Person:Samuel Farnes (2)

Jacobus' Construct of the Family of Samuel Ferns/Farnes of New Haven

"Samuel³ Munson, son of Samuel² and Martha (Bradley), and grandson of Capt. Thomas¹ and Joanna, was born 28 Feb. 1669, resided in Wallingford, Conn., and died 23 Nov. 1741. According to Munson's 'The Munson Record' (p. 90), his first wife was Martha _____, who died 7 Jan. 1707, leaving eight children. The following facts shed some light on this lady's identity, which has hitherto remained a mystery. In May 1704, administration on the estate of Samuel Ferns, Sr., of New Haven, deceased, was granted to Thomas Sperry. Later in the same year, an agreement was made by Thomas Sperry and Sam^ll Munson, sons-in-law to Samuel Ferns of New Haven, deceased, providing for the disposal of his estate and for the maintenance of Samuel Ferns [Jr.] (New Haven County Court Records, vol. 2, pp. 152, 173). Since Samuel Munson's first wife, Martha, was living at this time, it seems certain that she was a daughter of Samuel Ferns. Her birth and marriage are not recorded in the vital records, where we find the births of three of his children: Samuel, Elizabeth, and John. As Samuel, Jr., had to be maintained by his brother-in-law, it is likely that he was an invalid or an imbecile. Although he was heir to some property, he executed no deeds, and there is no probate of his estate. Probably it went to Thomas Sperry in return for maintenance. As for the son John, he seems to have died in his Father's lifetime. In 1705, Widow Sackett and her son John were appointed guardians to John, son of John Ferns, deceased (New Haven County Court Records vol. 2, p. 202). On 26 June 1712, James Ferns, minor child of John Ferns, late resident at Woodbury, deceased, chose Serj^t Samuel Mundson of Wallingford to be his guardian (New Haven Probate Records, vol. 4, p. 54). In 1724, on the death of James Ferns of Milford, some dispute arose as to whether his estate should go to his uncle, Samuel Ferns of New Haven, or to John Olmstead of Norwalk, whose wife was sister of the half blood to the deceased (New Haven Probate Records, vol. 5, pp. 200, 216). As the court decided in favor of the uncle, it is assumed that the estate came from the father's side, and that Olmstead's wife was half-sister on the mother's side; and this is substantiated by the Norwalk records, which show that John Olmstead's wife was Mary, daughter of Robert Small, 'transient, sometime of Norwalk.' From these facts and conjectures it is possible to construct this pedigree of the family:

1. Samuel² Ferns, of New Haven, died in 1704.

Children.:

i. Samuel,² b. 2 July 1663; living in 1724; probably d. unm.

ii. Elizabeth, b, 7 Dec. 1665; d. 22 Apr. 1718; m. 18 Nov. 1684, Thomas Sperry, b. 13 July 1655, d. 1722.

2. iii. John, b. 3 Mar. 1668.

iv. Martha, b. abt. 1670; d. 7 Jan. 1707; m. abt. 1688, Samuel Munson of Wallingford, b. 28 Feb. 1669, d. 23 Nov. 1741.

2. John² Ferns (Samuel¹), born 3 Mar, 1668, died before 1705, and probably before his father. He lived at Woodbury, Conn., and married the widow of Robert Small, who, by her former husband, had a daughter Mary Small, who married, 29 Feb. 1718, John Olmstead of Norwalk, Conn.

Children:

i. John,³ must have d. num. before his brother, unless his name, which appears only in the modern copy of the court records, be a clerical error for James.

ii. James, of Milford, Conn., d. unm, 1724."^[2]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Farnes, in Jacobus, Donald Lines. Families of Ancient New Haven. (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1974)
   3:597.

   "Samuel (Farnes. Variant, Ferns), d 1704."

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Munson-Ferns, in Jacobus, Donald Lines. Notes on New Haven Families. New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (New England Historic Genealogical Society)
   66:310-11.
3.   The following needs researching for proof:
   Possible father of Samuel:
   John Farnes III b ca 1605, wife Unknown
   His parents:
   John Farnes Jr. b ca 1582 in Cuckfield, Sussex, Eng d ca 1675, New Haven, New Haven, CT
   m 26 Dec 1603 in Cuckfield
   Alice Turrels b ca 1582
   Parents of John Jr:
   John Farnes Sr b ca 1557
   m 2 Jul 1582 in Goudhurst, Kent, Eng
   Rabredge Beache b ca 1561 in Goudhurst