This photo was part of a packet of photographs of the Rigg and Farley family. I assume the house damage was caused by fire due to the dead trees in front, but there certainly could be other explanations. I do NOT believe that this is the Rigg/Farley Ferry House (post coming on that before long), as that house was right at the river’s edge and this appears to back up to a wooded area. Continue reading “Mystery Photo – House Ruined by Fire”
Tag: Farley
Death Date for Thomas Willis Farley
Thomas Willis Farley was born 26 January 1841 in Buckingham County, Virginia. His father was James Henry Farley. His mother was Catherine F. Roberts, who fell over dead of a heart attack across Thomas’s crib when he was six months old.
Thomas grew up in Buckingham, and attended Hampden-Sydney College, and served with the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He married Nancy “Nannie” Montgomery Rigg and they had 10 children.
One of the first records I found for Nannie (and Thomas) is the 1900 U. S. Federal Census for Kanawha County, WV, on which Thomas does not appear at all, and shows his wife Nannie as widowed. I had his date of death noted as “bef 1900” for many years. Then over the last few years I stumbled across several sources which jointly establish his date of death as 26 July 1903. Continue reading “Death Date for Thomas Willis Farley”
The Truman Shirt
The Truman Shirt is one of the more colorful stories and artifacts of Farley family lore. The Truman Shirt was conceived in 1952 by Willis Hite Farley (1906-1983), my paternal grandfather. Politics and government were a big part of the life of Willis (“Grandaddy”); that gene clearly skips a generation as my sister Amy Farley most definitely inherited it! The story below is told by his son (my father) Alan Keith Farley. Continue reading “The Truman Shirt”
Death Date for Catherine Roberts Farley
Catherine F. Roberts was married to James Henry Farley on 01 October 1832. They were (are? the tense thing is annoying) my 3rd great-grandparents. Their son, Thomas Willis Farley, was born 26 January 1841, the third and last child of this couple, and my 2nd great-grandfather.
James Henry Farley married a 2nd time and fathered two more children, (and married a 3rd time with no known children). However, until somewhat recently, the death date and circumstance for Catherine has been unknown. Continue reading “Death Date for Catherine Roberts Farley”
Thomas W. Farley Letter to Son Fred Farley
This letter from 1884 was written by Thomas Willis Farley (1841-1903) to his sons “Jimmie” (James Henry Farley, 1877-1960) and “Freddie” (Frederick Lee Farley, 1879-1945). Also mentioned are his children “Annie” (Anne Blanch Farley, 1875-1960), “Sutton” (William Sutton, 1872-1938) and “Pattie” (Pattie Pugh, 1870-1921), as well as his wife, Nancy Rigg Farley (1847-1923). Thomas Willis Farley was working in Coal Valley at that time.
I have this original letter; my recollection is that was in the possession of my grandfather, Willis Hite Farley, who was grandson of the writer. At some unknown time, someone (probably my aunt Alice) preserved the letter through lamination. It made its way to my house sometime in the last ten years or so from my father. Continue reading “Thomas W. Farley Letter to Son Fred Farley”