My Genealogy Hound

THE McFARLAND FAMILY. For more than half a century the McFarland family have been identified with the manufacturing interests of Montgomery county, and to them especially have the people of Gulf Mills looked for employment during all these fifty and more years. The family are of Scotch descent, and the first one of the name to settle in America emigrated to Pennsylvania about 1730.

Dr. James McFarland, the first of the family of whom anything definite is known, was reared near Norristown, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. On arriving at the proper age he entered the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and for many years followed his profession at Morgantown, Berks county, Pennsylvania. To him were born four sons, named as follows: 1. John, deceased, who made his home in Northampton county, Pennsylvania. 2. Arthur, who resided in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, also deceased. 3. James E., deceased, who was a resident of Philadelphia, and a member of the well-known mercantile firm of Potts, Reynolds & Company, afterwards McFarland, Tatman & Company.

4. George, born in Morgantown above named, March 20, 1811. He lived with his uncle Stephen Porter (a nephew of General Andrew Porter), who resided in Norriton township, near Norristown, and obtained such education as could be obtained at the public schools of that day and generation. Arrived at the age when it was deemed best for him to begin life on his own account, he entered the woolen mills of Mr. Bethel Moore, the first woolen mill in Pennsylvania, (the mills located where Conshohocken Woolen Company Mills are now) to learn the trade of manufacturing woolen cloth. He next went to Easton, Pennsylvania, to serve as superintendent in a slate quarry owned by another uncle, Hon. James M. Porter of Northampton county, Pennsylvania.

During his stay in Northampton county he taught school for several years, and then returned to Gulf Mills and began the manufacture of woolen goods, and at that time laid the foundation for his subsequent successful business career. As a result of the hard times caused by the panic o 1837, Mr. McFarland, like thousands of the best and richest business men of that day, met with business reverses, but overcame them in time, and about 1847 purchased a mill which he rebuilt and operated successfully until 1859. In February of that year his mill was destroyed by fire, and the machinery, much of which had been imported not long before, was destroyed. This calamity, although a serious one, as the loss was great, did not discourage Mr. McFarland, as he was not the kind of a man to give way to misfortune, and he soon had the mill rebuilt and equipped even better than before, and in the mill then built he gained a wide reputation as a manufacturer of woolen goods, a reputation which enabled him to secure contracts during the Civil war from the general government to manufacture cloth from which clothing was made for the Union soldiers. In 1875 Mr. McFarland associated with himself as partners his son Elbridge and Mr. Frank L. Jones, under the firm name of George McFarland & Co., and it so remained until his death, which occurred January 7, 1879.

On the 25th day of November, 1849, he was joined in marriage to Miss Mary Cornog, of Gulf Mills, and their union was blessed with four sons, named as follows: George Clinton, died in infancy; Elbridge, James Arthur, and John.

Mr. McFarland’s wealth and ability naturally made him a man of influence in the county, and he was called upon to fill many positions of honor and trust, among them were the following:-justice of the peace, school director, director of the Matson’s Bridge Company, and director in the First National Bank of Norristown. He died after an illness of but a few days from paralysis, and his remains are interred in the Gulf church cemetery.

After the death of Mr. McFarland in 1879, the firm became composed of his three sons and Mr. Frank L. Jones, still retaining the firm name of George McFarland & Co., and remained so until 1895, when it was incorporated under the name of George McFarland Company, and has so continued until the present time (1903). Since 1879 new additions have been made to the mills, new machinery and fixtures taking the place of the old, making it in every way an up-to-date mill which employs from 120 to 140 people. At the present time cassimeres are the principal goods manufactured, although other goods can be made as the demands of trade may require.

Elbridge McFarland was born May 4, 1853, on a farm his father owned near King-of-Prussia, in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. The first rudiments of his education were obtained at the public schools, supplemented by a course of study at the Treemount Seminary for Boys, taught by Professor John Loch. After completing his studies at the seminary he entered the Polytechnic College in Philadelphia, from which he graduated as civil engineer in 1872. After graduating he followed his profession in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, for a short time, and then returning to the Gulf entered the mill and office of his father. After the death of the latter in 1879 he, with Mr. Jones before named, assumed the active management of the mill, and still continues in that capacity, being president of the company by which it is now operated. In politics he is a Republican, as was his father, but of the independent class, a position he and his brothers can well assume as they are not office seekers. As a man of affairs Mr. McFarland stands high in his locality, and holds various positions of trust. For years he has been a director in the First National Bank of Conshohocken, and its president since 1900. He has also been a director in the Bryn Mawr Trust Company since its organization, and is treasurer of the Conshohocken Woolen Company.

On the 9th day of October, 1900, he was joined in marriage to Miss Martha, daughter of Edwin and Annie (Yerkes) Conrad, who was born September 29, 1868. After his marriage Mr. McFarland purchased a fine residence on DeKalb street in Norristown, where he now resides.

James Arthur McFarland was born on the McFarland homestead at Gulf Mills, March 10, 1857, and grew to manhood thereon. He attended the public schools in his young boyhood, and later was sent to Mount Pleasant Academy at Boyertown, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. After his return from the Academy he was given charge of the home farm for a time, after which he engaged in the agricultural implement business and trade at the Gulf, and under his control this, line of business has assumed large proportions, and to its management Mr. McFarland devotes more hours hard labor every day of the week than most men would be willing to undertake. To such an extent is his time devoted to the line he is so well adapted to handle, that he has no time and less inclination to seek political honor and preferment. He has, however, devoted considerable attention in the last few years to educational matters, and is now serving his sixth term as school director of Upper Merion township.

April 22, 1880, J. Arthur McFarland was united in marriage to Miss Anna B., daughter of Matthias and Eliza (Rambo) Walker, who was born January 11, 1860. Their children are Mary C., born May 23, 1881; Eliza W., born October 21, 1882; Emma Merritt, born December 15, 1884; George Matthias, born March 18, 1889, died December 20, 1889.

John, the youngest of George McFarland’s sons, was born at Gulf Mills, on the 14th day of February, 1859, and has resided there, save the days spent in school, until the present time. Like his brothers, he attended the public schools until of an age to acquire the higher branches when he also became a pupil at Treemount Seminary, Norristown, under the tutelage of Professor John U. Loch. His attendance at the seminary ended, he went to Boyertown, and at the Mount Pleasant Academy completed his education. His school days ended, he returned to Gulf Mills and entered his father’s mills, to which he has since devoted his time and energy. He, too, is a Republican, and is as independent politically as his brothers. He is treasurer of the George McFarland Company, and also a director of the First National Bank of Norristown.