Lawrence County AlArchives Biographies.....Farley, Henry F. 1790 - 1834 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Virginia Crilley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00003.html#0000642 September 21, 2007, 11:58 am Author: Virginia Crilley Henry Forrest Farley (?1790-1834) was probably the son of (Henry) Archer Farley (1766-1819) and his mother probably Ann Nancy Robertson married 29 Nov.1789 in Charlotte, Va. A descendant, Elmira Susan Grimes Day, passes along family lore that Archer served in the Revolutionary War and had his name tatooed on his arm. Henry F. was probably the grandson of Forrest Farley (born 1717 or 1737) Bristol Parish, Henrico, Va. mar Mary Thompson. Forrest died April 1767 Chesterfield, Va) The book "Charlotte County ... Rich Indeed" Published Charlotte County Board of Supervisors (1979) states Henry F. Farley was a deputy sheriff from 1811-1813 and an Ordinary . Henry Forrest Farley married Nancy Ellen White Nov 2, 1814 Mecklenburg County VA. Henry and Nancy Ellen had four daughters, two of which died in infancy. The two surviving daughters were Mary Ann Jane Farley (1818-Feb 1854 Tx) and Elmira Susan "Myra" (July 15, 1820-Aug 19, 1889 Tx) They must have both had adventurous spirits as they began their trek Westward to unsettled lands. Several other Virginia families probably moved along with them. Alabama was just being settled at that time. Alabama was first included in the Territory of Mississippi 1798, Territory of Alabama 1817 and achieved statehood in 1819. After leaving Virginia, they lived in Lawrence County Al and both daughters were born there. After living in AL for about 13 years, the call for settlement of Texas and the availability of land caused them to head to Texas around 1831. The story is that they left their eldest daughter, Mary Ann to attend school perhaps with relatives or friends. She would have been about 13. They took their younger daughter, Elmira (age 11 years old) with them. Henry applied for a Texas Land Grant (1 league and 1 labor for families) in 1832, but died in 1834 before he could receive the title. Mary Ann Jane Farley "eloped" with Thomas Harper Booth around 1833 (probably in Lawrence Co. AL). Thomas had previously been married to This couple moved around quite a bit, living in Itawamba County, MS (about 60 miles west of Lawrence, AL), and even in Texas, Austin Co. for short periods of time. Family story, "Mary Ann cried for a whole year because they had no slaves to do the work in Texas." Mary Ann and Thomas Harper had six sons and two daughters. Elmira Susan married Frederick Miller Grimes of Washington Co. Tx on Jan 29, 1838, probably at the home of her mother, Nancy living in nearby Austin County. They settled on their farm on the county line of Washington/Austin. Nancy Ellen White Farley, remarried around 1838 to Henry ? /Obadiah?/Josh Hudson. The court records show that Nancy appointed Isaac M. Pennington to pursue her husband's Texas Land Grant. The courts ruled in favor of the daughters, and Frederick M. Grimes proceeded with the land claim. Family story: When Nancy Ellen died (aft 1838) her daughter Elmira Susan couldn't attend the funeral because of the high creeks due to heavy rains. As "heirs of Henry Farley" the daughters received land in what is now Coryell County In 1850 when Fort Gates (later Gatesville) was set-up with soldiers to protect the settlers, Elmira and Frederick moved there. In 1852 they sold this land to their son, Samuel, and moved to land in the southeast corner of Coryell County. Several deeds are made with the joint signatures of Elmira and Mary Jane and their respective husbands. http://www.usgwarchives.net/tx/austin/austoc.htm ========== The 1820 Census for Alabama is a partial one, so we've not located them. 1830 United States Federal Census > Alabama > Lawrence image 77 Henry F. Farley 1 male 30-40 (1800-1810) 1 female 5-10 (1820-1825) Elmira Susan 1 female 10-15 (1815-1820) Mary Ann ? 1818 1 female 30-40 (1800-1810) Additional Comments: Family stories from Virginia Day Stevens. Researchers: Zelma Booth Beene zelmabeene@sbcglobal.net Becky Culpepper Ebcdecatur@aol.com Virginia Crilley varcsix@hot.rr.com File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/lawrence/bios/farley761gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 4.6 Kb