1751, notices appeared in the weekly Pennsylvania Gazette that Samuel Farmar at the age of fifty-six had been released from debtors’ prison.
“Whereas Samuel Farmar, of the township of White-marsh, in the county of Philadelphia, upon Petition to the justices of the court of Common Pleas, was lately discharged from confinement for debt, by virtue of the law, for the relief of insolvent debtors, and his lands and effects were, by appointment of the court, assigned to the subscribers, for the use of themselves, and other the creditors of the said Samuel Farmar…”
It wasn’t uncommon for men of prominent status to find themselves in debt. Two signers of the Declaration of Independence spent time in debtors’ prison – James Wilson and Robert Morris. Wilson suffered financial ruin from a land speculation bubble that resulted in the Panic of 1796-1797. He was imprisoned while serving as the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court before he died of a stroke in 1798. Although regarded as one of the founders of the United States financial system, co-signer Robert Morris also invested heavily in land. He too was affected by the Panic of 1796-1797, went bankrupt, and spent three years in Prune Street Debtors’ Prison from 1798-1801. William Penn was imprisoned for debt in England, partially due to his partner’s embezzlements, and partly due to his son William Jr.’s gambling debts.
According to the article, Samuel settled all of his debts by transferring his land to William Barge and Peter Robeson. William Barge was Samuel’s stepson by marriage to William’s mother Mary Barge Wooling in 1741. Peter Robeson was his brother-in-law having married Samuel’s sister, Sarah Farmar. With all debts settled, Samuel moved his wife and children to Rowan County, North Carolina, an area that his daughter Martha and son-in-law Israel Boone were residing.
In an interview with Reverend John J. Dickey on 05 May 1898, Felix Gilbert Farmer states:
“My grandfather, Stephen, was born on the New River, North Carolina… The Farmers are German not Dutch…”
Actually, Stephen was English.
Modern DNA and other genealogical research shows that Stephen was the great grandson of Edward Farmar. It also shows that Stephen was a distant relative of Thomas Farmer the Adventurer, who came to Jamestown, Virginia in 1616.
Edward was the youngest son of Major Jasper Farmar, an English officer serving and residing in Ireland.
So why would Felix think that his ancestors were German, and not Dutch?
It is highly likely that the German immigrants settling in the Appalachians were commonly referred to as “Dutch” due to the similarity in pronouncing Deutsch. However, this doesn’t explain why Felix would claim his heritage as German.
In 1685, Major Jasper and almost all of his family immigrated to Pennsylvania aboard the Bristol Merchant. The 5,000-acre tract that his father purchased comprises present Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County. Before 1854, Whitemarsh Township neighbored Germantown Township, Philadelphia County. The Frankfurt Land Company and thirteen families from Germany first settled this area in 1683, hence its name.
Within a year, most of Edward’s family had either died on the transatlantic voyage or soon after arriving into Philadelphia. Orphaned at the age of fourteen, Edward furthered his education in Pennsylvania. Edward would also work closely with Francis Daniel Pastorius, one of the early prominent settlers of Germantown.
With the neighboring Germantown and the increase in German immigration, more than a third of the local citizens would soon be speaking the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect, which sounds similar to German. As Edward’s sons and grandsons immigrated into North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky with the other settlers, it is highly likely that Stephen still had his Pennsylvania Dutch accent.
Through our partner Lulu Printing, we’re pleased to announce that Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh is now available for purchase in both premium paperback and hardcover.
This book is not another “family tree book” that records vital statistics of births, deaths, and marriages!
Covering a span of 155 years, the narrative balances local history and the lives of several families who were constantly pushing the boundaries of America’s new frontier.
Over 490 pages of politics, crime, romance, war, sorrow, and hope.
Provides historical perspective into family immigration into and across America.
Includes biographies of other prominent friends and associates in Philadelphia.
Includes biographies of intermarriages into the Dewees, Robeson, Greenfield, and Boone families.
Includes illustrations, maps, and records.
Includes cited material and an extensive bibliography.
Concludes with a biographical sketch of Stephen Farmer, progenitor of Harlan County, Kentucky and why family trees incorrectly have John Farmer as his father.
“This book taught me more than what I learned in school…”
