Many times in building a family tree, age is a factor in identifying the right parents. This is especially true when the grandfather, father, and/or son shares the same name.
Normally, we apply today’s timelines in our biases. For example, let’s assume we are building a tree for John Smith. A record has John Smith born to Joe Smith, the father of another Joe Smith. However, this record may indicate Joe Smith was 80 years old when his son John was born. Our biases would cause us to think that Joe Smith the younger is the more likely father.
This biased thinking also tricks us into adding non-existent persons into our tree. For example, John Smith is born to Joe Smith, but unlike the example above, there is no Joe Smith Jr. Our biased thinking says that surely Joe Smith didn’t have a son at the age of 80, so it must be a son that we don’t know about… and so we add a Joe Smith Jr. to the tree.
Such is the case for Edward Farmar of Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania, the son of Major Jasper Farmar.
Edward Farmar was born in 1672 when Major Jasper was 62 years old. For some, the age difference doesn’t seem correct, so there must have been two Major Jasper’s. Or for some, Major Jasper’s father Robert was not the son of Sir George Fermor, but rather the son of yet another Robert Farmar. Adding the extra Robert or the extra Major Jasper makes our biased timelines seem more “correct.”
This biased thinking seems even more plausible when considering Major Jasper’s wife, Mary Gamble. How can Mary born in 1614 have a son at the age of 58?
She didn’t. When Mary Gamble died, Major Jasper remarried in 1671 to widow Mary Batsford, age 36. We know this from the birth dates of Edward’s siblings, his Farmar half-siblings, as well as legal documents of his Batsford half-siblings. Yet family trees will show Major Jasper had one wife, and name her Mary Gamble Batsford.
The moral of the story is that adding extra persons in our tree to make our biased timelines “correct” only creates more brick walls for ourselves and other family historians, especially when a deep dive of available records proves otherwise.
In translating Benjamin Franklin’s 1728 shorthand ledger entry for Edward Farmar, did he publish one hundred lines or one hundred copies of a piece entitled “Accts. of Pennsylvania?” The pluralization of accounts would suggest copies, but which “Account of Pennsylvania?” And why? Did Edward write and publish a book!?
Benjamin Franklin Early Years
In 1723, Edward Farmar was a member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly when Benjamin Franklin appeared advocating the printing and usage of paper money. Edward was also present when authorizing bonds and commissioning Franklin to print more of the “Pennsylvania pound.” New Castle and Kent Counties in Delaware had a currency of their own and Edward is listed in an advertisement within the 1726 Mercury newspaper as one of sixty merchants accepting the currency.[1]
1764 three pence note. Doug Coldwell (08 September 2021) CCA-SA 3.0.
On 21 July 1726, Franklin departed from his short stay in London and returned on 11 October to Philadelphia. He secured employment with his former boss, Samuel Keimer, with whom he had worked between October 1723 and March 1724. Two years later, he quit on 01 June 1728 establishing a printing company with his partner, fellow Keimer printer Hugh Meredith.
One of his very early customers was Edward Farmar:
1728: Edward Farmer Esq. Dr. For printing 100 Accts. of Pennsylvania, 1.14.6 [Miller A1]. Contra, For Cash, 1.0.0. For Wm. Dewees junior’s Assumption, 14.6, Total 1.14.6. Ledger A&B 174-75.[2]
Identifying the “Account of Pennsylvania”
In translating Franklin’s 1728 shorthand ledger entry, did Benjamin publish one hundred lines or one hundred copies of a piece entitled “Accts. of Pennsylvania?” The pluralization of accounts would suggest copies, but which Account of Pennsylvania? And why? Did Edward Farmar write and publish a book!?
The papers brought into this meeting last year, left by our deceased Friend, Caleb Pusey [d. 25 February 1727], came under consideration being an essay or preparation for a history of the first settlement of Friends in these countries, and many Friends appearing desirous to have such a history carried on, this meeting orders the papers to be delivered to David Lloyd who offered himself to that service, who with Isaac Norris are deserved to view and consider thm and make what progress they can therein. Friends who have any memorials or collections to the purpose are desired to furnish those Friends therewith as expeditiously as may be.[4]
The timeline fits although “in 1970 Willman Spawn of the American Philosophical Society Library discovered and identified the Pusey manuscript” where it was then transcribed and published.[5] Had Edward published Caleb’s manuscript more than two hundred forty years earlier? When examining the price paid for Penn’s, Thomas’, Budd’s, or Pusey’s rather lengthy history books with the relatively same price for advertisements in the Pennsylvania Gazette, it seems unlikely Edward ordered copies of any of these works, unless the costs of printing newspapers ads ten years later rivalled that of publishing and binding books in 1728.
Thomas Makin’s Encomium Pennsylvaniae
The most likely possibility is Thomas Makin’s Encomium Pennsylvaniae or simply A Description of Pennsylvania (1728), a 76-line Latin poem dedicated to James Logan and later translated in English for Israel Pemberton on 10 July of that year.[6] But as to the reason why Edward would print one hundred copies, the following may provide some insight.
Thomas Makin obituary. Pennsylvania Gazette (22 November 1733), p.5.
On Monday Evening laft [19 November 1733], Mr. Thomas Meakins fell off a Wharff into the Delaware and before he could be taken out again, was drowned. He was an ancient Man, and formerly liv’d very well in this City, teaching a confiderable school; but of late Years was reduc’d to extream poverty.[7]
Eight lines from Makin’s poem accompanied his obituary. In 1728, Edward Farmar had at least three children of age enrolled in receiving an education and Makin may have been a teacher to Thomas, Rachel, or Joseph… and possibly Mary. There is no mention of Edward in the minutes of the Provincial Council or the Provincial Assembly being directed to print, sell, or distribute a publication. It may appear that Edward assisted the old, former Assembly clerk in reversing his poverty by supplying Makin printed copies of his poem to sell, while simultaneously assisting a young 22-year-old printing entrepreneur with big ideas for Pennsylvania.[8]
Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette
Announcement of Samuel Keimer, 01 October 1728.
On 01 October 1728, Keimer announced a new newspaper would be published in the following month called The Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences; and Pennsylvania Gazette but moved to Barbados within a year to escape his debt. Franklin on 02 October 1729 purchased the newspaper and shortened the name to the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin’s surviving ledgers and shop books has entries for Edward and his relations, including entries for his map-making cousin Nicholas Scull II. There are also some entries for his son-in-law Peter Robeson and some entries for his son Samuel Farmar coinciding with their advertisements for land sales, calls to collect on debts, and notices for runaway servants, slaves, or horses.
Announcement of Samuel Farmar. Pennsylvania Gazette (10 March 1742), p.4. Joseph Woolen was the son of Samuel’s second wife Mary (___, Barge, Woolen) Farmar.
As the owner of several local paper mills in Cresham Township and Germantown Township, there are numerous entries with Edward’s son-in-law William Mehls Dewees, who had joined Franklin’s Junto club, meeting on Friday evenings to discuss self-improvement, mutual aid, and ideas to better Philadelphia.
02 March 1729: Wednesday. Nicholas Scull, For 200 bail bonds. 16s.8d [Miller A5]
22 June 1729: Sunday. Nicholas Scull, For 100 summonses. 8s.4d [Miller A8]. 1 Doz. counter bail bonds. ls.8d [Miller A9]. Ledger A&B 172.
01 September 1729: Monday. Nicholas Scull, For 20 bail bonds [Miller A10]. l.8. Ledger A&B l72.
05 October 1729: Sunday. Nicholas Scull, 100 notes of hand. 8s.4d [Miller A12]. For An Account Book, 10.4-1/2. Ledger A&B 172.
16 December 1729: Tuesday. Nicholas Scull, Dr. For an Advertisement of the Servt. in Gaz. 57 [16 Dec], 3.0. Ledger A&B 172. Cf. 15 June 1730.
22 September 1729: Monday. Nicholas Scull, For 200 bail bonds [Miller A11]. l.6.8. Ledger A&B l72.
01 April 1738: By an Order on Justice Farmer retd., 14.6., Total 99.3.4
20 March 1739: For Cash per Samuel Farmer, 1.10.0.
28 March 1739: Wm. Dewees, Dr. for Cash per Samuel Farmar, 1.10.0
07 July 1740: Mr. Nich[olas] Scull, Cr. in Part £6. Ledger D 149.
1740. Mr. Nich[olas] Scullis, Dr. For a Note of Hand in 1733, 5.0.0. Ledger D 149.
01 May 1741: Mr. Nich[olas] Scull, Dr. Cash pd. the Library, 10.0. Ledger D 149.
09 May 1745: Peter Robinson, Ind’n King, Dr. For Advt. of a Stray in [Gaz], N856 [9 May 1745], 5.0. Ledger D 220.
02 March 1746: Peter Robinson, Ind’n King, Dr. Copy Bk. 2.6. Ledger D 220.[9]
Scull, Nicholas; George Heap; & L. Hebert. A map of Philadelphia and parts adjacent : with a perspective view of the State-House (1752). Library of Congress; G3824.P5 1752 .S3.
[1] Scharf et al, History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, vol.1 (1884), p.203.
[2] Lemay. “The Accounts of Benjamin Franklin Through 1747.” University of Delaware. 2006.
[3] Yeakle references Francis Rawle’s “Account of Pennsylvania” with a quote from Rawle’s Ways and Means for the Inhabitants of Delaware to Become Rich printed by Samuel Keimer in 1725, where in some publications it incorrectly states the work was printed by Benjamin Franklin. (Yeakle, “Whitemarsh,” Historical Sketches. A Collection of Papers Prepared for the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, vol.1 (1895), p.24).
[8] With 12 pence in a shilling, and 20 shillings in 1 pound, Edward spent 240p to print 100 copies, and Makin’s profit would be any value exceeding a unit cost of ~2-1/2p. For comparison, Franklin printed his 6600-word pamphlet a year later in Modest Inquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency (1729) and sold each copy for 6p.
[9] Lemay, “The Accounts of Benjamin Franklin Through 1747,” University of Delaware. 2006. Entries noted by “Miller” reference the imprints recorded in C. William Miller’s Benjamin Franklin’s Philadelphia Printing (1974), pp.457-474.
A lot of family trees incorrectly have Rachel Astley as the wife of Edward Farmar. Is his wife Rachel Ellis/Roberts as other researchers suggest?
In an earlier post, it was related that the Astley surname first appears in the Philadelphia region around the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. Yet, on a July 1685 land deed between William Penn and the local Indians, appears the name of Will Asley. The purchased land becomes the land inherited by Edward.
Jim White in his book Boone Family to America, 1670-1720, Volume II (2009) has Edward’s wife as Rachel Ellis, the daughter of Robert and Elin Ellis who immigrated in 1690 from Tyddyn Y Garreg, Merioneth, Wales, to Philadelphia. More research was required to determine the validity of White’s claim, as the book cites a source with no mention of Edward.
Tyddyn Y Garreg Meeting House
Further, White’s book claims that John Farmer, Edward’s brother, is the “Quaker of Essex” who traveled throughout the America’s from 1711-1714. Julie Miller’s research of John Farmer’s diary shows White’s claim to be untrue.
Using publicly available books, I started a family tree for Rachel’s siblings, who all adopted the surname “Roberts.”
I then used my father’s autosomnal DNA results to find the name “Ellis” or “Roberts” in the family trees of 6-8 cousin matches. I had purchased an AncestryDNA kit as a Christmas gift for my father in 2017; his DNA results became an invaluable tool that proved Samuel Chase Early was his great grandfather.
It was a very tedious process of elimination for a LOT of family trees. Not only did the Ellis or Roberts surname have to appear as a direct ancestor in the cousin’s pedigree, but no other surname in my father’s pedigree had to appear in the cousin’s pedigree, or match with other surnames in the Ellis/Roberts’ pedigree.
Why? To rule out any other DNA possibilities. If a cousin descended from a Farmer, is it a match due to the Farmer DNA, or Ellis/Roberts DNA? If an ancestral Farmer married an Osborne, and the cousin’s ancestor married an Osborne, is it a match due to the Osborne DNA? This also means that some descendants of Robert Ellis were eliminated if they married into families common with my father’s pedigree.
I needed trees that ONLY share the Ellis/Roberts connection. And in doing so, could also irrefutably prove that Stephen Farmer was the great grandson of Edward Farmar.
This is not an easy task. A full pedigree will have 196 persons across seven generations. And of course, family trees have to be correct. This can be a problem when family lines abruptly stop with limited information, or when family lines have children associated with the wrong parent (e.g. a son as offspring to his step-mother). Trees with good documentation were sought and used.
Out of THOUSANDS of trees, below are eight possibilities that were considered as examples of the painstaking effort to prove the identity of Edward’s wife.
The pedigree of R.M. and J.M., sharing 16-26 cm across one segment. 5ggp Jane Roberts (1750-1820), parents unknown, married James Maxwell (1745-1821). Common surnames? 5ggp William Long (1750-1770) who married Martha Davis (1754-1840).
The pedigree of R.B., sharing 19-23 cm across one segment, and whose mother Roberts can be traced 11 generations to William Roberts (1630-1670), including those in Pennsylvania at the same time frame as Rachel Ellis. Common surnames? 7ggp Alexander Cummins (1736- ).
The pedigree of S.M., sharing 14-22 cm across one segment. 4ggp Thomas Roberts (1790-1837). Common surnames? 9ggp Peter Krehbiel (1656- ) of Switzerland with name changes through the generations similar to Grabeel of Switzerland.
The pedigree of C.C., sharing 14-16 cm across one segment. 8ggp Alice Roberts (1640-1704). Common surnames? 7ggp Thomas Worrel (1686-1732).
The pedigree of M.W., sharing 13-15 cm across one segment. 7ggp Edward Ellis (1659- ). Common surnames? 5ggp Henry Gay (1704-1779), along with Thomas and Thompson.
The pedigree of T.S., sharing 14-17 cm across one segment. 5ggp Adonijah Roberts (1755- ). Common surnames? None.
The search continues for the perfect tree, especially one that has a direct descendant of Robert and Ellin Ellis with no other surname matches. The pedigree of T.S. listed above is very promising, with further research needed into the identity of Adonijah Roberts.
For now, DNA results do suggest that the identity of Edward Farmar’s wife is Rachel Ellis.
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. A sequel is currently in work.
“Very well written and researched…” L. King
“I love your work… Very interesting!” B. H. Baker
“Amazing research!” J. Shipley
“Wonderfully researched, well written… recommend it even if you’re not related to the Farmar’s…” D. Roark
“Excellent book! We highly recommend!” E. Wolf
“Very informative and interesting. I could not put it down.” E. Farley
