MICHAEL FARLEY, FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD, OF IPSWICH.

By EUNICE WHITNEY FARLEY FELTEN,

GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER OF MICHAEL, THIRD.

The first definite, reliable statement that I ever heard, after the arrival of the Farley family in Massachusetts Bay Colony, was that Michael Farley, 1st, a middle-aged married man with wife and two grown sons, has petitioned for a piece of land on the Ipswich River near Saltonstall's mill, in order to build a homestead.

His next request was to obtain seats for himself and wife in the Parish Meeting House.

These two petitions were granted by the town. The highest seats in church were granted only to settlers called Freemen, who probably brought letters of recommendation.

The story goes that Michael Farley, 1st, before sailing from England had met Mr. Richard Saltonstall (son of Sir Richard) and had made a covenant with him to take charge of the Saltonstall mill property in Agawam, Essex County, New England, for the term of two years. The worshipful Mr. Saltonstall was an elderly gentleman, not strong, not likely to live long. This covenant was signed by Mr. Michael Farley and his two sons. At the expiration of the lease, Mr. Saltonstall came to America and desired to continue the lease, but the Farleys did not agree to it, and purchased the rights on the river from Saltonstall, who returned to England, dying soon after .

The first event of romantic interest in the family was the betrothal of the eldest son Michael to the daughter of Major Burnham. The record says Mrs. Farley, his mother, gave up her dower rights. Whether this was to help her son, I know not. The marriage took place, and we hope the young couple prospered.

The mill, which at first was a grist mill, was changed to other purposes, -I think a fulling mill to make cloth. The Farleys, father and sons, carried on the mill and continued to work together as Michael Farley and Sons. Before long they desired to build a bridge across the river near the site of the dam. About this date a covenant is made between Oliver Appleton and Michael Farley, wherein the latter promises to pay a sum of money, I think 15 pounds sterling, to the former, signed by Michael Farley, lst, and son. Perhaps this debt was made to raise money to build the bridge, which would be a great convenience, not only to the miller but to the neighborhood, connecting the two parts of the town.

It was a foot-bridge, the first one on record. This passageway was never closed to the public until the Lawrence Company bought the mill property in 1870. In my childhood I loved to stand on the bridge and watch the water pour over the dam.

The era beginning with 1700 was about the most pleasant and prosperous of the American Colonies. They had cleared the forests of the dark menacing giant trees which cast a gloomy shade, and turned them into productive farms. The Indian tribes had retired into remoter regions and had begun to have a proper respect for the laws of the newcomers. There was frequent communication between seaport towns, but the clouds of unrest were gathering on the horizon. The increase of taxes was beginning to oppress the faithful subjects of King George, who had not created an ideal colony for his benefit, but to enable the colonists to live in peace and independence.

Everybody was busy, the men outside, and the women mostly indoors. bringing up their large families of children, taking care of the aged members and observing the Sabbath with great strictness. One of their trials was lack of medical knowledge and remedies, and if an epidemic occurred, a great proportion of victims succumbed. A record speaks of five children in a Farley family dying of quinsy sore-throat, but one son lived who was destined to take quite an important part in the history of his native town of Ipswich -Michael Farley, 3d. On his mother's side he was descended from Deputy Governor Symonds, one of the officials appointed by the Crown in the earliest days of the Colony.

In 1720 Michael Farley, 3rd, married Elizabeth Choate, the daughter of Robert Choate of Chebacco, a district of Ipswich which is now the town of Essex, where were early shipyards. My great-grandfather and his wife had a fine family of sons and daughters, of whom three sons, John, Jabez, and Robert my grandfather, were respectively 25, 20 and 16 years old when the Revolutionary call to arms was declared. A courier from Boston came to tell General Farley that he must come with as many men as he could muster, as the British were evidently preparing an attack on Boston by their men-of-war, and no time must be lost. Accordingly, he called his sons and said that he was to start on horseback at once and they must follow as soon as possible. .He told his wife that he must leave the ammunition, which was stored in their garret, in her care. She was ready to help.

                The two older boys were soon off, and my grandfather Robert begged to join them. She was slow to give her consent, but said, "If you go, behave like a man." He promised to do this, and left with her blessing, to walk or beg a ride the 30 miles to Boston. She had no time to think of her own soldiers, as neighbors came rushing  in for shot and powder to fill their powder-horns. Some hours later, when she came downstairs, her younger children did not recognize her, as her face was as black as coal from the ammunition which she had been pouring into the powder-horns. This was the glorious battle of Bunker Hill.

Michael Farley, 3rd, held many public offices. The most important under British rule was High Sheriff of Essex County, appointed by the Crown. He was said to have been a man of very kind heart, but some of the punishments imposed on wrongdoers were very severe and mortifying. An incident is related of one man who had his ear cut off for robbery, but grandfather kept the piece of flesh in his mouth, so that it could be replaced on the man's head, to save him from being disgraced for life as a robber, without chance of reinstating himself.

My grandfather, Robert Choate Farley, was a very independent fellow and joined a crew on a privateer. The ship was captured by the British, and the officers and crew made prisoners on the British prison ship “Jersey," off Brooklyn. He was a handsome, gay young chap, and was offered bribes by the British to join their service. One of the temptations was the use of a saddle-horse to ride on the beach of Long Island. He accepted this offer, and had a daily gallop, -but did not become a traitor. Several of his companions died, but he survived. When he returned home, he was nearly bald, and had to wear a wig the rest of his life. He was only nineteen years old at this time, and had been nine months a prisoner. His last exploit was to be aide-de-camp to General Lincoln, who went to Petersham, Mass., to put down Shay's Rebellion. After the country was free from English rule, there was much work and suffering to be met. The currency was changed, and there were numerous debts, public and private. The seaport towns suffered greatly.  The Constitution was not accepted by Massachusetts for nearly a year. Michael Farley, "William Choate, and Mr. Cogswell, of Ipswich, were elected as judges to pass on the document which has been our guide ever since.

These details of the public duties of Michael Farley, 3rd, were mostly found in Felt's History of Essex County.  There are many family stories of the privations which they endured for the sake of patriotism. The great-grandmother said, "Mike would give his last penny for his country," and it became almost a true statement of events. After victory was won and the British were anxious to leave their inhospitable and uncomfortable quarters, the real trials were experienced. The embargo imposed on our shipping by the Government was a terrible blow to the seaside towns. Ipswich and Gloucester felt it keenly, and many patriotic families were reduced to poverty. They were obliged to undertake long voyages to distant countries and run great risks to life, in order to support their families.

Last summer, as I was passing several weeks at Bath, England, and knowing that Farley Castle was within a short distance, I took an open carriage with one horse, and was driven to the village of Farley, or Farleigh, as it is more often spelled nowadays. We took the highway to Bristol, and then turned off into a lane with hedgerows. I should say it was over a mile to the old picturesque hostelry of Farleigh Arms. There a party of country people were having a merry time in a sort of rustic arbor at the back of the inn, where the remnant of an old garden was extant. Box hedges and various flowers were still growing, but uncared for.

We ordered tea and bread and butter, while the old coachman and his horse were refreshing themselves, and then drove to the ruins of the Castle. The country here is called the Downs, and indeed it expresses the idea. At the gateway of the Castle is still seen the Arms of the Hungerford de Farley family, as the last inmates of the Castle were called. They had been there over three centuries, but after that time various owners had despoiled it. Now it is not habitable, but the county keeps it in order. The owner, a titled personage, lives at Farley House, which was made of remnants of the Castle, and is almost a mile distant. The drawbridge of the Castle is no longer existing, but the iron bolts show where it used to be. We entered, to find a well-kept lawn enclosed by ruinous walls and towers, and the only buildings in any condition are the chapel and dairy, both with little gardens. A ruined tower still standing shows the great thickness of walls.

Sitting outside the chapel door was a man, and to him I paid a shilling --the entrance fee--and descended a few steps to the chapel, which was quite well restored. Some pieces of old armor hung on the walls, and a very fine tomb of white marble stood in a little side chapel. The. escutcheons of the Hungerford de Farley were added to the long Latin epitaphs.. On leaving the chapel, I said my name was Farley before I married. Another bystander called out, "If your name is Farley, you came from Boston." I said, "From very near there," and I was amused with this episode in the manor. Farley must have been a very large grant of land from William the Conqueror, as some 25 miles from the Castle is Farley Heath, where a battle was said to have been fought, and relics of old weapons and coins have been found. In a London Times I read recently that a number of cottages were being built on the Heath.

My impression is that many of the colonists came in groups or neighborhoods, not necessarily related by blood, and after they arrived they separated, as the country became more settled. At least a branch of Farleys is found in old Virginia, and a General Farley was in the Secession Army, whom one of my cousins met. I know of but one Farley now in Ipswich, Mass., Mr. George Farley, president of a savings bank. His sister, Miss Lucy Rogers Farley, died almost ten years since. She showed me the family papers which had belonged to her grandfather, Jabez Farley. This grandfather, Jabez Farley, was a brave man and brought up nineteen children. He had two wives, one a Rogers, who had ten children, and his second wife, a Swazee, who had nine children. He lived to a great age and was present at the dinner given in honor of Lafayette in 1825. He was generally spoken of as Uncle Jabe by my father and his family. His nineteenth child, James Phillips Farley, named his youngest son Jabez for his grandfather.

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