A History of Our
McFarland
Family
Dedication and Thanks: I could never have attempted this without the models
provided by my grandmother, Lola McFarland, and my father, Joe McFarland Hill.
The more work I do, the more I admire what they accomplished, especially in the
days before computers, e-mails, and the Internet. GrandLola provided the base
for research-her wonderful book that provided the names of distant relatives
and the first clues of where to look. My father, Joe, provided the first
documented evidence: combing through county courthouses, graveyards, and census
information. I have used the Internet for news of McFarland families, and
picked out the information that has been most thoroughly documented and
researched. The research and writing of James A. McFarland from Oklahoma has been especially
helpful for American clan history, and Kent MacFarlane’s help as the historian
for the Clan MacFarlane Society, gave me the ability to follow the clan’s
Scottish history.
As a history teacher, I
hope you don’t mind me putting our family history in context with the bigger
historical picture. Through contacts made with McFarland relatives and
descendants, in person and through e-mail, I have been able to add to our
family tree and its history. Our Fannin County relatives have
scattered far and wide, but everyone I contacted has been generous in sharing
information and pictures. In Ladonia, Muriel Burleson helped me contact other
living McFarlands, and that led me to Rhonda Cunningham Shinpaugh, who has been
a major help. Long distant relative Debra Schafer owns the original photos of
James, John, and Nancy Caroline that are included in this book. My visit to the
Fannin County Museum in Bonham and meeting
with Tom Scott, its curator, was also helpful in tracking down Civil War
history.
This is an ongoing
project that hopefully will continue to grow and be added to by succeeding
McFarlands. I know there will be
mistakes and omissions, but none intentional. My thanks to
all of you for your support and help and my love to McFarlands
everywhere.
Mary
Helen Haines
mhhaines@aol.com
revised 2005
To
go all the way back in time for the origin of the McFarland name, the following
information can be found at www.Macfarlane.org
which is the website for the international Clan MacFarlane.
“The MacFarlane homeland is located in the Highlands
at the heads of Loch Long
and Loch Lomond. For over five
centuries this area, the feudal barony of Arrochar,
was held by the chiefs of Clan MacFarlane and before them by their ancestors
the
barons of Arrochar. The family is Celtic in the male
line and native to their
beautiful Highland homeland of tall peaks and deep lochs
just above the waist of
Scotland.
A Saxon male line ancestry was first proposed for this family
in Crawfurd’s Peerage nearly three hundred years ago,
but that is incorrect. The best source is the Complete Peerage which follows
the Scots Peerage which, in turn, follows Skene’s
Celtic Scotland in giving the true Celtic descent of this family. All of these
sources base their statements on the old Celtic genealogy of Duncan, eighth
Earl of Lennox, who was executed in 1425, and the coming of age poem composed
for Alwyn, last Mormaer and
first Earl of Lennox in the twelfth century. This Alwyn
was the son of Murdac (son of Maldouen
son of Murdac) and his wife who was a daughter of Alwyn MacArkil (son of Arkil son of Ecgfrith in Northumbria). When the
first earl died his children were still minors so the king warded the earldom
to his own brother David, Earl of Huntingdon. By 1199 Alwyn,
the second Earl of Lennox, had finally succeeded his father. The second earl may have
had as many as ten sons. Among the youngest (maybe seventh) was Gilchrist who
obtained a charter to the barony of Arrochar from his
eldest brother Maldouen, third Earl of Lennox. Along
with Clan Donnachaidh, the MacFarlanes
are said to have been the
earliest of the clans to hold their lands by feudal charter. In short, the MacFarlanes are descended from Alwyn,
Celtic Earl of Lennox, whose younger son, Gilchrist,
received lands at Arrochar on the shores of Loch Long
at the end of the 12th century. Gilchrist's son, Malduin,
befriended and aided Robert the Bruce during his fight for independence from
the English. The MacFarlanes are reported to have
fought at Bannockburn in 1314. The
clan takes its name from Malduin's son Parlan.
The name, Parlan,
has been linked to Partholon, "
Spirit of the Sea Waves", in Irish myths and legend. More usually,
it is considered the Gaelic equivalent of Bartholomew. Gaelic grammar requires
changes within a word to indicate possession. A "P" is softened to a
"Ph", and an "i" is added to the
last syllable. In this way, " son of Parlan" becomes Mac (son) Pharlain
(of Parlan).
The lands of Arrochar were first given (by charter) to Malduin MacGhilchristin approx.
1286. Iain MacPharlain received a charter
confirmation to Arrochar in 1420.”
From the
now out of print manuscript, History of Clan MacFarlane, written in 1922
by James MacFarlane of Scotland, more of the
Clan heritage is described chief by chief. Some of this information was
provided in Lola’s manuscript; however, what follows differs in the end.
In the early years of Scottish history
the MacFarlane clan’s fortunes were tied to those of the Earls of Lennox, even
when the blood relationship ended. When the direct line of heirs to the Earl’s
title died out, the MacFarlanes lost their bid to be
recognized in that position to John Stewart of Darnley
who prevailed at the 9th Earl of Lennox in 1488. Although the MacFarlanes could have lost everything, a marriage union
saved the day, lands and charter were returned to the MacFarlane chief and the MacFarlanes went on to support the Earl’s line through thick
and thin.
On Henry VIII’s
death in 1547, many Scots saw an opportunity to recognize their 5 year old
Queen Mary as the legitimate heir to the throne of England as well as Scotland. Duncan, the 13th
chief, lost his life at the Battle of Pinkie when the forces of Henry’s son,
Edward VI, invaded Scotland and defeated
this effort.
In the 1550s Scotland experienced the
Reformation led by John Knox. By 1560 the Presbyterian form of Calvinism became
the official faith in Scotland and Andrew
MacFarlane was one of the first lords to embrace the Reformed religion. By this
time, Mary, Queen of Scotland, had married Henry Darnley,
the 13th Earl of Lennox. Various histories favorable to Mary picture
him as a drunkard with a vile temper who suffered from smallpox. Someone did
not like him too much, because he was murdered in a plot that included blowing
up the house where he was recovering from his illness. Mary was blamed as being
an accomplice by Henry’s advocates and her one-year old child, James, was named
ruler instead. As Mary tried to fight for her throne, the MacFarlanes
fought at the Battle of Langside in 1568 and are
credited with capturing three of the Queen’s standards and driving her forces
from the field. Mary fled to England and exile and
James VI was given the throne. Andrew, the 14th Chief who led the
forces was given the MacFarlane crest and motto by a grateful regent. The crest
shows the demisavage with a sheaf of arrows in one
hand and the other pointing to the imperial crown with the motto “This I’ll
Defend.”
Andrew was Chief from 1547, when he
was only three, until 1612. These years were filled with violence and
vendettas, feuds and thievery. The most famous story is the feud between the MacFarlanes and the Colquhouns
who lived in the lowland area of Luss. Competition
seems to have turned murderous with the death of Humphrey MacFarlane at the
hands of Sir Humphrey Colquhoun. What ever provoked this is unknown, but it led
to a series of cattle-rustling raids in 1590. Then a story emerges of a love affair
between the wife of John MacFarlane (heir to the chieftanship)
and Sir Humphrey Colquhoun. John, with help from the MacGregors,
followed the couple, chased Sir Humphrey to his stronghold, set it on fire,
killed him and then mutilated his body. The story continues with his body parts
being served on a platter to his unfaithful wife, followed by their divorce.
Whether this is a fanciful tale or not, it is still the official excuse for his
death.
The raids continued, this time the MacFarlanes were helping the MacGregors
against the Culquhouns. It seems the Culquhouns were
more knowledgeable of courts and public relations, because their complaints
against the MacGregors and MacFarlanes were more kindly favored by authorities.
The MacGregors were proscribed and the MacFarlanes
were outlawed in 1608.
Coincidentally, James VI, who was now
also James I of England, after the death
of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, decided to solve the problem of Ireland by subdividing
the Province of Ulster into lots and
sending colonists from Scotland and England to live on and
work the land. In 1610, the Plantation of Ulster formally began with 59 favored
Scots and 81,000 acres. Five of the 59 were nobles-and two of those five were
the Duke of Lennox (17th Earl) and his brother. This was the
beginning of the MacFarlane presence in Ireland in County Tyrone, “the first
settlement of the MacFarlanes of Ulster, from whom so
many American members of the clan are descended.” (p. 95)
From there our Texas McFarland branch
separates from Scotland and its doings.
However, because it is so erroneously believed by American McFarlands
that the clan ended by government decree in the 1700s and the last McFarland
chief immigrated to America, I will continue
the Scottish history a little further.
The son of Andrew, John, became the 15th
Chief in 1612. Besides his first wife, a Buchanan, he was married three more
times. His second wife was the daughter of Francis, Earl of Bothwell
(Lady Helen Stewart.) The feuds and fighting continued and many of the clan
were convicted of theft and robbery and removed to other territory in Scotland. If it wasn’t
internal fighting with other clans, there was always some cause dealing with England that would give
an excuse to raise the battle cry “Loch Sloy.” The English Civil War led to the execution of
Charles I in 1649. Many in Scotland were supporters
of Charles and the Cavaliers. In 1679, MacFarlanes fought for the Duke of Monmouth, Charles II’s illegitimate son, in his bid for the throne at the
Battle of Bothwell Bridge. It was, however,
unsuccessful.
John was succeeded by his brother
Andrew, in 1679. Then followed Andrew’s son, John in 1685 as
the 19th Chief. He sided with the takeover of the English
throne by William & Mary, Protestants, as opposed to the Catholic James II
who was deposed. John was appointed Colonel of a regiment of footsoldiers in 1689 and seems to be the last of the chiefs
engaged in war. The 20th Chief was Walter MacFarlane from 1705 till 1767. He
was known as a great scholar and antiquarian who devoted his life to
collecting, translating, and preserving manuscripts of Scotland’s past. It is
certain he did not lead any MacFarlanes into the
battles fought in 1715 and 1745 to seat the Stuart pretenders in exile in France on the throne in
England. There are
conflicting reports as to MacFarlane participation in those fruitless adventures, however, since the MacFarlanes
were Presbyterians, it seems unlikely that they would have switched allegiances
to the Catholic Jacobites.
Walter died without children in 1767,
so the next chief was his brother William MacFarlane. William was the last
landed chief. Like his brother, William was a learned man-a physician who
practiced in Edinburgh. By numbers, the
MacFarlanes still dominated the Arrochar
area, but there was now little connection with their absent Chief. England, tired of the Highland clans foolish support of the Jacobites,
outlawed some of the beloved traditions, such as wearing the tartan kilts. The
power to hold feudal clan courts was also abolished and the Scottish
Enlightenment had begun, producing many clever Scots such as philosopher David
Hume and economic theorist Adam Smith. As taxes increased to pay for the
American war, William, whose lifestyle was luxurious, and his gambling habits expensive,
began to sell off his estates. First, his inheritance in Jamaica was sold, and
then finally in 1784 the Barony of Arrochar. When
William died in 1787, his son John became the first of the landless lords and
the 22nd Chief—but of what? After him, the line slowly fades away,
because even if there were descendants, they did not carry out the duties of
chief and they had lost their connection to the ancient land. The last Chief was William, the 25th
Chief from 1830 to 1866. A new era had dawned, making the MacFarlane clan, as a
formal institution, a part of the romantic past.
*****
From an
article written by Kent MacFarlane for The Lantern an explanation is
offered to the derivation of present spellings of the MacFarlane/McFarland
name.
“As has been
written many times before.
The proper, i.e. Gaelic, spelling of our name is Mac Phàrlaine. The correct
translation of the name into English is Macfarlane. All the other variants are
scribal "errors" caused by people writing down what they heard. One
of the maligned versions (maligned for being "Irish" -as though that
makes it suspect or "wrong") is MacFarland.
Recently I was sent a package of
papers from Georgia, U. S. A. Originally, they had been the property of one
Horace MacFarland of Boston, Mass. Somehow, they went southeast to North
Carolina and the down to Georgia. (If any descendants of Horace read this,
please get in touch with me) Mr.
MacFarland was very keen on his heritage. In the early part of this century, he
was in correspondence with, and later a member of
An Comunn Chloinn Phàrlane - the original Clan Macfarlane Society, founded in
1911.
One of his correspondents was the
Reverend William Barr Macfarlane of Uddingston, Scotland – about whom I hope to write a great deal
later. For this article, I shall limit myself to paraphrasing as short article
that he wrote concerning the spelling of our name, particularly concentrating
on the MacFarland variant. According to his research of documents found in the
Procurator's Library in Glasgow, the name "Makfarland" occurs for the
first time in 1543 in a Charter of Confirmation* from Matthew, Duke of Lennox
to "Duncanus Makfarland de Arrochquhar" -the 13th Chief of the name.
The Rev. Mr. Macfarlane goes on to say that the last instance in this
time-frame was in 1596, in a document* concerning "Umfrido
Makfarland", who was the younger son of Andrew, the 14th Chief. He also
mentions that there were other variations in use in other documents.
The Rev. Mr. Macfarlane points out
then that the Plantation of Ulster began in 1608. It is well known that many
Macfarlanes left Scotland at this time to take advantage of the lands
available in Ulster. He says: "Therefore it seems that the Irish
"M'Farlands" have the credit of handing down
to us the spelling that was IN VOGUE AT THE TIME OF THE PLANTATIONS." (emphasis added - K.M.) The Rev. Mr. Macfarlane shows also
that another variant, Macfarlan, was common on both sides of the Irish Sea at this time.
He concludes by saying, among other things, that the "-an"
form continued in Scotland
but disappeared in Ireland,
while the "-and" form continued in Ireland,
but disappeared in Scotland.
I found this explanation a very interesting one. It points out very clearly
that we need a thorough documentation of the papers in the Hill Collection. Who
knows what other nuggets of information lie buried within these two volumes,
which contain more than 100 documents.
* Document 78, as numbered by Dr. H. Hill
** Document 85, as numbered by Dr. H. Hill
Now to the more recent history of our direct
family line:
Our family line can be traced back to
a Robert McFarland who came to America in 1719 from Ireland. What was he
doing in Ireland? His family
probably settled there as part of the English monarchy’s attempt to wrest
control of Ireland from those “wild Catholics” who refused to bend to the
English monarch’s decision to create a national English church in place of the
Catholic Church allied with Rome (remember that divorce Henry VIII wanted).
During the reign of James I (1603 to 1625), a concerted effort was made to
settle Scottish Presbyterians in Northern
Ireland. Judging from the small amount of
territory that belonged to the MacFarlane clan in Scotland, you can imagine
why they chose to emigrate. According to family tradition, written down by his
great-grandson in America, our Robert was
born in 1675 in County Tyrone on land west of
the River Foyle, east of the Donegal Mountains and province. He
married at age 30, (1705), and began his family. In 1719 this family of Robert,
wife Jennet, and five children decided to move to America to the colonial
land grant of Pennsylvania. This begins the
pattern that will be repeated over and over again for the next century until
our McFarland family finally settles in Texas in the 1830’s.
1st
Generation:
Robert
McFarland: born ca. 1675 in Ireland (County Tyrone). Married in 1705 to Janet (Jennet) and
came to America around 1718.
Children:
John McFarland
(1): born ca. 1706/08 in Ireland-married Mary Montgomery.
James:
1710 in Ireland-married Margaret Greer in 1730. Died 1752
without children.
Rachel:
1713 in Ireland-married 1. John Wilkins (1734), 2. John Ramsey (1742), 3.
Gordon Howard (1751). Died in Pittsburg, Allegheny Co. after
1754.
Joseph: 1715 in Ireland-?
Robert: 1717 in Ireland-?-married Esther Dunn in 1748-moves to VA. in 1756.
Rebecca:
1720 in America-was baptized in the First Presbyterian
church in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co. Pennsylvania, birth date of April 14-married 1. Andrew
Mayes 1735 and 2. Samuel McElhenny in 1755
The McFarland family settled about 70 miles west of Philadelphia in Chester County, Pennsylvania near Conestoga township
and the Susquehanna
River. Pennsylvania had been established first by the Dutch in
1609 when Henry Hudson landed in Delaware Bay.
The British won it from the Dutch in 1664 and in 1681 King Charles II granted
it to William Penn to pay a debt owed his father Admiral Sir William Penn. The
colony became a refuge for Quakers and other non-Conformists, which certainly
would have included Scots-Irish Presbyterians like our McFarlands.
In
1718 a Robert McFarland is listed on the Chester County tax rolls as an Indian trader. It is
possible that our Robert came to America with father Robert and brother
James, who might possibly be the James McFarland who settles in Cumberland Co.,
Pennsylvania. In 1718, our Robert (born 1675) would be
around 43 years old, and if his father traveled with him, he would be at least
60. It is unclear if the records showing Robert and sons, Robert and James are
referring to Robert born in 1675 and his sons, or his father.
Donegal
was created as a new township in 1722 from the Conestoga township
and Robert, with sons Robert and James are listed there. The Robert that we
begin our tree with, however, has sons John (age 14) and Joseph (age 7) as
well, who are not mentioned in this 1722 list. Robert appears on the tax lists
in 1724, 25, and 26. The section of Chester County they lived in became Lancaster Co. in
1729, after Robert and his neighbors petitioned for its creation. Having a new
county created meant more representation in the colonial government. The
Charter of Privileges, drawn up by William Penn in 1701, allowed each county to
elect 4 members annually to the colonial legislative body. Robert McFarland
acquired 268 acres along the Schickaselungo Creek in 1739, which he passed on
to his children when he died in 1751. (To find this area,
look for the city of Lancaster, go southwest down Hwy.
501 toward the Susquehanna River. Conestoga, of course, is the town famous
for its wagons first built in 1725. I
wonder if our ancestors used one of these when they pulled out of Pennsylvania in the 1740s.)
Robert
Sr. died June 17, 1751 and his will was
probated March 25, 1752 in the Rapho township. (Like Donegal, the name Rapho also derives from
their Irish homeland.)
2nd
Generation:
John McFarland
(1): born 1706-1708 in Ireland. Married in 1728 in Lancaster Co. Penn. to Mary Montgomery. Mary was born in 1712, daughter of John
Montgomery. They moved to Virginia around 1747 to Augusta Co., later called
Montgomery (and now Wyeth Co.). Served as an Ensign in 1752
in Augusta Co. Later moved to Bedford
Co. Virginia.
Children:
Robert:
1730 in Donegal, Penn.-married Martha___?. Named a Lieutenant in the Augusta Co. militia in Virginia. Children: Robert b. 1759 who served in the
Revolutionary War, died in 1837 and is buried in the McFarland Cemetery in Hamblen Co. Tennessee, Benjamin b. 1769
Nancy: 1731 in Donegal, Penn.-married Andrew Evans
James:
1733 in Donegal, Penn.-never married, died in 1755 in New River, Augusta Co.
VA. fighting Indians.
Rachel: 1737 in
Donegal, Penn.-married John Hunter
John (2): 1739 in Lancaster Co.
Penn. Married Mary Kinder
Arthur: Jan.
19 1741 in
Lancaster Co., Penn. Dies as infant.
Mary: Feb.
11, 1743 in
Lancaster Co.-married James Hunter
Joseph: Mar.
30, 1745 in
Lancaster Co. or Virginia, Russell Parish, Lunenburg Co.-never married, accused
of disloyalty in 1779 during Rev. War. Agrees to kill wolves
for govt. in 1785. Dies between 1785 and 1800 in
Montgomery Co. VA- in a fight or duel.
Benjamin
Anderson: April 16, 1747 in Virginia, Russell Parish, Lunenburg Co.
(Later becomes Bedford Co.) Marries Mary Blackburn. Fought in Rev. War 1777-1779. Died in 1823 in Dandridge,
Jefferson Co. Tennessee
Around 1747,
itchy feet and a promotion to settle new territory, led our forefather John
(1706/08), who from now on we will refer to as John 1, to pack up his family
with Mary and move south to the west side of the Blue Ridge Mountains about 300
miles south of Donegal. Travel would
have been through the famed Shenandoah
Valley. On
today’s map that first Virginia land they (John 1 and son Robert) claimed
is near Wytheville (1020 acres on Black Buffalo Lick and then land on Reed
Creek). John 1 served as Constable in
the Reed Creek area and was appointed as Surveyor for Augusta County. John helped survey the land and build
roads in the territory. Records show that John qualified as an Ensign in Augusta County in 1752, and his son Robert was a
Lieutenant for the Virginia Militia.
This land was virgin land for European
settlers and the Native Americans were probably not very happy to have these
settlers move in, even though a treaty had been signed between the Six Nations
and the Colonies of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania in 1744. Conflicts between the Indians and
the settlers led to numerous deaths, one of those being James, son of John 1,
in 1755. France and England were also at odds over colonial issues and
began fighting each other in the Seven Years War (1756 to 1763). French and Indians attacked the frontier
settlements at Reed Creek, New
River, and the Roanoke River (all around John McFarland’s land). The
British and local militias were not able to protect these outlying places, so
John McFarland’s family, along with many others, moved to the safer, more
settled areas in Bedford County.
In
1763, he purchased land on the Otter River and over the next few years sold all
of his land in present-day Wythe Co. to his sons and others, while buying more
land in Bedford Co. Tax lists and deeds from the time also show that John owned
slaves and sold some to his son Benjamin along with land in 1777. The pride that comes with having ancestors
that helped settle America has to be tempered with the knowledge that
they prospered at the expense of Native Americans and with the aid of African
slaves who had no choice in the matter.
Mary died in
1782 in Bedford Co., Virginia and husband John 1 died around 1784/5.
(The
source for a good portion of the section above is Stitches in Time: The Myth of Sir John Macfarlane by an Oklahoma relative James A.
McFarland. This is an excellent manuscript that I highly recommend.)
3rd
Generation:
John McFarland
(2): born 1739 in Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania. Came with his father to
Virginia in 1747 at age eight. At age 18 he served in the Virginia militia as John McFarlin-7th
Company, Virginia Regiment-July, 1757 under Capt. John Lewis. He married Mary
Kinder around 1763 (b. ca. 1742 in Bedford Co. VA, from the household of Peter Kinder, a
neighbor) and had 13 children. The family moved to the State of Franklin
between 1784 and 86. Had a land grant on the Nolachucky River. This area becomes Greene Co., then
Jefferson Co. Tennessee. The family moves again around 1795 to
North Carolina, Buncombe Co. In 1809, Buncombe Co. becomes Haywood Co.
Children:
John (3): Feb.
28, 1764 in Bedford Co., VA.- married Rebecca Bell.
Mary: Feb.
28, 1764 (twin of
John)-(called Polly), married Sam Montgomery
Rachel: 1766 in Bedford Co.,
VA. Married John Ward
Benjamin:
1767 in Bedford Co.,
VA. Married Ruth Buchanan Jack-move to Adair Co. Kentucky.
Died 1859 in Russell Co. Kentucky
George: 1769 in Bedford Co.,
VA. Married 1. Sally Jack, 2. Nancy Golden. Died in
1837 in Knox Co. Kentucky
Jacob: 1772, Feb. 21. in
Montgomery Co.,
VA. Married 1. Elizabeth Webb, 2. Nancy Cathey. Children born in Buncombe Co. Died in 1846 in Cooper-Moniteau, Missouri.
James Ray: 1773, Dec. 20. in Montgomery Co.
Va. Married Frances Webb in 1793. Eleven children born in Buncombe Co. One of those, Benjamin
Franklin, b. March 5, 1807 in Buncombe, died March
20, 1885 in
Grayson, Co. Texas.
William: 1775 in Montgomery Co.,
VA. Married Susannah George in 1798. Had 9 children-half in Buncombe Co., half in Missouri. Died in 1834 in North Carolina
Reuben A.: 1778 in Montgomery Co.,
VA. Married Martha Campbell. Child Reuben b. 1810
marries Mary Catherine Pettit. Died in 1867 in St. Francois, Missouri
David: 1780 in Montgomery Co.,
VA.
Catherine: 1782 in Montgomery Co.,
VA. Married a Cain.
Jesse: 1784 in Montgomery Co.,
VA. Married Isabella Boyd. Died 1826 in Missouri
Anna: 1786 in State of Franklin (Greene
Co., later Jefferson Co., Tennessee). Married George Cathey.
Died in Bates Co. Missouri
John McFarland 2 spent some very busy years
between the Seven Years War and the Revolutionary War creating a family. After marrying Mary Kinder in 1762/3 in
Bedford Co., they settle there and have their first children, twins John and
Mary on February 28, 1764. As you can see above, eleven more followed during the next
22 years. Assuming that all these children belong to our John and his wife
Mary, she would have been around 44 years old when her last child Anna was born
in 1786. If it is true, then Mary Kinder McFarland deserves the “Mother of the
Century” award!
Looking at the birth dates of John 2’s
children, it becomes obvious why he did not actively serve during the
Revolutionary War. In 1776 John 2 was 39
years old with 8 children under the age of 12 living at home. James A.
McFarland told me that the D.A.R. considers John 1 as a “Patriot” who furnished
food for the Continental Army (he was 70 years old when it started). And he was
able to show that John 2 was in the Militia in Montgomery Co., VA during the
war and that qualified membership for the D.A.R.
However, several McFarlands from this
family group did actively serve. They are: Benjamin Anderson McFarland (John
2’s brother-He was a Private in the 3rd VA Regiment serving from
Sept. 1777 to Dec. 1779), and Robert McFarland (John 2’s nephew, son of brother
Robert and Martha-was a Lieutenant and Captain in the North Carolina militia).
Not every McFarland was happy with the
war. John 2’s brother Joseph (born 1745) seems to have favored the British, or
at least not favored going to war, because he was put on trial for treason in
1779. He seems to have made an agreement
with the Virginia government to use his skill at arms during
the conflict for no purpose other than killing wolves to protect livestock in
the county. Joseph would have been an interesting person to know more about,
besides being against the war, he was killed in an argument or duel by a Doak
around 1785-1800 in Bedford Co.
By 1787, and possibly a year or two
earlier, John 2 packed up his family and moved about 200 miles away to
present-day eastern Tennessee. He had been speculating in land there as
early as 1784. In 1784, the area briefly existed as the State of Franklin, County of Caswell.
This had been the far reaches of North Carolina, and in 1784 North Carolina ceded its western territory to the federal
government. The inhabitants of the three counties elected John Sevier (for you
Hill relatives, he was a close friend and commander to Nathaniel Evans, the
grandfather of Sevier Evans-Amanda Meredith Hill’s first husband) as governor
of Franklin. In 1796 Franklin ceased to exist, and was made part of Tennessee and North Carolina again. Sevier went on to become Tennessee’s first governor.
The McFarlands settled on the Nolachucky River, which is across the Appalachian Mts.,
today Cocke Co. Tennessee. All the birth records of the next generation will
list Greene County and then Jefferson County-but they are the same location, just
changed names. Other McFarlands lived in the area. William McFarland is a close
neighbor and Joseph McFarland receives a grant on the Nolachucky River also. Robert McFarland, John 2’s nephew,
also moved there a few years later. After only being in Tennessee for around 9
years, the McFarlands move again in 1795-96 to North Carolina This time the
move is only about 50 miles away, and is the only time the McFarlands moved
east.
John
died in 1809 in Haywood Co., North Carolina. We do not know when Mary died.
4th Generation:
John McFarland
(3): born Feb. 28, 1764 in Bedford Co. Virginia. Married Rebecca Bell,
daughter of James Bell and Agnes Hogshead. She was born on April 26,
1770 in Augusta Co. VA. They married on July 20, 1786 in Montgomery Co., VA.
They had 10 children. The first four were born in Greene Co. Tennessee, which changed names to Jefferson Co.
after 1792. The family moved around 1796 to North Carolina where the next six were born in Buncombe County, which becomes Haywood Co. in 1809. Around
1816 they packed up and moved again-this time to Missouri.
Children:
John McFarland (4):Feb. 14, 1787 in Greene Co., Tenn. Married Mary Fleming
in Buncombe Co., N.C. Mary was born in 1785/86 in Virginia. He moves to Fannin
Co., Texas.
Ann(a):April 23, 1790 in Greene Co., Tenn. Married Joseph Hughes (b.
1792). They have daughter Amanda Hughes (1828-1907) who marries Dudley Horn
(1818-1874). Amanda and Dudley move to Texas. Their daughter Nancy
Bayless Horn (1854-1928) marries John Ewing McFarland in 1873. Amanda dies in Gainesville, Cook Co., Texas. Ann(a)
died in 1868/9 in Ft. Francois, MO.
William Bell: Nov.16,
1792 in Greene Co., Tenn. Married Nancy Elizabeth
Smith. Died Jan. 10, 1839 in Cooper Co., MO.
James: January 20, 1795 in Jefferson Co., Tenn. Married Jane Jackson December
1, 1816.
Rebecca: 1798 in
Buncombe Co., North Carolina. Married
John Deaver in 1815 in North Carolina. Died in Sherman, Grayson Co., Texas
Mary: 1800 in Buncombe
Co., North Carolina. Married
Jacob McFarland on July
4, 1822 in St. Francois Co., Missouri. Jacob is son of Reuben
A. McFarland and wife Martha Campbell. Mary died in 1857 in St. Francois Co., Missouri
Arthur: 1803 in Buncombe
Co., North Carolina. Married
Elizabeth McClure in 1825 in St. Louis Co., Missouri. Died in Texas Co., Missouri
Sarah: April 14, 1806 in Buncombe Co., North Carolina. Married
November 10, 1822 to
Carroll George in St. Francois Co., Missouri. Died May 14, 1877 in Cass Co., Missouri.
Joseph: January 10, 1809 in Haywood Co., North Carolina. Married July 4, 1822 in St. Francois Co., Missouri to cousin
Mary E. McFarland (born July 24, 1807 in Buncombe Co., N.C.)
Must have been a double wedding!
Nancy Caroline
McFarland: 1812. Married Alexander Sloan in 1829 in Cooper
Co., Missouri. Died November 14, 1909 in Fannin Co., Texas
The
John McFarland (3) and Rebecca Bell family moved to North Carolina between 1795 and 1798 judging from the
birth dates of their children. North Carolina was a colony established in the 1660’s and
although it declared its independence in 1775 from Britain, it did not join the United States until 1789 because its residents objected to many of the statutes that favored the federal government.
Life there must have not been too appealing, however, because in 1816, John and
Rebecca, their children-married and unmarried, and John’s sisters and brothers
with their families decide to head west.
The traveling party included: Jacob McF., James Ray McF., William McF.,
Reuben A. McF., Jesse McF., and Anna McF. with spouse George Cathey. Also were
their various children, spouses, and more children. They numbered around 80
people. George and Benjamin McF. with
wives had moved to Kentucky several years earlier, and it seems that
the party stopped there on the way to Missouri.
Along the journey Rebecca Bell McFarland, wife of John, died in Kentucky in September, 1816-only 46 years old. This left spouse John to care for four
children under age 13, however with older siblings and lots of cousins, I’m
sure there were plenty of parents to go around. The journey was around 350
miles from western North
Carolina
to eastern Missouri.
Why Missouri? Well, the Indian Wars ended in 1815 with
a peace treaty signed by 19 tribes and the white settlers in the area. Missouri was not a part of the Union yet, and I am sure that had appeal to
these McFarlands. Whether it was always a desire for cheap land or the lack of
government that was so appealing is hard to say. But whenever an area became
too settled, it seems some of the McFarlands were ready to move on. Along the way our forefather James must have
met Jane Jackson in Kentucky, where she was born in 1801, and married
her in December-or her family had already moved to Missouri and James met her when they arrived.
Either way, they married December 1, 1816: James was 21 and Jane was 15. They
settled in an area called Saline town-ship in Ste. Genevieve Co. along with all
the other relatives that made this journey. This area became St. Francois Co.
in 1822.
It’s obvious from records in Missouri that there were other McFarland families
already in the area. One family mentioned in records is descended from a John
McFarland from Virginia who had moved from Christian Co., Kentucky. He had a son Arthur who married a Louisa
Morrow, and they had a son Andrew J. McFarland born in 1837 in Madison Co., MO.
Another John McFarland is the Reverend John McFarland buried in the Old Stone Church Cemetery, near Libertyville, Missouri. There is a section of the cemetery with
many McFarland relatives of John. He seems to be the oldest, born in 1778, and
dying September 20, 1846. This wife was Elizabeth (born 1795). Their children buried next to
them seem to be Elizabeth, Grace, Margaret, Mculley (?), and John G. McFarland,
along with another daughter Mrs. Peace, wife of Reverend Andrew Peace. This
information was gathered by Frances I. Ingmire of St. Louis MO., a distant
cousin, who shared it with Lola McFarland in 1978.
John died July 20, 1820 in Saline Township,
Ste. Genevieve Co., Missouri. Frances also found what appears
to be his estate sale. In the transcript of the 25th day of May
1821, the court assigns John (4) McFarland, the eldest son, to be the guardian
to the three siblings over 14 (Sallie, Polly, and Arthur.) Their formal names
would have been Sarah, Mary, and Arthur. Also he was to be guardian to the two
more children under 14-Joseph and Nancy. Securing this bond
with John McFarland was William Davis. (Is he connected with the Davis that helped found
Ladonia with James McFarland?) At the estate sale were other McFarlands that
came from North Carolina, both siblings and cousins,
John, Mary, Jesse, Reubin, Jesse, James, and another John. Other people that
bought items and are associated with our family through marriage are Joseph
Hughes and Bailey Fleming.
Four years later Jesse McFarland died,
and at his estate sale was James McFarland, Martin and George Sebastian, and
Rucker and Elliott Jackson. Some of the
Sebastians and Jacksons also came to Fannin Co. with James and settled on land
near his claim and became relatives by marriage.
5th
Generation
James McFarland was
born January 20,1795 in Jefferson Co., Tennessee. He married Jane Jackson on December
1,1816, shortly after moving to Missouri. Jane, the daughter of Elliott Jackson,
was born February 5, 1801 in Kentucky. Eleven children were born in St. Francois
Co., Missouri from 1817 through 1836. Two more were to
follow: Newton and Arthur on Texas soil. Other McFarlands followed; notably
brother John and his children, their spouses and children, and sister Nancy
Caroline, as well as niece Amanda Hughes. Jane’s brother also moved to Fannin
Co.
Children:
Andrew Jackson: September 3, 1817 in Ste. Genevieve Co., Missouri.
Married Artemissa Pence on July 13, 1846 in Fannin
Co., Texas
John
Ewing: October 4, 1819 in Ste. Genevieve Co., Missouri. Died before 1840
census. No one knows what happens to him, but he came to Texas, filed for a land certificate, but did not
live long enough to actually acquire land.
Sarah: April 3, 1821 in Ste. Genevieve Co., Missouri. Married Elijah Scott Sebastian on November
6, 1847 in Fannin Co., Texas and died there on November
30, 1903.
Anna: March 29 1823 in St. Francois Co., Missouri. Married Howard Etheridge and lived in Fannin Co. next to James and Jane. Died
before 1880 census.
Albert: November 10, 1824 in St. Francois Co., Missouri. Married Catherine E. Died during Civil
War on April 13, 1862.
Rebecca: October 3, 1826 in St. Francois Co., Missouri. Married Hezekiah
Blankenship on Sept. 13, 1843 in Fannin
Co., Texas. 2nd husband George Wilkerson. Moved to Oklahoma. Died 1889 and buried in Coleman Cemetery in Porum, Okla.
Jasper: August 10, 1828. Married Clarissa
Cooper. Died in Hunt Co. Texas, buried in Clinton Cemetery, 4 miles north of Caddo
Mills, Texas.
Cynthia Anne: June 21, 1830 in St. Francois Co., Missouri. Married James Calvin Tucker
on October 27, 1846 in Fannin
Co., Texas. Died before 1871.
James: August 25, 1832 in St. Francois Co., Missouri. Died coming home from Civil War.
William M.: May 7, 1834 in St. Francois Co., Missouri. Died October 29, 1852 in Fannin Co., Texas. Buried in McFarland Cemetery north of Ladonia.
Mary Jane: May 30. 1836. Married 3 times.
1. Will Terry 2. Frank Sebastian
3.
L.T. Cunningham. Died Feb. 14, 1878, buried at Oak Ridge cemetery.
Newton: October 11, 1839 in Fannin Co., Texas. Married Sarah Carolyn
Tucker on July 25, 1860 in Hunt Co., Texas. Died September
2, 1872.
Arthur: August
14, 1844 in Fannin Co., Texas. Married Mary Ellen
Terry Chamblee. Died sometime close to 1899 in Chickasha, Indian
Territory-Oklahoma.
Civil war monument placed in McFarland cemetery.
Wow! Thirteen again—I was too quick to award
the “Mother of the Century” award to Mary Kinder McFarland—except she was in
the eighteenth century and Jane Jackson McFarland is the nineteenth century, so
I guess it is OK to have two awardees.
Jane was only 15 when she married James
(who everyone called Jimmie) McFarland on December 1, 1816 in Missouri. Her birthplace has been variously stated
as being Missouri or North Carolina, however she stated to the census takers
in Texas that she was from Kentucky and her birth date is February
5, 1801. Her
father’s name was Elliott Jackson and his name appears on the Scott Co., Kentucky census of 1800. It also was a family
tradition that she was part Indian, however there is no information about her
mother or when they moved to Missouri. Her brother was John C. Jackson, born
also in Kentucky about 1811. It would seem that her father
had laid claims to extensive acreage because he sold 151 acres in St. Francois
Co. in 1826 to “his beloved son-in-law and daughter Jane and James McFarland.”
He also sold them another 240 acres in 1831, as well as leased land to Reuben
McFarland, a cousin. Owning 391 acres, however, was not enough to keep them in Missouri, and James began disposing of property
that same year. In October, 1836, the couple sold the last of their acreage in
St. Francois Co. to Samuel P. Harris and headed for Texas—the last big move to frontier territory
for our branch of the family. This time the move was 450 miles away. Family
tradition says that they stopped in Arkansas on the way, which makes sense, because
Jane’s brother, John C. Jackson lived in Hempstead Co., Arkansas. He followed James and Jane and appears on
the 1850 census as aneighbor.
Texas
had just won its independence
from Mexico in March, 1836 and the new republic was a
prime place to find new, cheap land. The
new government proclaimed that heads of families who arrived in the Texas Republic by October 1837 could claim 1280 acres
(two square miles). Our ancestor James M. McFarland arrived just in the nick of
time in September 1837. His oldest son, A. Jackson, just turned 20 and single,
was allowed to claim 320 acres at this time. James’ land was just north of the Sulphur River on gently rolling hills. Jackson’s was just south of the river. It was also in the last months of 1837 that
the area they moved into was recognized as the 11th county in Texas. Fannin County
was named after James Walker Fannin, the elected
Colonel of the Texas Revolutionary forces at Goliad, who was captured by Santa
Anna’s forces and executed by a firing squad in 1836.
The only problem with moving into this
prime black-land prairie was that the local Indian inhabitants were not too
eager to see those McFarlands heading into their
territory. Two years earlier, Isaac Lyday from White Co. Tennessee (a neighbor to the Hills and
Merediths), came to Texas, while it was still a part
of Mexico, with the two-fold purpose of gaining control of this wilderness for
the Mexican government, and to acquire cheap land for himself and his
brothers. In the interim, Cherokee
Indians, displaced from their native lands in Alabama and Georgia, had moved into East Texas displacing the Caddo. Promised land by Sam
Houston if they stayed neutral in the fight for Texas independence, the Cherokees
found those promises shattered by the new Texas Senate, which saw no need to
fulfill those agreements. Indian raids
led to Isaac Lyday building a fort in 1837, Fort Lyday, near present-day Dial, Texas to provide a safe haven for new settlers
to this area. This became the temporary home to the first settlers who moved to
the Ladonia area in 1837: the families of James
McFarland, Daniel Davis, Wiley B. Merrill, Frank McCowan,
David Waggoner, and Andrew Terry to name a few. It was the only safe place to
be until the Cherokees were defeated and pushed into Oklahoma-or as it was called then-Indian Territory.
In 1838, James and A. Jackson McFarland
were granted citizenship by the Republic of Texas and both formally received their land
grants in 1845, the last year of the Republic. Anson Jones, the last president
of the Republic, signed the grants. Jackson received another 320 acres at that time
and purchased the Reuben Brown land grant of 640 acres as well.
James and Daniel Davis were the earliest
settlers in this area, Davis arriving in 1836 (therefore allowed to claim a much larger
grant than James who came in 1837.) The size of these early grants allowed the
men to provide plenty of land for their siblings, children and children’s
spouses, who moved into the area shortly after.
We can only imagine the hardships of
settling on unbroken land, building their homes from scratch, trying to avoid
Indian attacks, and not dying in childbirth. Jackson was present at Daniel Davis’ home along
with other members of a scouting party from Ft. Lyday who were sleeping
at Davis’ place, when an Indian attack at daybreak
left Davis dead. This most likely occurred in
November, 1839. It seems Davis had left Ft. Lyday 12 days before,
thinking it safe to go back to the home he had built, and then abandoned in
December, 1838 because of the Indian raids.
His family was then moved to James McFarland’s place for safety. Jackson was also in Denton County when Capt. John Denton was killed in 1841
in another attack. One story that has been passed down from Audrey McFarland Churchwell is that several Indians and McFarlands
died in an Indian raid on the early settlement. When the Indians returned to
gather their dead, they were already buried in what is known to us today as the
McFarland cemetery. The Indians therefore announced a truce with the McFarlands because the “dead were buried with the dead.”
This generation was the first McFarlands to die on Texas soil, and that might explain some of the
missing sons and early deaths we have no record of today. A very likely
casualty is James and Jane’s son, John Ewing McFarland, although there is no
marked gravesite today. James and Jane were able to file a land claim as “the
heirs of John Ewing McFarland” indicating he moved to Texas with them, and died very early, before the
1840 census. The oldest marked grave that can still be seen is the grave of
William McFarland, a son of James and Jane who died in 1852 at age 17. This
late date would indicate an illness rather than an Indian attack.
James McFarland and Daniel Davis are
credited with establishing the town of Ladonia around 1840. They are given this
designation because they were the first settlers in the immediate area,
although the town itself was not founded before Davis’ death. Daniel Davis died before 1840, as
discussed above, and James lived north of what became Ladonia,
however Jackson and Albert had land claims in and around the town. According to
family information published in the 1914 book A History of Texas and Texans,
by Frank W. Johnson, James was one of the early Justices of Peace in this area
and he is recorded as being a land commissioner for Fannin County from 1852 to 1858.
A new highway, the Central National Road, was commissioned by the Texas Republic’s government. It ran from present day Rockwall, through Collin County, missing Greenville and Wolfe City, but passed through Ladonia
on its way to Ft. Lyday and Paris. This helped Ladonia
become a center for business in later years.
Before Ladonia
became a boomtown, however, the town started very simply with the establishment
by Frank McCowan of a general store and tavern, and
in 1860 the present square was laid out. A couple of miles north of the town,
in the 1850 census, James and Jane McFarland were in one household with their
unmarried children and their married children were living nearby. Howard
Etheridge from Mississippi (36) was married to Anna McF. (27) with 4 children. Elijah Scott Sebastian (24) from
St. Francois Co. Missouri was married to Sarah McF.
(29), and A. Jackson McF.(33) had married Artemissa Pence(20) in 1846 and had 2 children in the
house, James Franklin (2) and John Ewing(1). Jackson was not living on any of the land grants
he received, instead he made his home on the 640 acres
he bought from Reuben Brown, northwest of James’ land grant.
More McFarlands
had moved into the area. Another very early settler was Samuel McFarland, born
in Ireland, who moved here in 1838 and married Desina Kerr from Tennessee on May 15, 1838. (For the Hill relatives, the Kerrs from White County Tennessee are also connected and a
goodly number moved to Fannin and Collin Counties during this time period.) In the 1840
census of the Republic, Samuel McFarland, born in Ireland, is listed next to James and Jackson, with
640 acres to his name. He probably was related, but that connection is not
known. He was very prominent in early government and served as the county tax
assessor in 1869 and represented this area at the Republic’s capitol. His
signature is on a tax receipt collected from Jackson McF. Another McFarland family that gets settled in
Fannin County is James O. McFarland, born in Greene County, Tennessee, whose father was born in Ireland. James O. settled in the Orangeville area
of the county. Again, if there is a physical relation, it is lost to us today.
James’ older brother, John 4 (aged 63),
also moved here with his wife Mary Fleming McF.
sometime before 1850. They probably traveled with their married children:
Louisa married to Robert Stanhope Cox, Elizabeth married to Francois Paul DeGuire (who had first been married to her sister Sophia
who died after her first child), Mary Emily married to James Newton Pettit, and
Rebecca married to Robert Holmes Lane. John purchased the James McConnell claim
of 640 acres just north of the Rueben Brown claim, where Jackson made his home. Whatever happened to his
son, John (5) born in 1828, is unknown at this time. John (4) and Mary’s eldest
son, Newton, had died in Missouri in 1847, but the grandchildren’s names appear
in John (4)’s estate
settlement, and one of them, Charles, must have spent time living in Fannin County between Missouri and his move to Coleman
County in west Texas. He was called by “Flat-land Charlie” by his cousins in Fannin County according to Ethel McFarland’s memories
from her father, Cyrus Sylvester (Bose.) For more
information concerning John and his legal transactions, see the associated
article “Land Purchases and Sales by John McFarland in Fannin County.”
Nancy Caroline, the sister of James and
John, also moved here with her husband Alexander Carson Sloan, and three
children, sometime between 1850 and 1860. On the 1860 census they are shown
living next to John in Beat 5. There is a creek on the road to Bonham from Dodd City called Sloan’s Creek and Nancy Caroline
and her husband are buried at Shilo Cemetery nearby. I don’t know if there is a
connection with the other Sloan families in Fannin County. I tried to visit the cemetery, but it is
not visible from the road and reputed to be in bad condition.
Other families that settled nearby were the
Williams and the Sebastians from Missouri, the Hulseys and Cunninghams from
Georgia, the Terrys, Pences,
and Waggoners who seem to have come via Virginia, and
Illinois before winding their way to Texas.
Mary
Fleming McFarland died in 1855 at age 70 and her husband John died in 1874 at
age 88. Her original
tombstone can barely be read, but it is in the middle of what is now the Oak Ridge Cemetery. Mary’s burial was probably one of the
very first in this location-it is the earliest one that still exists. This
cemetery is part of Daniel Davis’ survey- how it came to used as a cemetery is
unknown, but possibly it was where Daniel Davis was buried, which may have
initiated it as sacred ground. There is another tombstone in the style of
Mary’s, next to hers, but it is completely unreadable. I assume it is her
husband’s, John McFarland. There is another standing tombstone that was made at
some later date for John, and is readable, but broken. Their daughter, Mary
Emily Pettit, is buried next to them. Mary Emily’s daughter, Lucinda Pettit
married John Wesley Hulsey, whose grandfather Joel had
moved his family to Texas in 1852. The John Wesley Hulsey family
donated the two acres that became the Oak Ridge Cemetery and Church shortly after John McFarland’s
death.
James
died October 18, 1871, at 76 years of age. His wife, Jane, died the following
year on May 14, 1872, 71 years old. They are buried in the southeast
corner of his land grant, just north of the Sulphur River in the McFarland Cemetery. Tucked in the middle of pastureland is a
small grove of trees that form a shaded canopy for the gravesite. It is a
beautiful restful spot, cooled by breezes even on a hot July day. Even though
the land surrounding it has been sold to other people, the graveyard is
maintained with funds donated by various descendants over the years. Presently
Robert Wayne Milton takes care of its upkeep, while the Breedlove descendants
oversee its care. Hopefully, McFarland descendants will always remember it. In July,
2002, Billy Rattan was responsible for putting up a sign designating the
cemetery. Mary Helen Haines did the background research so it could be
recognized by the Texas State Historical Society. Agnes Breedlove paid for the
beautiful monument, and Rhonda Shinpaugh’s family put
it in place. On May 30, 2004, McFarland descendants from all over the U.S. gathered to dedicate the marker and honor
their ancestors.
6th
Generation
Andrew Jackson
(who everyone called Jackson) McFarland was born September 3, 1817 in
Ste. Genevieve Co., Missouri. In 1820 this section of the county
becomes St.
Francois
County. He traveled with his family to Texas in 1837, laid claim to 640 acres near his
father’s claim and quickly purchased more. Shortly after being granted his patent
by the Republic, he married Artemissa Pence on July
13, 1845. Artemissa (Artimissa)
was born March 2, 1829 in Kentucky, the daughter of John Pence (b. May
13, 1793-died
Feb. 18, 1865 in Hunt Co.) and Nancy Ann Waggoner (b. March 2, 1796 in
Montgomery Co., Virginia-died Feb. 13, 1860 in Hunt Co.). Artemissa
and Jackson had 5 children-a rather remarkable fact in the days of children
being born every 2 years. Another remarkable fact-this generation stayed put in
Fannin Co.
Children:
James
Franklin: August 9, 1847 in Fannin Co., Texas. Married Mary Jane
Harper.
John
Ewing: April 9, 1849
in Fannin Co.,
Texas. Married cousin Nancy Bayless Horn. Died September
13, 1927. Buried in Ladonia Cemetery.
Nancy Jane: January 2, 1851 in Fannin Co., Texas. Married William Wylie
Cunningham. Died February
4, 1872. Buried in Hulsey section at Oak Ridge Cemetery. Her descendants live on Jackson’s property.
Newton Jackson: December 29, 1857 in Fannin Co., Texas. Married 4 times.
Died May 15, 1944. Buried in McFarland lot
in Ladonia Cemetery.
Cyrus Sylvester: March 1, 1865 in Fannin Co., Texas. Married Susie M. Lee.
Ran the Jackson McFarland General Merchandise Co. in Ladonia. Died September
5, 1925. Buried in McFarland lot in Ladonia Cemetery.
As each son reached maturity, the 6th
generation sons received land patents to acreage in Fannin
and Hunt Counties. Albert acquired 320 acres in 1852 and
added another 125 acres in 1859. Jasper received 177 in 1857 and then added 41
acres much later in Hunt Co. in 1887. Both Albert and Jasper appear in the Hunt
Co. census in 1860 with their growing families. Cotton was a growing commodity
for the Fannin Co. area and the McFarlands
were involved in its production. Ladonia grew into a
distribution center with mills and transportation businesses.
The Civil War was the most significant and catastrophic
event of this generation. In the 1860 census James McFarland was still alive at
66 years with wife Jane at 59. The youngest children, Newton (20) and Arthur R. (15) were still living
at home. According to an article written in the early 1900s about our family,
father James was a Baptist and against secession, however six of his eight sons
decided they should join the war in various capacities. William and John Ewing
were dead before the war, so all of James’s living sons served the Confederacy
during the war.
Maybe James Sr.s’
advanced age gave him a clearer vision of what disaster this war could bring.
Did the sons fight for the right to own slaves?
That is hard to say since we have no written documents of their
thinking. We know that Jackson McFarland’s tax receipt for 1857 property taxes
says he owned 1320 acres, 7 Negroes, 18 horses, 100 cattle and one…(something
unreadable), and in the 1860 census record, James is recorded as owning two people.
In looking at the census slave records, the McFarlands
of Fannin County were small potatoes in the
slave-owning business—Thank goodness! Slavery is a very hard concept to begin
to comprehend in our own time. The
people who once were slaves, however, took the McFarland name after the war and
some stayed in the area. The 1880 census has a family of black McFarlands living near Jackson and John. In checking on all
McFarlands who fought in the Civil War, there were
members on both sides, however the vast majority was in the Confederacy.
Before the Confederate army was
officially organized, eight companies were organized to be the Fannin County Militia. They were called the 14th
Brigade of Independent Mounted Volunteers, commanded by Col. Samuel A. Roberts
and organized by General Ben McCullouch. They were
planning to fight in Missouri and drive the Unionists out. I can well
imagine the enthusiasm that provoked among the men who had just moved here from
Missouri, especially the McFarland sons, who had many
first cousins living in Missouri still. This brigade never actually fought
as the 14th, and instead its members ended up serving in other
divisions.
Pinning
down who served where is especially hard because when the men enlisted in Fannin Co. and other parts of Texas, they only gave their first initial
instead of their full name. On July 6, 1861, a J.R. McFarland, age 28, signed up in Ladonia to be a part of George W. Merrick’s Company. This
corresponds to our James, the 9th child of James and Jane. His line
did not continue and he has no gravesite that we know of. His full name was
probably James Robert, which will be repeated in the next generation by James
Franklin’s son. With J.R. were many neighbors, five of the Terry family, five
of the Merrill, and two Hulsey. It is assumed that this J.R. is the same Jim
that Lee Cunningham told about (story to follow.)
Also
on July 6, 1861
a J. McFarland, age 43, enlisted in Capt. John W. Piner’s
(a neighbor, whose name appears later on a tax receipt Jackson kept) Company in Honey Grove. The only
McFarland in Fannin Co., whose age corresponds, is
our own Jackson. Elijah Sebastian, Jackson’s son-in-law also joined this unit on that
day. The 14th never became active, and when the formal CSA units
were organized, Jackson was overage. In 1864 Jackson served two six month tours, one for the
Texas State Troops, and another for The Texas Reserve Corps Infantry of the
CSA. He kept several documents granting leave so he could bring in his crops.
He did what many Texas farmers did during the war; grow wheat and
corn for the Confederacy, which he was paid for in good ol’
Confederate promissory notes. Our Andrew Jackson fared much better than his
first cousin Andrew Jackson in Missouri. That Andrew Jackson,
born in 1828, son of William Bell McF. died in 1862 as a
P.O.W. in a federal prison.
Not
wanting to be left out, Jackson’s son James Franklin at age 16 did guard duty at a temporary
prison in Bonham for a short time during the last months of the war under the
command of Captain “Zoke” William. He appears on a
list of Fannin County veterans as part of the command of G.H.
Fox of Company G, Alexander’s Regiment, William Company. It seems that soldiers
were deserting like crazy in the end, and some commanders thought they should
lock them up.
George
W. Merrick, the neighbor who started out commanding a unit of the 14th
Brigade, ended up commanding the 22nd Texas Cavalry as a Lt. Colonel by the end
of the war. Also listed in the 22nd Cavalry, Company C is Albert
McFarland, J.R. McFarland, and Arthur McFarland. Many names that appear in our
family tree were also in this unit: Granville Cross, John Deaver,
Howard Etheridge, Wiley and William H. Hulsey, David Hampton Rattan, and
neighbors such as the Cummins and Frys.
Arthur
was too young (17) to stay in the CSA when the conscription law was passed in
April, 1862; however, he joined the 31st Texas Cavalry in August 9,
1862 with brothers Newton and Jasper shortly before his 18th
birthday. Arthur’s granddaughter, Loma Patton, had a monument placed in the
McFarland graveyard in the 1960s that commemorates his service, although he is
buried in Oklahoma.
The
22nd, 31st, and 34th Cavalry Units appeared in
most of the same battles in Indian Territory, Arkansas, and briefly in Missouri, as well as participated in the Red River Campaign
in Louisiana toward the end of the war. This campaign
was fought to keep the river open as a trade route through Shreveport, the capital of Louisiana for the Confederacy. All units participated in the Battle of Mansfield,
in April, 1864, the last major victory for the Confederacy during the war.
The
daughter of L. T. Cunningham and Mary Jane McFarland, Julia Cunningham
Stoddard, related to Lola McFarland that Lee and Uncle Jim (which would have
been James R. McF.) went to war together. L.T.
Cunningham is on the roster for the 34th Texas Cavalry. He told his
family that as they were trying to get home after the war had ended, they were
starving. They were so hungry that Jim ate green corn from a field and died as
the result. Albert McFarland died early in the war, in April 1862 of unknown
causes. (For a more detailed account of their Civil War records and campaigns,
see my article “Fannin County McFarlands
and The Civil War.”)
Even
though the McFarlands were spared the horrors of the
battlefields like Gettysburg and Shiloh, many of the men were affected by these
times. Even if they did not die in the war, their lives were considerably
shorter than previous generations. Newton died at 33, and
Arthur at 55. The women, left alone with small children to raise
and farms to plant and harvest, also suffered greatly during these trying
times. S. (Sarah) Sebastian (3 in family), Harper (6 in family), as well as
three Hulsey families appear on a list of indigent families applying for aid in
February, 1865 in Fannin County.
Slowly things began to recover in the
1870s. Jackson, who kept every piece of
written document that came his way, applied for membership to the local Masonic
Lodge (Bethel #134) in 1867. He was accepted and his tombstone is
inscribed with the Masonic symbol. The Jackson McFarland Co. General
Merchandise Co. was established in Ladonia in 1877,
which shows that the family was beginning to think about developing other
pursuits besides farming. There must have been a connection with the land,
however, because tokens were minted for use in purchasing goods from the store,
and I imagine that employees and tenant farmers received at least part of their
pay in these tokens. Jackson’s son, Cyrus Sylvester “Bose” took over as manager and principle owner of the store
from 1902 until his death in 1925.
In
the 1870 census, Sarah McF. Sebastian (50) and 4
children: Franklin (17), Elmirey (6), and Jefferson
(9) Sebastian, and James Tucker (17) the son of Cynthia Anne McF. and James Tucker, were with James and Jane McFarland,
now 76 and 69 . Sarah’s husband Elijah
Scott died in 1863, probably in the war-he also served in Merrick’s Company. Still neighbors were Anna, her
husband Howard Etheridge and now 5 children, as well as Newt McF. (29) married to Sarah C. Tucker (28) and their 4, and
then Arthur (26) on his land with wife Mary Ellen Terry Chamlee
(30) and their 3 children (the two oldest from a previous marriage she had to
J. Frank Chamlee). In 1874, Arthur’s name appears as
one of the original trustees for a school and church building to be built at Oak Ridge on land deeded from the Hulsey family
(Lucinda Pettit Hulsey was the granddaughter of John and Mary F. McFarland).
This becomes the Oak Ridge Church of Christ, across from the burial ground
where John and Mary F. McFarland were interred. It seems that the death of John
in 1874 prompted the decision to establish the graveyard and church/school.
Soon this expands to be the family burial ground of the Hulseys
and Cunninghams as well.
The
family endured quite a struggle when father James died in 1871 without leaving
a will. Although he and Jane had dispensed most of the original land grant to
their married daughters and youngest sons, there was still approximately 302
acres left. All the children came up with an agreement how they would dispense
the inheritance, but Jane decided to write a will that left the land to her two
youngest sons, Newton and Arthur. Jane died in May, 1872 and the
“fun” began. Newton died in September, 1872, leaving his heirs and brother
Arthur in the awkward position of trying to get the rest of the siblings to
accept mother Jane’s last wishes. Lawsuit after lawsuit followed involving all
the children and the heirs of Albert and Newton. In the end, Jackson, who was the largest
land owner of all, bought out everyone else’s interests in the inheritance, and
finally, in 1878, Arthur was ordered by the court to sell the contested land,
which he did in a closed sale to Jackson. Jackson paid around $6.00 an acre (the going rate)
for the 302 acres of the original land grant. The 302 acres, site of James and
Jane’s original home and the McFarland cemetery, were given by Jackson to his
son Newton Jackson, who passed it to his son, Ambrose Sylvester.
Arthur
used his stake to move to Coleman County, Texas where he joined his Missouri cousin Charles Newton McFarland (grandson
of John (4) McFarland), and Joel Thomas Hulsey from Fannin County. This area was just opening up for
settlement and Arthur applied for a 160 acre grant in 1881. He received the
grant in 1884 after three years of occupation and then quickly sold it. Mary E.
McFarland purchased a land grant nearby in 1882, and Arthur served as Justice
of the Peace, officiating at several marriages in the county. It seems the
family moved on to Oklahoma soon after 1880. That is the year that
Arthur grants 57 acres to his step-daughter. (A detailed accounting of the land
issues of the McFarlands is included in a separate
document, “Land Issues concerning James McFarland and his Children.”)
In 1886 a railroad connection was
built to connect Paris to Honey Grove to Ladonia
to Dallas. This really helped Ladonia
grow and it continued to run up through the 1950s. Lola McFarland (8th generation)
made films of the grandchildren (10th gen.) arriving at the Ladonia station from Dallas for a visit to the farm and
Lola’s brother, Uncle Doc (James A. McFarland-brother of Lola), wrote
entertaining stories about his adventures as a young boy riding the train into
Dallas to visit the State Fair.
Jackson McFarland died August 14,
1883, and was buried near his parents in the McFarland Cemetery.
The home place of Jackson and Artemissa passed on to
Nancy Jane McF. Cunningham and is still in the hands
of their descendants today, Rhonda Kay Cunningham Shinpaugh,
her husband and two children. The original frame home was torn down and
replaced with a modern structure. Artemissa’s son,
James Franklin, built her a small house in back of the house where he and Mary
Jane lived so she would be near by, but not in the same house as the growing
brood of the 8th generation. Her last years, however, were spent
living with her daughter Nancy Jane Cunningham’s family. Although the 1888 home
of James Franklin and Mary Jane is still standing, like most of the other
McFarland homes, the property has been sold and is in other hands. Artemissa’s small house has been moved from behind the
homestead to a place across the road. Artemissa
died July 6, 1907, sixty-eight years old, and joined her husband and in-laws at
the McFarland cemetery.
7th
Generation
James Franklin was born on the farm on August 9, 1847. He
married Mary Jane Harper on February 4, 1872. Mary Jane was born February 26,
1852 in Knight’s Prairie, Hamilton Co., near McLeansboro,
Illinois, daughter of George Washington Harper and Susanne Mansell. They became the parents of 10 children,
the nine who survived received college degrees in the late 1800s and early
1900s, and scattered like the winds over the years. The history of James and
Mary Jane and their children has been very well documented by the 8th
generation and I would refer any reader to A Collection of Facts and Fancies
of the Family of James Franklin McFarland and Mary Jane Harper McFarland compiled
by Lola Winifred McFarland Hill in 1966 for detailed information about these
wonderful people.
GrandLola was like Jackson, she kept everything that referenced her
forefathers, brothers and sisters, children and grandchildren. It is from that
wealth of wedding announcements, obituaries, newpaper
articles, and personal letters, organized in album after album,
that I had as a starting place. I have loved pouring through this living
personal history and trying to put together the pieces into a coherent story
for our family. I also have relished the opportunity this project has given me
to search out and meet more of our McFarland relatives. It has given me the
opportunity to get acquainted with our Texas base in Ladonia,
and appreciate how beautiful that country is and was to our forefathers who settled
there.
********
The broader
history of James Franklin’s brothers and sister has yet to be written, and no
one, as yet, has tackled the more recent history of the 10th, 11th,
and 12th generations. What a project that will be!!
Bibliography
Burleson, Muriel. Ed. Recollections of Ladonia: The Town and Its People. Feb. 1991
Breedlove, Agnes McFarland. Personal recollections. 2002
Fannin County Folks and Facts. Taylor Publishing Company. Bonham Public
Library, 1977.
Fannin County, Texas, Federal Population
Census. 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880.
Hill, Lola McFarland. A
Collection of Facts and Fancies of the Family of James Franklin McFarland and
Mary Jane Harper McFarland. 1966
History of Fannin County, Texas, 1836-1843. Southwestern Historical
Quarterly. pp. 296-297. (found at Samuel
Rayburn Library in Bonham)
Ingmire,
Frances Terry, compiled.
Fannin
County, Texas Land Titles. Bonham Public Library, 1979.
Ingmire, Frances Terry. Personal research of St. Francois County, Missouri public records. Shared with Lola
McFarland in 1978.
Johnson, Frank W. “ James
Franklin McFarland” A History of Texas and Texans. The American Historical
Society. 1914
MacFarlane, James. History of Clan MacFarlane. Clan MacFarland Society. Glasgow, Scotland. 1922.
MacFarlane, Kent. “Origins of the
McFarland/MacFarlane Names.” Article published
in The Lantern. Newsletter of the Clan MacFarlane.
McFarland Family Bible is the source for
many of the birth and death dates that are not available through other records.
This Bible has entries recorded in hand by James McFarland and Artemissa Pence McFarland. It is presently owned by the
Breedlove family descendants.
McFarland, Jackson. Personal documents:
deed, tax receipts, Civil War service. Originals are housed at Barker Texas History Center in Austin and San Antonio Institute of
Texan Cultures.
McFarland, James A., Stitches in Time:
The Myth of Sir John MacFarlane. Double Creek
Production, Inc. Tulsa, Oklahoma. 2001.
Newhouse, Patricia Armstrong, Ed. Fannin County, Texas: Enlistees in the War Between the States
1861-1864. Bonham Public Library.
Raney, Don., “Ft. Lyday, Fannin County, Texas: Indian Raids on the Red River Frontier.” DGS
Newsletter. Volume 21, Number 1, January 1997.
Scott, Tom. Ed., Fannin
County: The Early Years-Land Grants, Bounty Warrants, Muster Rolls, and Tax
Rolls: 1836-1840. Fannin Co. Genealogical Quarterly. 1982.
The 1840 Census of Republic of Texas. Pemberton Press. Austin. 1966. Dallas Public Library
http://www.rootsweb.com/~txfannin/ceme-mcfarland.html
http://www.rootsweb.com/~txfannin/ceme-oakridge.html
http://www.rootsweb.com/~txfannin/ceme-shilo.html
http://www.macfarland.org/story.htm
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~pattiejo/mcfarland/pafn04.htm