Thomas Farrar, of Lynn

Not the same as Thomas Farrar

Biography

Because of his old age, presumably he was hard of hearing, he was allowed to sit in the pulpit to be able to hear the minister. Teenager Ann Putnam accused him of witchcraft because in her dreams she saw him pinching her. This happened in Salem 18 May 1692. He was sent to prison in Boston for a period of 5 to 7 months (sources differ on when he got out of prison).

As the elder Thomas, he was familiarly called "old Pharoah." He was accused of witchcraft in 1692 and brought before the court in Salem on 18 May, despite fact that son Thomas was a selectmen of Lynn that year. NEHGR VI 317
Deposition before the court was by Ann Putnam . . . on "8th May 1692 there appearaed before me the apperishion of an old gray headed man with a great nose, which tortured me and almost choked me and urgred me to writ in his book, and I asked him his name and from whence he came for I would complain of him; and the people used to call him old father pharaoh; and he said he was my grandfather, for my father used to call him father; but I told him I would not call him grandfather for he was a wizard and I would compain of him, and ever since he hath afflicted me by times, beating me and pinching me and almost choking me and urging me to writ in his bookk"

He was sent to prison in Boston and kept until 2 November (about 5 months)

Thomas died about a year after his release from prison on 23 February 1693/4. Thomas and his first wife Elizabeth were parents of seven children including our ancestor Susannah. At the time of his death, Thomas owned a house, orchard, and about 32 acres of land in Lynn valued at £225.

Family

Thomas was the son of Athelreda and Thomas Farrar of Burnley in Lancashire.

Circa 1645 when Thomas was 31, he married Elizabeth [surname not known], in Roxbury, Suffolk co., MA or Lynn, Essex co., MA[14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. She died on 8 January 1680 in Lynn, Essex co., MA as "Farrer, Elizabeth, w. Thomas"[21].

On 3 Mar 1680/81 at Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts, United States he married Abigail Johnson, widow of John Collins.

Children

• 1. Elizabeth FARRAR b: BET. 1659 - 1661
• 2. Thomas FARRAR b: BET. 1636 - 1652
• 3. Sarah FARRAR b: 1648
• 4. Susannah FARRAR b: 26 MAR 1658 in Lynnfield, Essex, MA
• 5. Mehitable FARRAR b: 6 OCT 1660 in Lynn, Essex, MA
• 6. Peleg FARRAR b: 6 OCT 1660 in Lynn, Essex, MA
• 7. Hannah FARRAR b: ABT. 1637

Notes

https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Thomas_Farrar_%281%29

Flagg, Ernest. Genealogical Notes on the Founding of New England: My Ancestors Part in that Undertaking. (Hartford, Conn.: Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1926), 253.

Thomas Farrar1 of Lynn, Mass, b. Jan. 29, 1614-15 [sic, Flagg reports this as date of birth, but he cites the parish register, which gives 29 January 1614/15 as the date of Thomas's baptism]; son of Thomas and Athelreda (-) Farrara of Burnley, Lancaster, England. (Parish Register.) m. Elizabeth1 d. Feb. 23, 1693-4; will dated June 22, 1693, aged 77. (Essex Probate, Salem, Mass.) Fined for assaulting Henry Jackson and again for assaulting his brother Henry in 1640; emigrated before 1645. As son of Thos. Farrar of Burnley, sent a power of atty. to his brother Henry, Jan. 2. 1645-6. Lived in Nahant Street and was made Freeman after 1690. In 1692, the town voted that he and seven others should "set" in the pulpit. This was probably on account of their age and consequent difficulty in hearing. In this same year, and when his son Thomas was one of the Selectmen of the town, he was accused of witchcraft; for the testimony against him see page 73. Savage makes him m. (2), Mar. 3, 1681, Abigail Collins, but she was the wife of his son Thomas. He bequeathed his dau. Hannah Berry2, one cow. "Thomas Farrar was brought before the Court at Salem May 8, 1692 and sent to prison at Boston, where he was kept until Nov. 2, more than five months." (History of Lynn.)

[Note: this source is wrong in refuting Savage, first and foremost, because this Thomas did m. (2) Abigail Collins, and secondarily, because Savage never said that (rather, Savage agreed with most sources of that time in saying the son married Abigail Collins, albeit misreporting the date, e.g., History of Lynn, p. 110 and the NEHGR article Savage cites, Vol. 6, p. 317). However, the facts are that the will of the son names wife Elizabeth, presumably the Elizabeth he married as "Thomas jr." in 1682, while the father's will (which Flagg appears to cite while mentioning Hannah Berry?) clearly names the father's wife in 1693 as Abigail, presumably the Abigail Collins that Thomas (i.e., no "Jr." specified) married on 3 Mar 1680-1 per Lynn VRs.]

References

• https://pabbott.wixsite.com/abbott-feld-family/single-post/2019/06/...
• http://www.donparrish.com/Report1/PS02/PS02_089.HTM
• "England, Lancashire, Parish Registers 1538-1910," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJD8-WG44 : 13 October 2017), Thomas Farrar in entry for Thomas Farrar, 29 Jan 1614; citing Christening, St Peter's Church, Burnley, Lancashire, England, volume , Lancashire Record Office, Preston; FHL microfilm 1,517,689.
• “Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the ..., Volume 3” By William Richard Cutter. Page 1490. GoogleBooks
• “ Witches of Massachusetts”
• http://kristinhall.org/fambly/Farrar/ThomasFarrar2.html
• Friday, Sue. 1995. "Witchcraft and Quaker Convincements: Lynn, Massachusetts, 1692." Quaker History 84 (2): 89-115.
• Lewis, Alonzo, and James Robinson Newhall. 1865. History of Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts: Including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscott, and Nahant. Boston, MA: J. L. Storey.
• University of Virginia. 2018. Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project. Accessed June 18, 2019. http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/home.html.
• https://www.diggingupyourrootsbyashley.com/blog/thomas-old-pharaoh-...

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Born in Jan 1614/15 in Burnley, Lancashire, England to Thomas & Aethelred Farrar. Died in Feb 1693/4. Married about 1645 in Roxbury MA to Elizabeth _______. Their child: Sarah (Farrar) Lothrop

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34367091/thomas-farrar