George McFarlan

Notes

From "The McFarlan-Heald Ancestry"

This whole section is excerpted from a geneology book that Mom copied.I scanned it, then did OCR, then fixed it manually.But it still might have typos.

The MacFarlan name is of Scottish origin, and comes lineally from the old Earls of Lennox, the ancient name of the county of Dumbarton, Scotland.Scotland is supposed by some to have been settled by a colony from the north of Ireland, as early as 503.They were called Scots, said to be from an Irish word Scete, signifying dispersed or scattered, and denoting their numerous clans and roving life, giving origin to the Scoto-Irish of ancient days.

The name MacFarlan, of Scotland, and Macfarland, of Ireland, originated, no doubt, like many other surnames, from the name of a place of residence ; hence the name Farland, from the far-lands of Scotland, the ancient home of their ancestors, became their adopted name, after surnames came into use, three or four centuries since. The “Mc" or “Mac” in Ireland and Scotland signifies son, as McDonald, means son of Donald, McConnell, son of Connell, and McFarland, son of Farland.

The McFarlans, our ancestors of the north of Ireland and Scotland, like most of their countrymen, were loyal and patriotic. This may be inferred from the Family Arms. The crest that surmounts the helmet above the shield is a demi-savage, grasping in his dexter handa sheaf of arrows, and pointing with the sinister to an imperial crown, exclaiming, “This I’ll defend!” The scroll beneath the shield containsthe word Loch Slay. The legend that accounts for these parts of the armorial insignia, says the right to assume them was granted by the King, for service and bravery at Loch Sloy, when the royal army was imperiled; and that the honorable distinction of being ranked as a defender of the crown was at the same time conferred. This is given as tradition, without data to verify it. But that the coat-of—arms hererepresented was rightfully borne by our far—away ancestors, admits of no doubt, and proves the family to have been of ancient and honorable descent. For the Arms, see plate 8, No. 18, on the frontispiece of book.

In the great Highland uprising in Scotland, in 1745, which resulted so disastrously to “ Charley, my Charley," at the hard fought battle of Culloden, Sir Walter Scott places the MacFarlane clan second in the ranks, and gives the gathering words of this clan, on the eve of battle, as their watchword, Loch Sloy. It is said the mother of that greatest of Scottish Bravo's, Rob Roy, the great MacGregor, was a MacFarlane.

Since the Reformation, and during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 1558 to 1603, and of James I to 1625, the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel entered into a conspiracy against the English government, resulting in their subjugation and forfeiture of their immense landed possessions. This, and other repeated revolts of the Irish, (who, ever prefer Rome to England) brought down the paw of the British lion with terrible severity, until seven of the nine counties of the province of Ulster, in the north of Ireland, and contiguous to Scotland, were forfeited and allotted to Protestant settlers from England and Scotland.But much the greater number were Scots, whose posterity at present are the principal landed proprietors in that section.

In the closing year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Scotland and Ireland became parts of the same empire with England, says Macaulay.

James McFarlan, of county Tyrone, Ireland, in a letter to the writer in 1875, said: “The MacFarlands came from the parish of Dugdale, in Scotland, at the time of the union between Scotland and Ireland.* They were mostly of the Scotch army, and were pensioned to the county of Tyrone, with others, to settle there." This gives us the origin of the Scotch-Irish of later days in America.

The time our remote ancestors emigrated from Scotland to Ireland is not fully established.It may have been early in the 17th century, if it was in connection with the large influx in the reign of James I; but if John McFarlan, of Liscabble, was the first, (as we are told) it must have been near the close of that century, or the beginning of the 18th, as he was born 1672; one of his four children was born in 1715. His eldest son being named Dugald, after the parish of Dougdale, in Scotland, from whence he or his progenitors came, favors the supposition that he and his wife were emigrants, and thus manifested a pleasant memory of their home in father-land.

Be this as it may, the first we know of the name is --

FIRST GENERATION.

1. JOHN, of Liscabble parish, county Tyrone, Ireland, b. 1672; died 5th mo. 1, 1742. He m. Catharine Hamilton, whose lineage is unknown to us. They had two sons and two daughters, DUGALD, JOHN, MARGARET and ELLES.

SECOND GENERATION.

Children of JOHN MACFARLAN (1) and CATHARINE HAMILTON:

2. DUGALD, b. about 1712, and possibly named for Dugdale parish in Scotland, from whence his ancestors came. He m. about 1733, ——Foster. and had six children, DUGALD, JR, JAMES, JOHN, WILLIAM, MARGARET, and CATHARINE.

3. JOHN, b. 1715; m. Martha Armour, of Lignabraid, parish of Ardstraw. They had five sons and five daughters.

PATRICK, m. and had six sons and five daughters, all of whom married.

JOHN, m. and had four sons and five daughters; two sons and three daughters married.

WILLIAM, m. and had three sons and six daughters; one son and five daughters married.

Patrick, John and William lived in the town-land of Learden, near Garten.

ARMOUR, m. and had one son and four daughters; one son and two daughters married.

ANDREW, the youngest of the family. had three sons and four daughters; three daughters married; two sons deceased.

James, the surviving brother, lives near Newton-Stewart, county Tyrone, Ireland. He is a first cousin of James McFarIan, of Greensburg, Pa.

4. MARGARET, b. about 1718; m. John Campbell, of Plumbridge, Ireland.

5. ELLEN, b. about 1720; m. McCould Drumore, all of Ireland.

THIRD GENERATION

Children of DUGALD MCFARLAN (2) and —— FOSTER:

6. DUGALD, Jr., b. about 1734; have no further record of him.

7. JAMES, b. about 1736; m. Ann Armour about 1780,who was b. about 1763. After her husband's death she emigrated to America, in 1820, and died at the home of her son James, near Greensburg, Pa, 4th mt. 1, 1855, being over 90 years of age. They had six children, JOHN, MARGARET, BETTY, CATHARINE, JAMES, (of Pa.) and one not given.

8. JOHN, b. 1738, in Ireland, emigrated with his brother William to America, about 1760, and settled in Kennett township, Chester county, Pa., where tradition says he taught school in winter, and worked at farming in summer. William was younger, and the scholar of the family.

James McFarlan, of Greensburg (a nephew of John and William), says his father received a letter from the captain of the vessel in which they came to America, saying that William had “navigated the ship across the ocean, and was the most brilliant passenger he had ever carried."

The mother of these young men was a thoughtful, cautious woman, and when they were about to leave the parental roof, she expressed much solicitude for their future welfare.She charged John, particularly, to take care of William in the wilds of America, and not suffer him to become fascinated by the Quaker maidens of Pennsylvania. We are led, to believe that in the olden times parents exercised great influence over their children, and the elder brothers and sisters were expected to aid the parents in care and admonition. In this case, however, it seems the elder brother had not been fully and personally instructed as to his own danger among the attractive Quaker girls of Chester county, for he married one of the proscribed sect, as appears trom the following extract from the minutes of Kennett Monthly Meeting of Friends :

“ WHEREAS, Sarah McFarlin (formerly Heald), hath had her education amongst us, the people called Quakers, but not giving due heed to the Dictates of Truth in her own heart as she ought, hath let out her affections on a man of another society, and married him by a priest, after having been advised to the contrary, and she not appearing, when visited, in a capacity to condemn her said misconduct to satisfaction: Therefore, for ye clearing of the truth, we account ye said Sarah McFarlin no member of our religious society, until from a true sense of her said error, she freely condemns the same, which she may happily experience, is our sincere desire.

"Given forth from our monthly meeitng of Kennett, held at Center the 15th of 8th month, 1765, and signed by Caleb Pierce, Clerk."

That a "true sense of her said error” was never experienced, we may infer from the fact that she never again became a member of the Society of Quakers, though she lived fifty seven years after the date of this “testimony” against her. What the “other society“ was, of which her husband was a member, I am not entirely certain, but I believe it was the Presbyterian.

From this we learn that John married Sarah, the daughter of John Heald, of Kennett, in 1765. For their posterity for over a century, and up to 1874, see the McFarlan-Heald Genealogy, and the Scotch-Irish, Anglo-American Genealogical Tree of the family.

John and Sarah McFarlan probably lived for the greater part of their married life on the farm now occupied by Samuel McFadden, about two miles south from Kennett Square. There, at least, they resided in the year 1777, at the time of the battle of Brandywine. The day preceding the battle the right wing of the British army passed near their home.Some Hessian soldiers entered the field where John was ploughing, and cut the three horses from their traces, preparatory to taking possession.The owner resisted this confiscation so far as he was able, but with no other effect than to induce the marauders to fasten a rope around his neck, "to teach him,” as they said, “ how to behave." And not only even his horses driven off, but also his cattle, pigs and sheep, and all his poultry and grain were carried away. While the soldiers were thus engaged, the women following the army entered the house and stripped it of everything they could lay their hands on; beds, bedding, clothing and victuals; not even sparing the family Bible. They tore the cap from the head of the baby in the cradle, and the kerchief from the neck of its mother, telling her as they did so that “they had come to stay.“ “Yes, to find your graves soon," was her indignant response.The only things saved were a ‘few pieces of clothing, some pewter dishes, and perhaps a few other articles that Sarah had hastily hidden away in the churn and under a loose board that she had hastily tilted from the kitchenfloor. No Compensation was ever received for these goods, nor were any of them ever recovered, except that one of the horses deserted and returned home the next day. The loss must have been a severe one to the little household. Many of the articles, such as bedding and clothing, doubtlessly cost the mistress of the home many months, perhaps years, of arduous toil to replace; for we must remember that, as yet, cotton and cotton spindles were things unknown; that the spinning wheel and the hand loom supplied almost entirely the textile fabrics used by all persons, except the rich, and that many of the most essential domestic implements were imported at considerable cost from abroad, or made by hand with great labor at home.

It is probable that all of their six children were born on the Kennett farm, during the excitement incident to and preceding the Revolutionary War. ELIZABETH, b. 1766; WILLIAM, about 1768; GEORGE, 1772; ENOCH, 1777; ISAAC, 1778, and PHEBE, 1779.

John and Sarah McFarlan had very little personal property left, after their robbery by the Hessians, and they never recovered from the loss, but were able to maintain their integrity and teach their children, by example as well as precept, to earn an honest living. In this respect, their posterity may claim a goodly heritage. We find John and Sarah braving their adverse fortune with true courage. William was a farmer, while George, Enoch and Isaac were given trades; but all the brothers subsequently became possessed of land, and followed, in part, the vocation of the family, that of tillers of the soil.

When John’s health failed, he gave up farming and went to reside with his son George, in East Marlborough township, where he died 5th mo 8, 1802, in his sixty-fourth year, says his son Enoch McFarlan's record.* Sarah survived him twenty years, homing with her daughter, Betsy Taggart, in East Marlborough, where she died 10th mo. 9, 1822, in her 77th year.Both were interred at old Kennett.

JOHN McFarlan's WILL.

I, John McFarlan, of the township of East Marlborough, county of Chester, and state of Pennsylvania, being weak in body, but of sound memory (blessed be God.) do this third day of April, Anno Domini, 1802, make and publish this my last will and testament, in manner as follows: (that is to say.) First, that all my debts justly due to any person or persons, be fully paid at a convenient time after my decease.

Also, I give and bequeath to my daughter, Elizabeth Taggart, wife of William Taggart, the sum of fifty cents. Item, I give and bequeath to my son, William McFarlan, the sum of fifty cents. Item, I give and bequeath to my son George McFarlan, the sum of fifty cents. Item, I give and bequeath to my son Enoch McFarlan, the sum of fifty cents. Item, I give and bequeath to my son, Isaac G. McFarlan, the sum of fifty cents. Item, I give and bequeath to my daughter, Phebe Stern, wife of John Stern, the sum of fifty cents.

And, also, to my beloved wife, Sarah McFarlan, I give and bequeath all the remainder of my money and effects whatsoever, to her sole use forever. Lastly, I do appoint my said wife, Sarah McFarlan, as aforesaid, to be my executrix, and my said son, George McFarlan, my executor, to this my last will and testament.

In Witness whereof, I, the said John McFarlan, have to this, my last will and testament set my hand and seal the day and year above written.

WITNESSES PRESENT:

JOHN TAYLOR, SAMUEL JACKSON, WILLIAM TAGGART, Jr.

(Signed) JOHN MCFARLAN [L.S.]

This will was amicably carried out by the family without legal process. The original is in the keeping of a great-grand—child, Edith Newlin, 7th and Wollaston Sts., Wilmington, Del.,

9. WILLIAM, b. about 1740. He emigrated with his brother John, but no record of him has been found in my diligent search; said to have been the most talented of his family. All trace of him is lost,with only a faint tradition that he entered the army or navy, and embarked his fortune as a privateer during our war for Indepedance, and went down, with many others, “unknown and unsung,” as is the cruel of war.

10. MARGARET, b. about 1743.

11. CATHARINE,b.about1746; both sisters of our ancestor, John McFarlan, married, and one of them had a family, but all of them long since deceased in Ireland. Here ends the 3d generation of our Irish kindred.

FOURTH GENERATION.

Children of James MGFARLAN (7) and ANN ARMOUR.

12. JOHN, b. in Ireland, and died there about 1856. His wife also died there, 8th mo. 9, 1866. They had two sons and one daughter, JOHN,*HENRY and ISABELLA, all married and have families in county Tyrone, Ireland.

13. . MARGARET, b. 8th mo. 1, 1782; m. Frederick Dunford, about 1800. He died 1819. She emigrated to America 1820, with her mother, sister Catharine, and her own three children. She lived near to her brother James, and died there a much respected woman, in 1867, in her 85th year. Her son, James, b. 6th mo. 1802, was living at Oakland Cross Roads, in Westmoreland county, Pa, a few years since.He was unmarried. His sister, ANNIE, b. 1809, wasaccidentally drowned on Christmas day, 1832.She was married to Thomas Billingsly, and had two children, one of whom, James, b. 1st mo. 9, 1830, d. 1866, and left two daughters. The other, Martha J., married William Patterson, and had two sons and seven daughters. MARTHA DUNFORD, b. 1811, m. William Johnson ; d. 12th mo. 15, 1840; had children.

14. BETTY, b. about 1785, and d. in Ireland.

15. CATHABINE, b. in Ireland, emigrated in 1820 to Pennsylvania; m. a Mr. Clingan. Their son, John, lives in Greensburg, Pa.

16. JAMES, b. 1797-8, emigrated-in 1819, and settled near Greensburg, Westmoreland county,

* John had two sons and five daughters Ann lives with her grand-uncle, James. near Greensburg, and another one near by. Lucinda lived in New York in 1870, but soon returned to Ireland, and lives perhaps in Belfast. She spent a short time with us in Wilmington, while her great-uncle was on his centenial visit.

-- BenDugan - 08 Feb 2013

Cucumber pump, continued

According to this page the pumps were made from "cucumber" wood.I guessed that "cucumber" referred to the shape of the piston, but this makes it sound like the essential thing about the cucumber pump was that it was a hollowed-out wooden cylinder.

I also see them referred here, for example to as "Palmer" pumps.

-- BenDugan - 10 Feb 2013