William Farrar Jr.
 | This article or section is in a state of significant expansion or restructuring. You are welcome to assist in its construction by editing it as well. If this article or section has not been edited in several days, please remove this template. If you are the editor who added this template and you are actively editing, please be sure to replace this template with {{in use}} during the active editing session. Click on the link for template parameters to use.
This article was last edited by Wtfiv (talk | contribs) 21 hours ago. (Update timer) |
John Ferrar | |
|---|---|
| Member Virginia House of Burgesses for Henrico County | |
| In office 1660–1676 Serving with Theodorick Bland, Francis Eppes | |
| Preceded by | William Hatcher |
| Succeeded by | James Crewes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1627 Jordan Point, Colonial Virginia |
| Died | January 1678 Farrar's Island, Henrico County, Colonial Virginia |
| Spouse | Mary |
| Relations | William Farrar(father), Cecily Jordan Farrar (mother), John (brother) |
| Children | at least 3 sons, including William Farrar III and a daughter |
| Occupation | Planter, militia officer, politician |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Henrico County, Virginia militia |
| Rank | Captain |
William Farrar Jr. (1627 - January 1678) was a Virginia planter and politician who represented Henrico County in the House of Burgesses (1660-1676).[1][2]
Early life
[edit]The eldest son of William Farrar, who had married the widow Cecily (a/k/a Cisley) Jordan.[3] His father had emigrated from England and became a planter and member of the Virginia Governor's Council, but died in 1637 when both his sons were boys. His parents also had another son (John) and daughter (Cicely Jr.) who survived infancy.[2]
Career
[edit]Because of primogeniture, William inherited his father's estate, including Farrar's Island. About 2000 acres was repatented in his name in June 1637, although he gave a parcel (about 200 acres) to his younger brother around 1649, and later in his will suggested John trade that parcel to benefit one of this man's three sons, which was accomplished in 1678.[2] He and Thomas Ligon also purchased about 335 acres in 1664, but it appeared deserted in 1671 and was regranted to Henry Randolph.[3]
By 1655, Farrar was captain of the local militia troop (all white men of that era being required to serve in the local militia), and in 1661 was captain of the company from Turkey Island Creek to the falls of the James River. By 1657 he was a justice of the peace for Henrico County, the justices jointly administering counties in that era.[3] Tyler states that he his final rank was as "colonel".[1] William Farrar won election to the House of Burgesses at least twice, once as the only man representing Henrico County in 1660, then as one of the three men representing that populating and restive county in 1661 (the Long Assembly, which ended with colony-wide elections in 1676 during Bacon's Rebellion).[4]
Personal life
[edit]William Farrar married a woman named Mary, who bore three sons (William Farrar III, Thomas Farrar and John Farrar, all of whom would reach adulthood, marry and have children) and daughters Martha (who would marry sometime sub-sheriff of Charles City County Walter Shipley) and Cicely.[3]
Death and legacy
[edit]He died around January 1678, with his widow Mary mentioned as administering his estate in 1682.[3] The inventory of his estate appraises many household furnishings and livestock, as well as the remaining terms of one named female and three named male indentured servants, and two "Indian" boys named Will and Jacke (whose term of service is never named and who are jointly appraised at 5600, whereas the two Englishmen with 5 years left apiece are appraised at 1800 apiece and 11 cows at 4400).[5]
Farrar was probably buried on Farrar's Island, but subsequent floods would have obliterated the gravesite. His younger brother John would be elected a burgess after suppression of Bacon's Rebellion, and may have supervised the education of his three nephews alongside the widow (who did not remarry), as he never married and bequeathed most of his property to this man's sons. Thomas, the middle son, may have been the most economically successful, owning 1444 acres in Henrico County in 1704, although his brother, the eldest son William Farrar III followed the family's career path into public service and politics. The youngest son, John Farrar, married Temperance Brown Batte, widow of Thomas Batte and daughter of John Brown and his widow (the remarried) Sarah Woodson, who bequeathed land to her grandchildren. That John Farrar owned 600 acres in Henrico County in 1704 and was named administrator for his late wife Temperance in February 1721.[3] This man's heir William Farrar IV would sell 686 acres of Farrar's Island to Thomas Randolph of Tuckahoe in 1727, within months of his uncle (this man's brother Thomas) selling another 550 acres of the island to the same man. Thomas Farrar had married Mary Ligon and was already living in the part of Henrico County known as St. James Parish which become Goochland County that year).
In modern times, Farrar's Island is part of the Dutch Gap Conservation Area and Henricus Historical Park, both administered by Chesterfield County, Virginia.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Tyler, Lyon G. (1915). Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography. Vol. 1. Lewis Historical Publishing Co. p. 232-233. available at hathitrust.org
- ^ a b c McCartney, Martha W. (2012). Jamestown People to 1800. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing. p. 156. ISBN 9780806318721.
- ^ a b c d e f Dornan, John Frederick (2004). "Adventures of Purse and Person Virginia 1607-1624/5" (4th Edition). Vol. 1. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. p. 928.
- ^ Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 36, 38
- ^ "The Farrar Family (Continued)". The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 8 (2): 206–209. 1900. JSTOR 4242337.