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.
When writing the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh, the research that created the biggest headache was in determining who arrived in America, who stayed, who died, and who returned to Ireland.
We know the Farmar family embarked on the Bristol Merchant which may have left Liverpool on 11 August 1685, arrived into County of Cork, Ireland for more passengers, and then arrived into Pennsylvania on 10 November 1685.
70 passengers and their belongings were on the Bristol Merchant, similar to this ship pictured above
The first item to discern was… who made the voyage? Several resources have a different account of the passenger list, which has been compiled below.[1]
Major Jasper Farmar (b, c, d, e, f, g, h)
Mary Farmar, wife of Major Jasper Farmar (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h)
Edward Farmar, son of Major Jasper (a, b, c, d, e, f, g)
Richard Farmar, son of Major Jasper (b, g)
Sarah Farmar, daughter of Major Jasper (a, b, c, d, e, f, g)
John Farmar, son of Major Jasper (a, c, e, f, g)
Robert Farmar, son of Major Jasper (a, b, d, e, f, g)
Catharine Farmar, daughter of Major Jasper (a, b, d, e, f, g)
Charles Farmar, son of Major Jasper (a, b, c, d, e, f, g)
Jasper Farmar, Jr., son of Major Jasper (a, b, c, d, e, f, g)
Catharine Farmar, wife of Jasper Jr. (a, c, d, e, f)
Thomas Farmar, son of Jasper Jr. (a, c, d, e, f)
Elizabeth Farmar, daughter of Jasper Jr. (a, c, d, e, f)
Katherine Farmar, daughter of Jasper Jr. (c, d, e, f)
Edward Batsford, step-son of Major Jasper (a, c, d)
About twenty [b] artisans and Servants, all from Ireland [a]:
Joanna Daly, also “Joan Daly” and “Joane Daly” (a, c, e, f)
Philip Mayow (a, c, e, f)
Helen Mayow, wife of Philip Mayow (a, c, e, f)
John Mayow (a, c, e, f)
John Whitlow, also “Whitloe” (a, c, e, f)
Nicholas Whitlow, also “Whitloe” (a, c, e, f)
Thomas Young, also “Younge” (a, c, e, f)
___ Young, wife of Thomas Young (a, c, e, f)
William Winter (a, c, e, f)
George Fisher (a, c, e, f)
Arthur Smithy, also “Smith” (a, c, e, f)
Thomas Alferry (a, c, e, f)
Henry Wells (a, c, e, f)
Robert Wilkinson, also “Wilkison” (a, c, e, f)
Elizabeth Mayow (a, c, e, f)
Martha Mayow (a, c, e, f)
Albert Dawson (c)
Sarah Burke, possibly also “Sara Binke” (a, c, e, f)
Sheele Oceven, possibly also “Thebe Orevan” and “Shebe Orevan” (a, c, e, f)
Andrew Walbridge (a, c, e, f)
Thomas Webb (e, f, h)
Daniel Webb, son of Thomas Webb (e, f, h)
Servants of Thomas Webb:
John Beltshire (e, f)
John Robinson (e, f)
Richard Ford (e, f)
James Banbury (e, f)
Thomas Case (e, f)
Henry Ford (e, f)
John Fox (e, f)
Derby Haley (e, f)
Joseph Case (e, f)
Thomas Burke (e, f)
John Garrett, also “Garrell” (e, f)
John Mehone (e, f)
David Quinn (e, f)
Mary Widdam (e, f)
Prudence Stuart (e, f)
Katherine Robinson (e, f)
Richard Muske (e, f)
Nicholas Scull, Major Jasper’s nephew through Jasper’s sister Alice (a, e, f, h)
Servants of Nicholas Scull:
Samuel Hall (a, e, f)
Cornelius Davye (a, e, f)
George Gooding (a, e, f)
Miles Morin (a, e, f)
Daniel Morin (a, e, f)
John Ward (a, e, f)
Mary Cantwell, also “Cantrell” (a, e, f)
Thomas Carter, Sr. (e, f)
Frances Carter, wife of Thomas Carter Sr. (e, f)
Thomas Carter, Jr., son of Thomas Carter Sr. (e, f)
Henry Carter, son of Thomas Carter Sr. (e, f)
John Carter, son of Thomas Carter Sr. (e, f)
Ann Carter, daughter of Thomas Carter Sr. (e, f)
The second hurdle was to determine whether Major Jasper Farmar died prior to the voyage, died en route, or died after arriving into Philadelphia.
Dies before the voyage? “When all arrangements had been made for the voyage Major Farmar died, when his widow, Mary and children… embarked on the ship Bristol Merchant, John Stephens, master, and arrived at Philadelphia November 10, 1685…”[3] If Major Jasper dies before the voyage, why is his name on the manifest list?
Dies before he arrives? “Major Farmar did not live to see his colony established as his death occurred just as the vessel came to port in Philadelphia…”[4] and “Some records state that Major Jaspar and his son Jaspar, Jr. both died on the voyage…”[5]
Dies after arriving? “Major Farmar arrived at Philadelphia, September 10, 1685, on board the Bristol Merchant, Captain John Stevens commander, with his family…”[6]
It is generally accepted, based on dates of Major Jasper Farmar’s will and the names on the manifest, that members of the family died en route and were buried at sea.
The third hurdle was determining the children referenced in the will of Major Jasper Farmar’s wife, Madame Farmar, dated 31 October 1686:
“In the name of God, Amen. I, Mary Farmar, widdow and relict of Major Jasper Farmar of Ireland, being weak in health but in perfect memory, blessed by God, doe make this my last Will and Testament in manner and forme followeing, that is to say, Imprimis, I give and bequeath my Soule into the hand of my God my Creator who give it me, and who alone is able to keepe it, and my body to be buried with or neare my children in this towne of Philadelphia…”[7]
Which of the children are buried in Philadelphia who preceded Madame Farmar in death? John Farmar witnessed the will which names Edward Farmar, Edward Batsford, Sarah Farmar, and Katherine (Batsford) Farmar (the widowed wife of Jasper Jr.); therefore, they all survived Madame Farmar. Administration on the estate of Madame Farmar’s other son, William Batsford, states he “died at sea without a Will coming from Ireland to this Province in the eighth month 1684” and was granted “in the second month (April) 1687” to “Edward Batsford, his brother.” It is inferred that William died during his trip in October 1684 on a separate ship as his name does not appear on the manifest of the Bristol Merchant. (reference Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.90.)
Cook states that “[Katherine, Robert, and Charles] were possibly deceased by 31 October 1686, the date of the will of Mary Farmar…”[8] Some accounts state that Katherine Farmar, the daughter of Major Jasper Farmar and Mary Gamble, died and was buried at sea with her father and her brother Jasper Jr. That no records exist for Katherine, Robert, and Charles, after 1685, it is accepted that they are the children referenced in Madame Farmar’s will.
The next hurdle was determining who remained in Pennsylvania. John Farmar is presumed to have returned to England where he married Mary Hayles in 1686 and had a son, John.
The last obstacle was determining if Richard Farmar had joined his family across the Atlantic, and if he did, whether he remained in Pennsylvania. Any evidence is circumstantial, but Richard may not have been on the Bristol Merchant. Only two cited resources have Richard making the voyage, whereas one resource states “[Major Jasper] also settled any financial obligations he may have felt necessary with his two grown sons, Richard and Samuel, who had elected not to make the voyage to America…”[9]
That Richard remains in Ireland is further supported by the last will and testament of Major Jasper Farmar dated 25 September 1685, with Richard’s inclusion on the same line as Samuel Farmar and Mary (Farmar) Webber (who also did not make the voyage).
“In the name of God, Amen. I, Major Jasper Farmer being weak in health but in perfect memory blessed be God doe make this my last Will and testament in manner and forme following that is to say, Imprimus. I give and bequeath my Soule into the hands of Almighty God that gave it and my body to be buryed wherever it shall please the Lord I dye… Item, I give and bequeath unto my sonns Richard Farmer and Samuel Farmer and my daughter Webber in Ireland tenn shillings a peece to bye them mourning rings, and to my sonn Jasper Farmer and daughter Web tenn shillings a peece to buy them rings…”[10]
Deposition: “Major Jasper Farmer to his son Richard Farmer. Be it remembered that Samuel Hunt of Philadelphia in the province of Pensilvania, being legally attested before me Humphrey Morrey, one of the justices of the peace of the County of Philadelphia, Deposeth and saith as followeth, that is to say. That he this Deponent, about the tenth day of September which was in the year 1685, saw a certain Deed from Major Jasper Farmer to Richard Farmer, of that date, sealed and executed by the said Major Farmar unto the said Richard Farmar for a certain ferme purchased by the said Major from one Sir Boyle Maynard, and upon delivery thereof this Deponent heard the said Major demand of Richard Farmar whether he was satisfied and whether he owed him anything. Whereunto the said Richard answered that the said Major owed him nothing upon any account whatever, or words to that effect. And this Deponent further saith that he, this Deponent, was desired by Major Jasper Farmar, since deceased to draw his the said Jasper’s last Will and Testament, dated the twenty fifth day of September 1685, which Will this Deponent drew according to his directions, and which said Will and Testament he the said Major Jasper Farmar, being of sound and perfect memory, at the same time did seal and execute and publish in this Deponent’s and Edward Farmar’s presence, who have subscribed their names as witnesses thereunto. In witness whereof the said Deponent hath hereunto set his hand the 8th day of the 5th month July 1687. (signed) Saml Hunt. Attested by and before me, the day and year aforesaid Humphrey Morrey.”[11]
The disposition of Samuel Hunt attests that on 10 September 1685, he personally saw Major Jasper and his son Richard agree to the settlement of the farm, and witnessed Major Jasper write his will on 25 September 1685. Samuel Hunt isn’t listed on the Bristol Merchant manifest,[12] and Samuel Farmar’s signature on the back of the will further proves the document was written before the family set sail, but still does not prove Richard stayed in Ireland.
“By deed of 23 April 1685, Richard Farmer of Arderrack, Co. Corke, Ireland, gent., conveyed to Thomas Webb of Racannon, Co. Limerick, gent., for £144,4 sterling money of England, his one-quarter part of 5,000 acres granted by patent and which by mutual consent of the patentees is to be divided by the Surveyor General resident in Pennsylvania, together with his share of such goods and servants as were carried over there…”[13]
“…That said Richard Farmer assigned unto said Thomas Webb for ÂŁ144, 4, sterling money of England all his right and title in his said fourth part of the said 5,000 acres and his property of such goods and servants as were carried over by the said Jasper Farmer, Jr. when the Patent was granted…”[14]
Although most accounts chronologically state that Richard “soon” or “shortly after” sells his quarter share of the land during the probate of his father’s will, the date of the land deed implies that four months before the family departs for Pennsylvania, Richard deeded his share of the 5,000 acres along with his belongingsalready in America which arrived on his brother’s trip in 1682, to his brother-in-law Thomas Webb. If so, why would Richard make the voyage and leave behind his wife and four children under the age of nine?
[The other big question: Why did Thomas Webb sell his land to Madame Farmar?]
If Richard had arrived in America, he soon returned to Ireland based on a deed from 3 August 1687:
“John Barnes of Bristol Township, Philadelphia County conveyed to Edward Batsford of the town of Philadelphia, yeoman, for £225 a tract of 500 acres on Tacony Creek in Bristol Twp., subject to a mortgage to secure three bills of exchange for £140 drawn on Edward Boyle of Co. Cork, Ireland, Esq., reciting that “Whereas Mistris Catherine Farmer, relict and executrix of the deceased Jasper Farmer (Jr.) late of the Co. of Cork in the said Kingdom of Ireland, Gent., did also this day draw three bills of exchange containing 50 Pounds upon Richard Farmer of the Co. of Tipperary in the said Kingdom of Ireland, Gent., payable in three score days sight thereof unto the said Richard Barnes or his order,” the £190 money of England, being in current silver money of the said Province, £237,10.”[15]
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…”[16] His will is dated 01 January 1690 and was proved 28 March 1691, naming wife Elizabeth (daughter of Robert Phaire of Grange, County Cork), and children: Jasper, Robert, John and Elizabeth.[17]
It is presumed that the following is simply stating that Richard has died by 1767, as Edward was the last surviving son of Major Jasper, as it pertains to the ownership of the original 5,000 acres.
“At a Special Meeting at the Governors on Monday the 19th of October 1767: Peter Robeson agt Jno. Morris, On Caveat… Jasper the Son dyed and left his Share of the said Land to his wife Catharine who afterwards married one Billup. Richard also dyed Edward only survived…”[18]
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.
“Very well written and researched…”
Ms. L. King
“I love your work… Very interesting!“
Ms. B. H. Baker
a. Bean, Theodore W. History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (1884), p.1139.
b. Mann, Charles S. “Fort Washington Historic Environs.” Historical Sketches: A Collection of Papers Prepared for the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, vol. 2 (1900), p.203.
c. Billopp, Charles Farmar. A History of Thomas and Anne Billopp Farmar, And Some of Their Descendants in America (1907), p.11-12.
d. Jordan, John W., Edgar Moore Green, & George T. Ettinger. Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of The Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, vol. 1 (1905), p.43.
e. 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.90-91. Original citation “A Partial List of the Families Who Arrived at Philadelphia Between 1682 and 1687,” Philadelphia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 8 (1884), p.336.
f. Ralston, Harold A. “Ship Passenger Lists, Scot and Irish.” Our Ralston and Belden Family Histories. 2007-2017. Retrieved 24 September 2018:
http://www.ralstongenealogy.com/sislist.htm#forty8
g. Yeakle, William A. “Whitemarsh.” Historical Sketches. A Collection of Papers Prepared for the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, vol. 1 (1895), p.18-19.
h. Baker, Jr., C.A. “Chapter 21, My Pennsylvania Ancestors, Part 1.” Baker Family Tree. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2018:
http://bakerfamilytree.blogspot.com/2009/01/
“In late August of 1685, Jasper and Mary Farmar, six of their children including three children from his wife’s first marriage, plus his son Jasper and his wife and their three children, and his daughter (name unknown) and her husband, Thomas Webb, and their son, and at least twenty of their servants and their children boarded the ship “Bristol Merchant” in Ireland bound for Philadelphia. Also on board was Nicholas Scull, son of Jasper’s sister Alice, and his seven servants…”
[3] Bean, History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (1884), p.1139.
[4] Mann, “Fort Washington Historic Environs,” p.204.
[5] Billopp, A History of Thomas and Anne Billopp Farmar, p.12.
[6] Mann, “Fort Washington Historic Environs,” p.203. The date of 10 September 1685 is a misinterpretation of the Julian and Gregorian calendars.
[7] “Colonial Estates – Philadelphia, PA & Bucks County, PA,” Hobbs and Phillips Family Genealogy. Retrieved 29 April 2018:
http://www.angelfire.com/ga/hobbsphillips/colonialestates.html;
Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.93.
[11] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.92. Recorded 9th day of 5th month 1687 in Philadelphia Letters of Attorney Book D-2-4, 166, now in Bureau of Land Records, Department of Internal Affairs, Harrisburg.
[12] “Samuel Hunt” is not on the manifest, but “Samuel Hall” is. Is it possible that Samuel Hunt was on the Bristol Merchant and that the surname is incorrect due to mistranslation?
[13] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,”, p.91. Recorded 1st day 12th month 1685 in Deed Book E-l-5, p.156.
[14] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.91-92. Acknowledged in Open Court 3rd day 12th month 1685 and recorded 10th day of 12th month 1685 in Deed Book E-l-5, p.174.
[15] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.90. Recorded in Philadelphia Deed Book E-l-5, 542.
[16] Burke, Sir John Bernard. A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland (1858), p.368.
As large landowners in southeast County Cork, Ireland, the Penn’s and the Farmar’s knew each other and continued their relationship into early 1700 Pennsylvania. The following is excerpted from the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.
Musketeers at the Battle of Stratton, 16 May 1643. This battle during the English Civil War (1642-1651) shows an example of how the men under Major Jasper Farmar’s command would appear.
As early as 1677, William Penn was part of a group purchasing land in the western side of present New Jersey. Once the land was acquired, they immediately encouraged its settlement, particularly among English Quakers. Surprisingly, British Parliament and King Charles II granted Penn a charter in March 1681 as the sole proprietor of land that would become Pennsylvania. Historians have suggested that the British government, by granting the land to Penn, had hoped the troublesome Quakers would leave England. Some historians suggest that it was part of a debt repayment to his father Sir William Penn. Others suggest that, through his relationship with the Duke of York, it ensured James a friendly neighbor who was concurrently the proprietor of New York immediately to the north of “Penn’s Land.”
To build his new province, William began negotiating and purchasing tracts of land from the local Indians. Penn then immediately began an active promotion throughout Europe to market and resell his property. To attract settlers in large numbers to his new province, William wrote a glowing prospectus in various languages that promised religious freedom as well as other advantages about the new land in America. Within six months he had parceled out 300,000 acres to over 250 prospective sellers, mostly rich London Quakers. Eventually he attracted other persecuted minorities including Huguenots, Mennonites, Anabaptists, Catholics, Lutherans, and Jews from England, France, Holland, Germany, Finland, Wales, and Ireland.
One of his first customers was Major Jasper Farmar. Major Jasper had lived for many years upon his estate in Garranekinnefeake, or “Garron Kenny Fange” Parish, village of Midleton, County of Cork, Ireland. His brother, John Farmar, resided on his estate in the neighboring village of Youghal. William Penn’s father had been granted lands in County Cork, Ireland for his services during the English Civil War. With Sir Penn’s failing health, William was sent to manage the estate in 1666, and when Sir Penn died in 1670, young William, then twenty-six years old, inherited “Penn’s Castle” – over 5,000 acres across eight square miles of land near the present village of Shanagarry. The villages of Midleton, Youghal, and Shanagarry neighbor each other, and as large landowners in southeast County Cork, the Penn’s and Farmar’s knew each other.
As early as 29th day 10th month 1669, Penn writes in his diary…
“[29th day 10th month 1669] Major fformer & J.Bolese came to me. I had advise from F. din’d and sup’d at sh. I have perus’d Part of ye Jusu. Book.”[1]
[22nd day 11th month 1669] I mett Ger. ff’tz Ger’ld about ye windmill, we concluded on 44lb per An’o & what It shall be adjudg’d more worth by Farmer, & Gale. I paying quitrent.
[10th day 12th month 1669] we left youghall, & w. H. his daughter, R.C. & P.C. & ye rest of us Came to M. ffarmers, & thence to shangary, where we lay being Civilly treated.
[21st day 11 month 1669] I went & Coll Wallis to Coll. Phairs, about ye reference the land was returned 4s 3ds per acre. I paying quitrent. I abated 6d per Acre, & h’t was 3s 9d p Acre. we so agreed on all sides. He before C.Phair Beul ffarmer, Wallis &c: gave vp Inchs y’e hous not to touch & arrears of rent to pay. so we return’d home to C.Phairs ser’t 1s.
[1st day 12th month 1669]. M. ffarmer & M. woodly Came to C. Ceuls I. spoak to them. from thence we Went to Corke. J. Boles being with us. we meet with Coll. Phair. His wife. & seuerall of his ffamely.”[2]
Coincidentally, the Puritan immigration into America’s provinces came to an abrupt halt when Sir Oliver Cromwell came to power, since the primary reason to flee England, religious freedom, was removed. In an ironic twist of fate for a Royalist supporter, the restoration of the monarchy with Charles II in 1661 restored the “need” for immigration, and presumably from his acquaintance and conversations with Penn, provides Major Jasper with the seeds of thought to immigrate to Pennsylvania. Additionally, years earlier his great grandfather, George Fermor, had purchased shares in the Second Virginia Company Charter which funded the Jamestown, Virginia settlement as early as 1609 in which Major Jasper’s distant cousin, Thomas Farmer, had been living since 1616, although not much had been heard from him since 1632.[3]
Penn undoubtedly described Pennsylvania as being more beautiful and fertile than Ireland, with temperate weather, friendly Indians, plenty of wild game, and religious freedom – all overseen by a democratic government operating under a constitution where power was derived from the people.
Major Jasper, dissatisfied with the turbulent political and financial condition of affairs by which he was surrounded, and through his friendship with Penn, was led to embark for a new life by taking up a “Plantation” in the new Province of Pennsylvania. But at the age of seventy-two, with a wife in her late forties, and at least seven children still living at home, it was a personal investment fraught with doubt. One has to wonder the emotional debate and discussions between Major Jasper, Mary, and their children.
In 1682, Major Jasper sent his 29-year-old son, Jasper Farmar, Jr., to make a voyage of investigation in “Penn’s Land.” Pleased at what he discovered, Jasper Jr., on behalf of himself, his father Major Jasper, and his brother Richard, took up, in two tracts, five thousand acres of land by a proprietary patent dated 31 January 1683.
“L. S.: William Penn, Proprietary and Governor of Pennsylvania and the Territories thereunto belonging. At the request of Jaspar Farmar, Junior, in the behalf of his father, Major Jaspar Farmar, his brother Richard and himself, that I would grant him to take up 5,000 acres of land, being of the lands by the Indians called Umbilicamence, fronting At one end upon the River Schuylkill. These are to will and require thee forthwith to survey or cause to be surveyed unto him the said five thousand acres in the aforementioned place where not already taken up, according to the method of townships appointed by me, and make return thereof unto my Secretary’s office. Given at Philadelphia the 3lst of the l0th month, 1683. Wm. Penn. For Thomas Holmes, Surveyor-General.”[4]
Every obligation Major Jasper had with his family who wished to remain in Ireland, including his son Samuel, had been settled in preparation for the trip. His oldest daughter Elizabeth had died in 1682, and his daughter Mary Webber, who did not make the trip, had married and received from her father a large dowry. In late August 1685, Major Jasper’s family, as well as the family of his son Jasper Jr., the family of his daughter Katherine Webb, and the servants of all three families, boarded the ship Bristol Merchant commanded by Captain John Stephens. By doing so, Major Jasper Farmar made a full life-changing decision backed by a strong financial commitment. The trip was extremely expensive. Not only were there the costs of the passage for all of his family and their servants, but there was also the added expense to ship all of the family belongings, including their furniture.
The weakness and loss of weight for the passengers aboard the Bristol Merchant left them vulnerable to diseases, and at the age of seventy-five, Major Jasper Farmar was especially vulnerable. Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Mary Farmar buried her husband Major Jasper, her stepson Jasper Jr., her stepdaughter Katherine, and perhaps several others whose names have been lost in history. After a ten-week voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, the Bristol Merchant arrived into the port of Philadelphia, on 10th day 9th month 1685.[5]
“Madame Farmar” settled the land with her family in the fall of 1685, and the surroundings must have been like the Old World, all within eyesight of the neighboring “Manor of Springfield” – land located northwest of Madame Farmar that William Penn had gifted to his first wife, Gulielma Maria Springett in 1681. The entire Farmar plantation would soon become Whitemarsh Township within Montgomery County, and is so named today in the same boundary lines.
Thomas Holmes’ “A Mapp of Ye Improved Part of Pensilvania in America, Divided Into Countyes, Townships and Lotts….” (published circa 1687). Farmar’s plantation located in the center of the map, in present Whitemarsh Township.
Lime was manufactured in Whitemarsh at a very early day, and probably earlier than at any other place in the province. In a letter from Dr. Nicholas More,[6] a physician from London, Chief Justice, and President of the Free Society of Traders, dated from his residence at Green Spring, in the manor of Moreland, 13 September 1686, to William Penn, then in England, that…
“Madame Farmar has found out as good limestone on the Schuylkill as any in the world, and is building with it; she offers to sell ten thousand bushels at sixpence the bushel upon her plantation, where are several considerable hills, and near to your manor of Springfield.”[7]
Madame Farmar was not only optimistic and energetic, but an astute and proven business woman, frequently mentioned with very great respect. James Logan writing to William Penn of Madame Farmer, says “she is a woman of great business ability, and tact.”
Madame Farmar died in late 1686, leaving her estate to her surviving 14-year-old son Edward Farmar. Beginning in the early 1690s, Edward began buying land and selling parcels of the original 5000 patent in 100- to 200-acre plots. The sales served two purposes, one of which was to raise money to cover his expenses, and the other was to satisfy one of the agreement terms when the land was purchased from William Penn. Penn had stipulated that the property was to be subdivided as it was never his intention to re-create a large feudal estate in America as existed in England and Ireland.
In a letter from William Penn to James Logan, Penn references Edward’s desire to confirm ownership of 100 acres in the Manor of Springfield and to sell him an additional 100 acres for £100, a request not satisfied until 1713.
London 28th 5 m 1702 “…pray quiet ed. Farmer, J. Growden, &c: till my son comes, unless I should have more time to [be] perticuler now, w’ch is doubtfull, the winde being faire, after long westerly winds… For the land, It is asking me so much mony out of my pocket. Nor will I let it goe for 4 or 500 acres, but to reduce his other pretentions, & give security for the overplus of the value, if any. And in case it ever was a part of the Mannor of Springfield, I can part with such a quantity. But more of this per my son; only tell ed. Farmer no body else, if not he, shall have a foot of the land requests of me. vale.”[8]
With all of the land buying and selling, Edward has not sold enough property in forty-four years to satisfy William Penn’s agreement with his father Major Jasper Farmar and his brother Jasper Farmar, Jr. as evidenced by the minutes of the Assembly on 11th day 12th month 1734/5:
“That the late Prop’r was pleased to Grant to his father and Uncles who were purchasers of the Tract of 5,000 Acres of Land since called White Marsh the Priviledge of two Fairs every Year and a Market once a Week to be kept on the said Tract of Land provided that within five years they should procure twenty familys to settle and dwell there, which he confesses was not complyed with…”[9]
Edward was commissioned as one of the Justices of the Peace for Philadelphia County on 02 September 1701, and again on 04 September 1704.[10] It was an office he would hold for twenty-six consecutive years to 1727, and again continuously from 1728 until his death in 1745 for a span of over forty years.
For Edward, the office gave him the opportunity to work with his 25-year-old nephew Thomas Farmar, the son of Edward’s brother Jasper Jr. and Widow Katherine, who had made the trip to Pennsylvania at the age of ten on the Bristol Merchant. Thomas was personally appointed by William Penn as the High Sheriff of Philadelphia City and County on 20 June 1700 and was appointed again in 1701.
Part of his duties was to act as a water bailiff with the power to execute all legal process against any person, ship, or goods upon the Delaware River. Believing that the commission infringed upon his authority, Governor Robert Quary of Carolina complained on 14 November 1700 to the Lords of the Admiralty and the responsibilities were removed from Thomas.[11] As High Sheriff, Thomas was to keep the peace and enforce the law, while his uncle Edward Farmar as Justice of the Peace would have tried the cases and meted the punishment to those Thomas arrested. Among his other duties was to collect taxes, a task he did not do well for fear of making himself unpopular with the citizens who did not like the levies. After Edward Shippen,[12] Nathan Stanbury, Isaac Norris, and William Carter made a complaint to the Council on 03 February 1702, the responsibility was then relegated to William Tonge who was appointed on recommendation of the Governor and Council as “under sheriff” to collect the taxes and do it promptly.[13] Additionally, John Furnis was also employed by William Penn in 1701 to collect the £2000 tax in the town, “after Thomas Farmer had failed to discharge his Duty therein.”[14]
Thomas held the office until he resigned his commission in August 1703 with a desire to move back to England as noted in the Council minutes.
“Thomas Farmar High Sheriff of the City and County of Philadelphia acquainted ye Board that having a design to transport himself to England he must crave leave to lay down his said office, and therefore requested the Board that another might be appointed.”[15]
Another Farmar-Penn connection occurs on 22 August 1751, when 27-year-old Lady Juliana Fermor, Edward’s third cousin-twice removed, marries 49-year-old Thomas Penn, the son of William Penn, in St. George’s Church in Hanover. A section has been included in the book Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh.
[1] Penn, “William Penn’s Journal of His Second Visit to Ireland,” p.59.
[2] Penn, “William Penn’s Journal of His Second Visit to Ireland,” p.59, p.62, p.63, p.65. Penn’s use of the abbreviations “F.” or “ff.” may also reference Major Jasper, but have been omitted. References to “M. ffarmer” and other various spellings denotes Major Jasper, whereas the omission of “M.” may be to Jasper’s brother John.
[3] Farmer, “Thomas Farmer, Jamestown Adventurer: His History, Descendants, & Ancestors,” p.15-16. Major Jasper Farmar’s grandfather, George Fermor, and Thomas Farmer’s father, John Farmer of Cookham, were second cousins as both were the great grandchildren of Thomas Richards alias Fermor. It is highly questionable if Major Jasper (born 1610) knew Thomas Farmer (born 1593) as Major Jasper was age six when Thomas departed for Virginia in 1616. It is possible that during the return trips Thomas made to England, that he did meet Major Jasper, or news of Thomas’ stories in America from other relatives may have reached Major Jasper.
[5] Mann, “Fort Washington Historic Environs,” p.203 states “September 10, 1685” possibly due to a mistranslation between Julian and Gregorian calendars.
[6] Bean, History of Montgomery County, p.vii of Appendix. Nicholas More, a physician from London, arrived soon after William Penn, in 1682, and had conveyed to him by patent, 7th of Sixth Month, 1684, the manor of Moreland, containing nine thousand eight hundred and fifteen acres. About 1685 he commenced thereon the erection of buildings, where he lived and died, calling the place Green Spring.
[7] Bean, History of Montgomery County, p.1139; Hobson et al., Centennial Celebration of Montgomery County, p.53; Published in Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 4, p. 445.
[8] Dunn, et al., The Papers of William Penn, Volume 4: 1701-1718, p.179 & p.181. Joseph Growden claimed 14,000 acres between Poquessing Creek and Neshaminy Creek, but William Penn had agreed to a total of 10,000 acres if Growden could find his father’s deed, and only 5000 acres if not.
[9] Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine,” p.97. From the minutes of 11th day 12th month 1734/5.
[10] Reference Martin’s Bench and Bar of Philadelphia for additional dates and Justices.
[11] Dunn, et al., The Papers of William Penn, Volume 4: 1701-1718, p.75.
[12] Edward Shippen (1639-1712), a wealthy Quaker merchant, Mayor, Speaker of the Assembly, Chief Justice, and president of the Provincial Council. Born in Methley, Yorkshire, England, he removed to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1668 and then to Philadelphia in 1693-1694. His “Great House,” which was on Second Street, north of Spruce, and overlooked Dock Creek and the river beyond, was occupied for a time in 1699 by William Penn and his family during his second visit (Myers, Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey, and Delaware, 1630-1707, p.332).
[13] Browning, “Philadelphia Business Directory of 1703,” p.734; Scharf, History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, p.180.
[14] Roach, Colonial Philadelphians, p.50. “John Furnis,barber in 1701, had arrived in October 1683 with his father Henry Furnis, and relatives most of whom, including John , were indentured to Robert Turner for four years. Henry took up on rent in 1685 a 50 by 100 foot lot at the northwest corner of Vine and Second Street “in the Governor’s Land adjoining the city;” here he, a sadler by trade, was taxed on an estate rated at £30 in 1693. In 1701, when John Furnis applied for the headland due his relatives, amounting in all to 350 acres, he [was appointed by Penn].”
[15]Minutes of the Provincial Council, vol. 2, p.66.
Philip Farmer is currently assisting families break down their genealogical brick walls and find information on their ancestors. He is also 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.
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.
