The last child of Elizabeth and John 1792 was born 4 February 1841 in Liberty Township, Wells County, Indiana, and was named for his father, grandfather, great grandfather, and great great…well, you get the picture. His name was John McFarren. He was nearly 24 years younger than his oldest sibling Maria. That’s quite a span of time to be adding to the population, isn’t it? Elizabeth was 45 years old when, John, her last child, was born. (I’ve still no idea where the name Exie came from, but aren’t we glad it wasn’t John!)
The only occupation listed for the family during the Ohio and Indiana years was “farmer.” This was typical for anyone who didn’t have a specific trade at that time, like blacksmithing, dentistry or the like. With the government continually encouraging expansion by offering free land, the average family took advantage of this and claimed a homestead by cultivating land wherever they went. It seems almost rare to find someone listed as something other than a farmer. Even those who were occasionally noted to be doctors or ministers would often be listed ten years down the road as a “farmer.” I guess that if you had land, you at least fed the family and livestock from it, and perhaps were able to sell some of the grain. This makes it easier to understand why our own grandparents McFarren spent their days hoeing, digging, and planting their plot in Modesto. It was simply a way of life passed down for generations. (Save Mart produce department must have had a struggle to overcome this ingrained custom. Thank goodness for my manicure, Save Mart won that battle! Just kidding. What manicure?)
In the year 1850, John 1792 and Elizabeth had 4 children still at home with them, daughters Melissa, 18, Elizabeth, 16, Margaret, 13, and son, John, 9. Living right next door was daughter Mary Esther, 22, who had married William Mendenhall in 1844. The Mendenhall’s had 3 children. The next household was that of son Wilson McFarren, 25, who had married Rachel Jackson. They had two children.
Also, in the community was oldest son, Jacob McFarren, and his wife Rachel. Rachel’s mother, Anna Nancy Schaffer, married Jacob’s uncle, Jonathan Foust, but Rachel was born before this marriage. In other words, they were not cousins by blood. In 1850, Jacob and Rachel had 4 children.
Oldest daughter, Maria McFarren Neff, 33, and husband, John Neff, were living in nearby Chester Twp. and already had 6 children. Many Neff families lived in the vicinity. They had come from Virginia.
Son Adam McFarren, 27, also living in Chester Twp, had been married for 8 years to Elizabeth Chapman, nearly 13 years his senior. They had three daughters by 1850, which is all the children they would have.
Ten years down the road, in 1860, John McFarren 1841 was still living at home with his parents, John 1792 and Elizabeth. He was 19, assisting his 68 year old father with the farming chores. With them also was one of the grandchildren, Rachel Neff, 12. She was no doubt a help to her 63 year old grandmother.
Most of the other eight sons and daughters of the McFarrens were still living in the Wells County area, but a couple of them had strayed by this time, seeking new lives in new territory. The family increased considerably with many grandchildren for John 1792 and Elizabeth making an appearance this decade.
Maria (McFarren) and John Neff were farming in Jackson Twp, Wells County, and had 10 children. I guess they could spare one to help out the grandparents!
Jacob and Rachel McFarren were in Liberty Twp, Wells, and had 7 children. They had lost a son, John, who died in 1856 at the tender age of ten.
Adam and Elizabeth McFarren were still in Chester Twp, Wells. Their two youngest daughters were yet at home in 1860, but their oldest daughter, Margaret, married in February of that year. She and her new husband, John Barchman, lived next door. Seventeen year old Margaret had the care of John’s 5 year old son from a previous marriage. John Barchman was much older than his young bride. He was 38.
Melissa McFarren had married the year before to James Murray. They were also living beside her brother Adam and family. They had one baby of their own, but three Murray teenagers were living with them, evidently James Murray’s younger siblings.
Elizabeth McFarren married Peter Fifer in 1855 and was living in nearby Jay County, Indiana. They had two toddlers in 1860.
Third son, Wilson McFarren, and his wife and family moved from Indiana to Nebraska Territory around 1856 and were found in Otoe County in 1860. They had 5 children, the last of which was named John. The entry below is about Wilson.
Mr. McFarren owned 320 acres of land valued at $3,000.00 of which 160 acres were under cultivation. His farm implements were worth $50.00. His livestock valued at $100.00 consisted of two milk cows, two other cattle and seven hogs. In 1859 he had raised 50 bushels of wheat, 400 bushels of corn, and had put up 10 tons of hay. The family had also sold 150 pounds of butter.
Mr. McFarren was a member of the jury before whom Martin Hawley was tried in August 1860 for the attempted rape of Amanda C. Huntley. He served again on the jury in March 1861.
-- Otoe County Pioneers, a biographical dictionary by Raymont E. Dale.
(Well, now we know what Wilson was up to during those years!)
By 1860 we find that Mary Esther (McFarren) and William Mendenhall had moved to Harrison County, Missouri, which was only about 100 miles from brother, Wilson, in Nebraska City. This suggests they might have made the journey around the same time. The Mendenhalls had 4 children.
From all I have read, both Missouri and the Nebraska Territory were rather wild places during this period before the Civil War with controversies raging over the slavery issue, and with sometimes explosive and violent consequences. Farming may sound like a peaceful occupation, but it was rather adventurous to move to these areas then.
In November 1860, young John McFarren, not yet 20, married 16 year old Mary Ann Jackson. Despite his youth, he made a match that had to have been looked on favorably by his parents. Mary Ann was the eldest daughter of Hiram Jackson who had come to Wells County as a young man with his family in 1837, the first white settlers in the community. The Jacksons were successful farmers and held large plats of land. The following year Mary Ann’s older brother, Samuel Jackson, married John’s niece, daughter of his sister Maria Neff. You can see how enmeshed these families became.
Mary Ann’s grandfather, James Hiram had come to unoccupied land, soon to be called Liberty Township, in January 1837. During that first winter they made their home in a three-walled structure with brush for one side. They had to clear land for cultivation, some of which was swampland that required draining. James had paved the way for those who came to the area in the following years. There is much documentation regarding their status and position in the community. One of those generous family historians from Wells Co. sent me a copy of So Great Thy Gift by Helen Schmeling, a charming rendition of those early years for the Jackson family. It has errors regarding the family (dates and such) but is well worth the read, just to get the flavor of the time.