My Farmer Lineage

Here is MY direct FARMER line, for other Farmer Family members see the Family Tree link on the left menu

BREANNA WILLOW JOELS (2007-)
ME (1975-)
MY DAD (1954-)

GEORGE HARRY ARTHUR FARMER (1923-2002) - My Grandfather was born at 2 Wyndham Place, Cardiff, Wales on 1st December 1923, and was given his middle names after his grandfather's Arthur Edwin Farmer, and Harry Archibald Brock (an act which my parents repeated when naming me after both of my grandfathers). In 1940 he was a member of the 11th Battalion Glamorgan Home Guard in Cardiff, but moved to Birmingham, England, with his mother where he enlisted in the Army, eventually joining the RASC as a Driver for the rest of the Second World War. Ending up in Guildford, Surrey, he married my Nan, Ursula Effie Jane Jolin, on 2nd August 1949 at the Register Office, Guildford, and together they had five children. He spent most of his life after the war as a Painter & Decorator, and died in 2002 aged 78.

GEORGE FARMER (1904-1996) - My Great Grandfather was born on the 28th July 1904 at 150 Eldon Road, Cardiff, Wales. By the age of 18 he had become a "Motor Lorry Driver" and on 13th April 1923 he married Crystal Mary Isabel Brock at the Register Office, Cardiff. George and Crystal had a total of 5 children until they divorced around the time of the Second World War and George later married Ethel on 2nd April 1960. Occupationwise, my Great Grandfather began by helping his father in the Coal business, but later went into Painting and Decorating. He died on 26th August 1996 aged 92.
ARTHUR EDWIN FARMER (1879-1956) - My Great Great Grandfather was born on the 20th January 1879 in the Union Workhouse, Cardiff, Wales. His birth was registered by the Workhouse Master, Alf Greenhalgh, and it would appear that he made a couple of mistakes when doing so - most notably naming Arthur as Arthur Edward Farmer... On the 14th December 1899 Arthur married Elizabeth Pook at Cardiff Register Office, and they went on to have 8 children. Arthur traded as a Coal Merchant under the name "Cardiff Coal & Firewood Co. Limited", until he passed the business to his oldest son Arthur William Farmer. Arthur died on the 23 February 1956 at 53 Severn Road, Cardiff, aged 77.

JOHN FARMER (1851-1923) - My Great Great Great Grandfather was born on 1st February 1851 somewhere on what is now Free Street, Brecon, Breconshire, Wales. John followed in his father's and brother's footsteps by becoming a Saddler, and seems to have roamed about the UK working as such. On 22 April 1874 John married Mary Jane Roberts at the Register Office, Cardiff, and together they had just two children, their oldest being born in Mumps, Oldham, Lancashire, England. I suspect that John's movements about the country looking for work must have taken a toll on the marriage - in 1879 he is living at 15 Temple Street, London, and in 1881 on Broad Street in Lyme Regis, Dorset. On his son Arthur's marriage certificate from 1899 John is listed as deceased, and again when John's wife Mary Jane married James Tucker in 1901. In 1911 as there is a John Farmer, 60, Saddler, born in Brecon, living at 2 Tyn Y Parc Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff...

BENJAMIN FARMER (c.1816-1897) - My Great Great Great Great Grandfather was born around 1816, but i have yet to find a baptism for him. Indeed the first record i have for him is his marriage to Eliza Hughes in the Parish Register for St. Augustine the Less in Bristol, England, on the 13 September 1836. I don't know why Benjamin and Eliza married in Bristol - but it could be that someone might have objected to the marriage had they married in Wales (people often married in a Parish quite far away so that when the Banns were read each week anyone who might object couldn't hear about it), indeed it was pointed out to me by the lady at Bristol archives that one of the witnesses, John Hill, was witness to quite a few marriages at the church and in fact i could see for myself that he was a witness at the wedding in the entry directly below Benjamin and Eliza's... Benjamin and Eliza went on to have nine known children, and lived in, or around, Brecon for many years. Benjamin was a master Saddler by trade, and indeed owned many saddlers shops, including shops in Pontypool, Newport, and Cardiff. In 1844 Benjamin is owner of the King's Arms Public House, situated on the Watton in Brecon. By 1859 Benjamin is also listed as an Auctioneer and Appraiser, while still a Saddler. Between the years 1851 and 1859 Benjamin is named several times as Town Crier of Brecon on various birth certificates and documents, and in 1859 he is also listed as a Bailiff for the County Court. On top of this he is listed in the same year in the directory for Brecon as having "Post Horses Licensed To Let" from his premises on the High Street (and "olde" sign can still be seen under an archway on the High Street advertising this fact!). Eventually Benjamin retired to Newport and he died there at 13 Brown's Buildings on the 18th September 1897 from Mitral Insufficiency and Acute Cystitis, aged 81.
THOMAS FARMER (c.1779-1823) - My Great Great Great Great Great Grandfather was born around 1779 - we think in Hereford, England. Indeed there is a Thomas Farmer baptised 1 Feb 1779 in All Saints, Hereford. What we do know is that Thomas was a master gunsmith and that he married an Anne Williams at St. Mary's Church, Brecon, Wales on the 5th May 1804. They had a daughter called Mary. Anne died on 7th August 1807 and Thomas then married Ann Probert on 30th December 1811 at Llanspyddid, Brecon. Thomas and Ann only had one child together, Benjamin Farmer (above), and Thomas died on 31st December 1823 in Brecon.

BENJAMIN FARMER (c.1742-1821) - My Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandfather was born about 1742, possibly in Ludlow, Shropshire, England - there is a baptism for a Benjamin Farmer in Ludlow on 15th March 1742 to a Thomas and Mary Farmer, but we have yet to ascertain if it is him. We know that by the time of his marriage on 7th July 1771 he was living in Hereford trading as a Gunsmith. Benjamin married Mary Mills and they had seven children together. Benjamin died in Hereford on the 29th November 1821, only two years before his son, Thomas, and was buried at All Saints church on the 3rd December 1821.

Note:- Thanks must go to my co-researchers - Robert Farmer for his help with information/documents regarding Thomas Farmer (and numerous other Farmers in the tree), and Jean Dobson who went to Hereford Record Offices and found most of the info on Benjamin Farmer, Gunsmith, as seen above. Also a big thankyou to my grandfather's cousin, Doreen Wing, for helping me with info on Arthur Edwin Farmer and getting me over a brick wall :)

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Farmer Ancestry

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by Wayne Farmer

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