Dr. Richard Farmar Archives - PHILIP ALAN FARMER

July 4, 2019December 17, 2020

Edward’s Relatives & The American Revolutionary War

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dewees approached the railing and addressed the crowd.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Amazing research!” Ms. J. Shipley

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

September 28, 2018December 17, 2020

Dr. Richard Farmar

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Soon after the start of the American Revolutionary War on 19 April 1775, Richard’s wife Eliza was dismayed by the actions of the British, evidenced in a letter to her nephew Jack Halroyd, a clerk at the East India Company in London.

“June 28th, 1775

My Dear Jack-

We have nothing going on now but preparations for war… there is hardly a man that is not old but is leaving, except the Quakers; and there is two Companys of them, all in a Pretty Uniform of Sky blue turn’d up with white. There is Six or Seven different sorts of Uniforms beside a Company of light Horse and one Rangers and another of Indians: these are all of Philadelphia; besides all the Provinces arming and Training in the same Manner for they are all determined to die or be Free. It is not the low Idle Fellow that fight only for pay, but Men of great property are Common Soldiers who secretagogue hgh say they are fighting for themselves and Posterity. There is accounts come that they are now fighting at Boston and that the Army set Charles Town on fire in order to land the Troops under cover of the Smoak…

The People are getting into Manufacture of different Sorts particularly Salt Peter and Gunpowder; the Smiths are almost all turned Gunsmiths and cannot work fast enough. God knows how it will end but I fear it will be very bad on both sides; and if your devilish Minestry and parliment don’t make some concesions and repeal the Acts, England will lose America for, as I said before, they are determined to be free…”[8]

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

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

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

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

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]

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.

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

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

“Amazing research!“ Ms. J. Shipley

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

September 26, 2018December 17, 2020

Major Samuel Farmar

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dr. Richard Farmar (1709-1791)

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

According to Burke’s Landed Gentry…

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

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

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[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.