Tracing The Orange Co. NC McFarlands Back in Time
Posted: April 5, 2016 Filed under: 2000+ The Search Continues, Migration, Orange County, NC, Scots-Irish, Uncategorized | Tags: Great Wagon Road, MacFarlane, McFarland, North Carolina, Orange County 1 Comment- Between 1748 and 1752, Orange County North Carolina grew from “not quite 20 taxables” to a population of approximately 4,000 people.
- First found record for the Orange County McFarlands (aka the hidden MacGregor MacFarlands) is 1755 when William McFarland is on an Orange County, Tax Roll.
- These McFarlands are believed to have been born in the period between 1750 and 1755 although specific location is not specified: William (Jr?) 1750, Peter 1751, Thomas 1751, William Thomas 1752 (same as Thomas?), Walter (Walker?) 1753, Peter 1753.
- No McFarlands (aka hidden MacGregors) in the area which would become Orange County (Granville, Edgecomb, Bertie, Chowan, Ablemarle) in the period 1664 to 1750.
- The search for parents or William McFarland (married Keziah) will find them wherever William was born about 1731.
- Two possibilities are Pennsylvania and nearby Virginia.
- Pennsylvania – There were grants along the Hyco River in what became northern Orange County in 1748, and along the Dan River, the Hogan Creek, and County Line Creek in 1751. In what became central Orange County, grants on the Eno River were entered for the year 1751. Governor Gabriel JOHNSTON reported that settlers were flocking in, mostly from Pennsylvania. The Eno community, about seven miles north of Hillsborough, was the most distinctly Scots-Irish settlement in the county. The Scots-Irish also lived east of the Haw River.They also settled in the area east of the Haw River and in the Little River and New Hope Creek sections. From the middle colonies came families of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians as well as German Lutherans. Members of both groups followed the same course of migration, traveling southward down the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road, through the Roanoke Gap in western Virginia, and on into the Yadkln River Valley of North Carolina. From there some moved eastward into Orange County making homes along Hyco Creek and the Eno and the Haw rivers.
Sources: http://www.carolana.com/NC/Counties/orange_county_nc.html, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncalaman/early.html, http://www.hpo.ncdcr.gov/surveyreports/orangecountysurveypubmanuscript-1996.pdf
8. Virginia – English immigrants from VA settled in northern Orange along the Hico River and County Line Creek.
Source: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ncalaman/early.html
Flat River Plats
Posted: February 10, 2016 Filed under: Cluster genealogy, Orange County, NC, Uncategorized | Tags: McFarland, North Carolina, Orange County 8 CommentsOrange County, NC Little River Cluster
Posted: February 10, 2016 Filed under: Cluster genealogy, Orange County, NC | Tags: Hunt, McFarland, North Carolina, Orange County Leave a commentHere’s the promised Little River cluster of related families which have some relationship for the ancestral search of Thomas Hunt (and other Rutherford County North Carolina Hunts). The Flat River cluster is a few posts back on this site.
This Little River area mind map, created from research findings, is so large that it cannot be read here, but you can download a PDF file by clicking on this link: LittleRiverCluster.
Finding Specifics of Hunt/McFarland Surname Change
Posted: June 20, 2015 Filed under: Cluster genealogy | Tags: Hunt, MacFarlane, McFarland, McFarlin, North Carolina, Orange County Leave a commentThe quest for the parents of Thomas Hunt has taken on the search for the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the switch from McFarland/McFarlin/MacFarlane to the Hunt surname.
Well-known genealogy blogger, Judy G. Russell, in her “The Legal Genealogist” blog entitled “Y no Surname, The downside of DNA testing” (http://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2012/04/08/y-no-surname/) offers the following reasons why a surname might occur.
- At the time individuals in an ancestral line first adopted surnames, there is no guarantee that siblings would have adopted the same surname.
- An illegitimate child would be given or take the surname of the mother rather than the father.
- An orphaned child might take the surname of the family that raised him.
- A young child might take the name of a stepfather.
There were certainly geographical, family, and extended relationship possibilities of such events in Orange County, North Carolina in the middle to late 17th and early 18th centuries that could stand more research for possibilities such as these. Hunts and McFarlands/McFarlins interacted in these areas in numerous family and public events as did associated families. Anyone turning up such interactioins is encouraged to share them here.
If you would like to see more of the article by Judy G. Russell, click the Legal Genealogist link above in this article.
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