Tag: Samuel Farmer Rowan County

Posted on

Samuel Farmar in Debtors’ Prison

Pennsylvania Gazette, 04 July 1751: Samuel Farmar released from debtors' prison.

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.

Posted on

Stephen Farmer of Harlan County… German?

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.

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