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”
Martha Kate Rigg
Martha Kate Rigg (1831-1900) was sister to my 2nd great-grandmother Nancy “Nannie” Montgomery Rigg. This story about her was shared during a genealogy discussion recorded in the 1970s (exact date unknown). The participants included my grandfather (Willis Hite Farley) and grandmother (Audrey Hale Farley), and my great-aunt (Francis Folsom Farley, known as “Frankie” and “Aunt Aggie”) who was in her 80s at the time of the recording. Aunt Aggie recounts this story told by her mother about Martha:
Martha was the third child, and she was a tiny little dwarf. And when she as born she was so little you could put her body in the palm of your hand and her head on your wrist. When she was old enough to go to school, they had to walk to Gauley Bridge to school and that was 2 miles. She was too little, too frail, to walk. And these two brothers, Steve and Henry, were older and carried her to her all winter on their backs to Gauley Bridge from their home.
Martha married in 1856 and had at least 9 children and lived to the age of 69.
Bible of Alice Hopkins
These pages come from a Hopkins family Bible that likely belonged to Martha Alice Hopkins (1858-1946, known as “Alice”), my great-great-grandmother. This Bible passed on from, presumably, Alice Hopkins to Carl Hopkins, then to his son Henry, and eventually to Henry’s nephew Jim, who passed it on to me. Continue reading “Bible of Alice Hopkins”
Frank – Slave of Henry Montgomery
This post is part of the Slave Name Roll Project. The individual(s) identified as slaves below were the property of my ancestors. Documenting my findings is one small contribution towards helping others in their own research. Hat tip to Cathy Meder-Dempsey and her post on Frank (the individual I was also researching) and great description and commitment to this project.
Frank LNU (Last Name Unknown) appears as in an 1852 probate record as “1 Negro Boy (Frank)” and appraised at $300, but there is no record of sale. It was this record that inspired my search (not only for Frank, but all slaves of my ancestors). Cathy Meder-Dempsey already has great documentation, and I have nothing to add, so I will merely point to that post (and give credit for her image above) and note that no information beyond 1860 can be confirmed. Continue reading “Frank – Slave of Henry Montgomery”