Christopher John Kirman 1933 - 2009

On Sunday I attended the memorial service at St Margaret's Church in Ridge, Hertfordshire, for Chris Kirman who died July 25th 2009. Chris was the great grandson of John Kirman who married Jane Farmery January 1st 1865 at Covenham St Bartholomew, where Jane was baptised September 18th 1842, daughter of Thomas and Ann (nee Dobbs) Farmery. Thomas was the son of John and Elizabeth (nee Lowis) Farmery and grandson of John and Elizabeth (nee Bell) Farmery of Walesby and therefore Chris was likely a distant cousin of mine and descendant of the Farmery family of Northorpe .

Chris was very supportive of the Farmery one-name study and attended every gathering up to 2007 and his wife Eva could always be relied on to remember to bring tea towels in order to help with the washing up!

Sqd Ldr Clifford John Farmery, DFM

Sgt C J Farmery RAFVR was awarded the Distingushed Flying Medal in December 1941. His medal, along with 3 others awarded to him, featured on BBC "Flog It" on December 3rd 2009 and was subsequently sold by Adam Partridge Auctioneers of Congleton for £2,300.00.

Clifford John Farmery was born Clifford John German and was "adopted" by Augustus Harold Farmery and his wife Mary Annie (Tatler).
CJF was later promoted to Squadron Leader but was killed in the war January 21st 1944 and buried in Berlin War Cemetery, Brandenburg. Letters of Administration were granted to his "natural and lawful father" John Charles German of Crewe.

2009 Gathering Report

The 9th annual Farmery gathering was held at Bracebridge Heath Village Hall near Lincoln on Saturday September 26th 2009. Tom Doig gave a very informative talk on clues to dating old photographs and several of those present brought photographs with them. In the afternoon Susan Clayton talked on the role of the Church Courts, amusingly demonstrated by role play with three of those present! A group dinner was held that evening at the Wig and Mitre on Steep Hill and on Sunday a small group went on a "mini cruise" on the Fosse Navigation from Brayford Pool to Pyewipe followed by a visit to Doddington Hall.

2009 Farmery Gathering

This years Farmery gathering will be held at Bracebridge Heath, near Lincoln, on Saturday September 26th from 10.00am to 4.30pm.

Tom Doig, a well renowned family history speaker, will talk in the morning on "Dating Old Photographs" and attendees are encouraged to bring along original old photos to be dated.

[This is my great grandmother Jane FARMERY 1863-1946].

In the afternoon Sue Clayton, a former university Local History lecturer who runs a museum and community shop as a volunteer and is an Acting Development Officer for the Lottery Heritage Fund, will speak on "Church Courts".

I will have the Custodian Farmery database at the gathering along with other Farmery records and indexes that I have, including photocopies of every Farmery household schedule from the 1911 census. There will be an update on the FARMERY DNA research project and once again there will be plenty of time for informal discussion between those present with mutual interests. There will be plenty of table space available to anyone wishing to bring their own research material and notes to display.

On the Saturday evening anyone staying in Lincoln overnight is welcome to meet up for dinner and a visit is planned for the Sunday morning for anyone wanting to make a weekend of their visit to Lincoln. For further details of the gathering please email farmery@one-name.org

Custodian Database Hits 50,000!

Having entered into Custodian all the births after 1916 from National Registration where the mother's maiden name was Farmery/Farmeary/ Farmary etc and all the Farmery household schedules from the recently released 1911 census (I have photocopies of every schedule) I can announce that the number of Farmery name events in the database now exceeds 50,000 - and to be precise is actually just 113 short of 51,000!

Farmery as a Forename

I attended a Guild of One Name Studies "Poster Seminar" in London yesterday and put on a display on instances of the name Farmery being used as a first, or subsequent, forename and the possible reasons for this - maternal ancestry, honouring ancestors, inheritance, godchild, illegitimacy, adoption? My database contains 653 name events for someone with a Farmery forename!




One of the earliest instances I have found is Farmerie son of Wm Chetam baptised 15.10.1610 at Heapham.

A significant number of people I have noted were alluding to their descent from the Farmery family of Northorpe. Margaret Farmery (bap 12.2.1656 at Northorpe) married Thomas Law of Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire, 20.4.1681 at Scotter and they had a son Farmary (bap 29.4.1699 Kings Cliffe). A later Farmery Law (bap 22.8.1784 Stamford) married Eleanor Carrington 10.2.1803 at Kings Cliffe and their children included William Farmery Law and Farmery John Law. Farmery John Law was a banker and shareholder and director of both the Newcastle and Tipperary Banks when they went under (shades of Northern Rock!) and appears frequently in the newspaper reports of the time.

Margaret wife of Thomas Law was the great grandaughter of John Farmery (died 1598 Northorpe) and his wife Isabella, through their son Christopher Farmery. Mary Farmery, another of their great grandaughters (through Christopher's brother son John), married Francis Epworth 29.10.1684 at Northorpe; their children included Francis Epworth (who had a son Farmary Epworth bap 3.3.1724 Cadney) and Farmary Epworth (who also had a son Farmery Epworth bap 17.8.1737 Keelby). Farmery Epworth (1737) had a sister Elizabeth who married Henry Cunnington 27.2.1770 at Holbeach and they had a son Farmery Epworth Cunnington (bap 7.6.1771 Holbeach).

Farmery Epworth (1737) married Jane Cuming 23.7.1764 at Totnes; Jane's mother, before marriage, was Grace Predam. He became a Rear-Admiral and their son Farmery Predam Epworth achieved the rank of Post Captain. In his will dated 17.11.1824 Farmery Predam Epworth named his "son or reputed son" Frederick Epworth; Frederick Morey Epworth was born sometime between 1805 and 1812 on "the Bay of Biscay". He may have been the son of Agnes Morrell who married Farmery Predam Epworth 1.2.1824 at St Pancras. Frederick Morey Epworth married Mary Ann Mackentear 1836 at Westminster and they had sons Bruch Christopher Pridam Epworth (father of Christopher Bruch Pridam Epworth) and Frederick Farmery Mackenteer Epworth.

Jane, wife of Farmery Epworth, had a sister Elizabeth Cuming who married Alexander Popham Luscombe 14.2.1772 Totnes; one of their grandchildren was Farmery Pridham Epworth Luscombe born 1809 Guernsey.

Farmerys in Ireland?

In the past I have been contacted on a number of occasions by people claiming Irish Farmery ancestors!

Some Irish BMD records have recently gone on line and I found 6 Farmery entries:
Arthur Henry born 1869 Cork RD (county Cork)
Arthur Henry death 1871 Kinsale RD (county Cork) age 1
Augustus Harold born Jun q 1878 Mallow RD (county Cork)
Herbert William death Sep q 1878 Mallow RD (county Cork) age 2
Walter Henry death Sep q 1878 Mallow RD (county Cork) age 4
Amy Louise born Jun q 1880 Naas RD (county Kildare).

The above are all the children of William Farmmery, a soldier in the 1st Bn 22nd Foot, and his wife Margaret.

William Farmmery, using the name James Farmmery age 18 born Wrexham, enlisted at Hunslet on February 1st 1858 for 10 years and re-enlisted for a further 11 years on October 18th 1867. He was promoted to corporal May 31st 1875 but was imprisoned August 12th 1876. After more than 24 years service he was discharged on Guernsey October 17th 1882.

His service record shows he was garrisoned N America New Brunswick (April 17th 1866), Cork (June 9th 1869), Channel Islands (May 25th 1871), Aldershot (July 29th 1872), Liverpool (September 12th 1873), Chester (May 11th 1874), Manchester (July 3rd 1874), Fleetwood (July 9th 1875) , Cork (March 24th 1877), Buttervant (December 6th 1877), Dublin (February 15th 1879), Curragh (December 14th 1879), Newry (August 13th 1880), Alderney (May 22nd 1882). From 1860 to 1866 he had been on Malta. The place of birth of all his known children fit with where he was garrisoned as above!

His service record also shows that he married Margaret Ann Blizzard at Fredericton, County York, New Brunswick (Canada) on April 13th 1867. I found a marriage listed in the Army marriage index and have a copy of the certificate: William Henry Farmmery bachelor Private 1/22nd Regt and Margaret Amelia Blizzard spinster, both of full age of Fredericton, were married in the garrison at Fredericton on April 13th 1867.

When son Augustus Harold himself enlisted on November 11th 1914 he stated that he was born at Butterford, county Cork.

Frederick Charles Famery son of William Famery, soldat 22 Regt, and Marguerite was born at Jerourg, StMartin, Guernsey August 26th 1871.

Walter Henry Farmery son of William Farmery, private 22nd Foot, and Margaret (nee Blizard) was born at North Fort (a battery on the river Mersey), Kirkdale October 26th 1873.

Florence Maud Farmery was born 1883 on Alderney.

James Farmmery was garrisoned at Fleetwood from July 9th 1875 to March 23rd 1877 but there is no birth in Lancashire for Herbert William Farmery born ~ 1876.

Margaret Farmery, wife of William Farmery, railway clerk, died July 17th 1885 at 80 Thomas Street, Monks Coppenhall (Cheshire), aged 34, making her birth ~ 1851 and therefore barely 16 in 1867 when she married William Farmmery who was then nearly 27.

John and Elizabeth Farmery with children Hannah (1831), John (1834), Mary Ann (1836), William (1840) and Henry (1840) were at Seven Bridge Lane, Wrexham Town in the 1841 census. John, Elizabeth and Hannah were all said to be not born in Denbighshire.

William Farmmery son of John Farmmery, paper hanger, and Elizabeth (nee Walker) was born at 11.50pm on August 27th 1840 at Sevenbridge Lane, Wrexham. The time on the birth certificate would sugest that William was a twin. Both William and Henry were born September q 1840 Wrexham RD; Henry Farmmery died March q 1841 Wrexham RD. Was William known as William Henry in later life due to the death of his twin brother?

John Farmery, paperhanger of Seven Bridge Lane, and Elizabeth his wife baptised four of their children at Wrexham - John (Farmerloy, 8.6.1834), Mary Ann (Fermery, 5.10.1836), and William and Henry (both Farmer, both 4.10.1840).

John Farmery, labourer, died of Asiatic cholera at 5 Neal's Yard, Hunslet Lane, Leeds September 29th 1849. Elizabeth Farmery, widow born Wrexham 1806, was at 11 St Peter's Square, Leeds in 1851, with children John (born Wrexham 1834), Mary A (Wrexham 1836) and William (Wrexham 1840).

Elizabeth Farmery, widow born Manchester 1805, was at Cundall Yard, Briggate, Leeds in 1861