Tag: Philadelphia

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.

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]

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.[11]

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.