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.
Find out more in the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.
