Husband Col. John McFarland 1 2
Born: 26 Sep 1800 - Ligonier, Westmoreland Co, PA 2
Christened:
Died: 30 Jun 1886 2
Buried: - Ligonier, Westmoreland Co, PA
Father: Thomas McFarland ( - ) 2
Mother: Hannah Dinsmore ( - ) 2
Marriage: 20 Aug 1844 3
Other Spouse: Elizabeth Elder (1813-1840) 3 - 17 Jul 1832 3
Wife Julia A. Tantlinger 3
Born: 1812 3
Christened:
Died: 18 May 1849 3
Buried:
Children
1 M James Burns McFarland 3
Born:
Christened:
Died: in infancy
Buried:
Spouse: Did Not Marry
2 M William Wallace McFarland 3
Born:
Christened:
Died: in infancy
Buried:
Spouse: Did Not Marry
3 F Agnes McFarland 3
Born:
Christened:
Died: in infancy
Buried:
Spouse: Did Not Marry
General Notes: Husband - Col. John McFarland
In appearance Colonel McFarland was always a handsome man, large and firmly formed, his presence and bearing were that of a distinguished gentleman of the old school. Even when more than four score years had whitened his dark hair, he was still erect, his keen blue eye had lost none of its lustre, nor had his strong intellect failed him. He was a man who could read men, and possessed great business insight, being able to look into and measure the future outcome of business projects with almost unerring certainty. In this his mind was marvelous, and had he lived in a later day, with such mental gifts, he could easily have amassed an immense fortune.
There were but few schools in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, when he was a youth, indeed, his entire schooling covered a period of but six months. Like all young men of that primitive age he was brought up as a farmer, and his first employment away from the farm was on the Pennsylvania canal, when it was in course of construction across the state. This work in a great degree changed the whole course of his life; it taught him to handle laboring men, and a few years afterward he was a contractor in the building of the West Penn railroad. Later he was engaged in still larger railroad contracts in Lawrence County and elsewhere. In this business he was successful and laid up a reasonable competence for those days. About this time he acquired a large amount of real estate, which gradually grew in value and added to the accumulations of his old age. From Colonel John Ramsey he purchased the mill property at Ligonier; this he owned for nearly fifty years, selling it to W. A. Bair, in 1866. Though his business compelled him to be away from Ligonier a great deal, he never severed his relations with the place of his birth. He built a brick residence there in 1830, a palatial one for those days, which, with a few exterior changes, was still standing in 1906, the home of Mr. John H. Frank. Early in the century he became interested in the military affairs of the country, and was made a colonel in the state militia. By this title, "Colonel," he was always thereafter known, although he was never directly connected with any of the wars in which the United States was engaged. He took great interest in the Mexican war and equipped and sent to the front Chauncey Forward Sargent, the only soldier the valley furnished for that war.
About 1840 he became interested in politics. He had always been a Democrat, and being a leader in his county, was put up as a candidate for state senator, to which position he was elected in 1850, serving with great satisfaction to his constituents for the term of three years. His opponent in this election, was none other than the renowned John Covode, whom he defeated at the polls. [HWC 1906 II, 361]
One of his favorite ambitions, which he probably acquired while a contractor on the railroad, was the building of a railroad from the main branch of the Pennsylvania into Ligonier valley. With his usual business sagacity, he easily foresaw the great advantage such a road would be to that locality, filled as it was with timber, coal, stone and many other marketable products. He even advocated this project in the eighteen-fifties, when in the senate, and introduced a bill providing for its charter. The road was at length projected by popular subscription, and Colonel McFarland headed the list by subscribing and paying $3,000.00, which was then an immense sum. He was elected president of the proposed Ligonier Valley railroad, though it was finally completed under another organization, headed by Judge Thomas Mellon, of Pittsburgh. Before the advent of the railroad he made many trips eastward on horse-back, in carriages and by stage coach, passing over the old turnpike, and in his old age was wont to dwell on that romantic period of the state's history. All his life he had been a reader of books and knew more about them than most men of his day. In his earlier days he had mingled with the most eminent men of the state, and had acquired through these associations a polish and address usually found only among elderly men in large cities. There were few prominent men in the fifties, in the state, whom he did not know intimately. These associations had polished and developed his powers of conversation, until he became one of the most charming companions socially one would meet in a lifetime. He was a strictly honest man, a lover of justice, and ever faithful to an old friend.
During the greater part of his life he was a member of the United Presbyterian church, then known as the "Seceders." This society had no place of worship at that time in Ligonier, and it was his custom to ride on horseback every Sunday morning to the church near Fort Palmer, about seven miles north of Ligonier, there to mingle with his neighbors in their religious devotions. A quiet and unobtrusive charity, so quiet indeed that even those who were benefitted by it often knew nothing of its source, characterized his entire life, and this doubly endeared him to those who knew him best.
His declining years were spent almost entirely in retirement and in looking after his own estate. Surrounded by all the comforts that loving friends could give, firm in the faith of his church, he passed peacefully away while on a visit at the home of his daughter Mary, and was buried in the old Ligonier cemetery. [HWC 1906 II, 362]