Two questions. 1. In the 1790 South Carolina census there is a Thomas Farris and wife;has anyone seen or read anything pertaining to this couple? 2. In an abstract of wills in South Carolina there is a John Wallace the last sentence of the abstract states that one of John Wallace's daughters was the wife of Thomas Farris. I believe the will was probated about 1813, has anyone seen or read anything on this couple? I am researching a Samuel Farris who is the administrator for the estate of Thomas Farris in 1843 in Lawrence County Mississippi. Some of Samuel's siblings were born in South Carolina so I am trying to find a paper trail from Mississippi to South Carolina. Estelle ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

Hi Estelle, Good luck with your search. Have some comments, but not much specific help with your main quest: Samuel Farris. Regards, Dan Question #1: Thomas of 1790 census: There were two men named Thomas who appear early in the records of South Carolina. One was a Thomas Faris or Farris of Chester County, South Carolina and the other was a Thomas Faris or Fearys or Fearis of both Chester & Fairfield Counties, SC. This second Thomas is the older of the two men. The first Thomas is the one of the 1790 census. In Chester Co., SC, deed & court records the surname is variously spelled: Farriss, Fariss, Faires, Fairy, Fearriss, Fearys, Fairiss, Faries, Farie, Faris, Farress, Feares, Fearis, Farris, Feres, Farris. The first names of persons with variations of these last names include Caleb, David, John, Mary, Samuel, Thomas, and William. I know that at least four, probably more, different Farris families are represented in these records. The records are not very helpful in establishing the kinships of the persons recorded. In some cases, there are two or more Farris individuals involved in the same transaction (deed, etc.). That is some help to show that they were associated and likely neighbors, possibly related. There were brothers William (married Mary) & Thomas Fearis or Fearys (married Janet), both born in the 1740's in Ireland. These families were on Wateree Creek. This family moved into Fairfield Co., SC. Name also spelled Phearys. Some thought that this family may have gone to Tennessee, but William's will was proved in Fairfield. Fairfield County, South Carolina, Will Book 5, page 36: Will of William Fearys, dated 5 Sept. 1810; Sons Thomas, Joseph, William; Granddaughter Mary, daughter of Samuel Fearys, dec'd; Daughter Genet Smith, son-in-law William Smith; Grandson William Fearys Smith; Granddaughter Mary Morrow Smith. There were brothers William Faris (married Agnes Cowan), David (married Martha Stormont), John (married Elizabeth ???), and James (married Mary Ann Beckett). William & John were Revolutionary War soldiers. There were brothers Alexander, Caleb, & Isaac Feris, also Revolutionary soldiers, who are related to my line in York County, South Carolina. These three brothers, plus a Levis Faris who may or may not have been related, went from Chester & York Counties, SC, to Maury County, Tennessee. There was another Faris family that included William Faris 1766-1842 (of the Ebenezer Church community), several sisters of the Fishing Creek area, a schoolmaster brother John W., and a probable brother Samuel W. Faris, see below. There was a Thomas Faris/Farris/Faires, another Revolutionary soldier. He's the first one mentioned above. His will was dated 21 Nov 1815, proved 24 Oct. 1825 in Chester Co., SC. He also applied for a Revolutionary War pension which was discontinued for a time. He had then to petition the state legislature which started the pension up again. His widow Margaret later petitioned the legislature again after Thomas died. I am posting the census records of this family because Thomas's son Thomas W. ended up in Mississippi (Tishomingo County). I researched this family for a descendant of the elder Thomas's son Mary M. "Malsey" (Faris) O'Neal Ware. Thomas W. could not have been the Thomas you found who died in 1843. Thomas W. Faris was still living in 1880. (See census, below). I cannot connect this Thomas & Margaret (Walker) Faris family to any of the other Farris families in Chester or York Cos., SC. This Thomas's family appear in census records of Chester & York Cos., SC, and Tishomingo Co., Mississippi, from 1790 to 1880. ================================ Question #2: John Wallace's estate administration (NOT a will)(I have a copy of the entire probate court record). The citation to creditors & family members was read 02 Nov. 1816 (not 1813). There were references to several children. Not all children were named. Some individuals of the Wallace surname were involved in this estate whose exact kinship to John Wallace is uncertain. Wallace lived near my Faries/Faris/Faires family in what is now Fort Mill Township, York County, South Carolina. Like his neighbors, Wallace leased his land from the Catawba Indian tribe. It was the only way that a white man could live on property within the Indian boundary at that time. A lease for 99 years for a small sum annually. Some of Wallace's children moved to Lauderdale County, Alabama, about 1819. Three of Wallace's children married into my Faires family: John, Jr. married Polly Farris, Sarah married Cornelius Faires, and Casy married Samuel D. Faires. William Wallace, whose exact kinship to John Wallace, Sr., is unknown (possibly a son), married Jennet Faires. Two daughters married a Talley and a Ticer. None of Wallace's heirs married a Thomas Farris. There was a Thomas WALLACE, involved in John Wallace's estate. He also moved to Lauderdale Co., AL. ===================================================== Question #3: There was more than one Samuel Farris (variously spelled as above) in Chester County, (and nearby) South Carolina, records. One was my direct ancestor Samuel Faris/Faires/Faries 1781-1852 who inherited land on Fishing Creek from his wife's Brown family, but he and the other heirs sold it. Land was near Chester Co., but deeds recorded in York Co., SC. There was Samuel W. Faris 1785-1844, also on Fishing Creek, before he sold out there and moved into York Co., SC, where he moved around a bit before settling near Bethany ARP Church where he is buried. His descendants remained in this area and just above in North Carolina. Samuel W. had relatives in York Co. and Chester Co., SC, and this family were separate from the other Farris families mentioned above. There was a third Samuel Farris and I can't learn much about him so far. Makes me wonder if he moved outside the state or died. I don't know who his family was. Deeds involving him don't specify identified relatives. He appears selling land on the waters of Rockey Creek in Chester Co., SC, in 1794, 1797, and 1798. No wife mentioned as releasing dower rights in the land. No other Farris individuals as neighbors or witnesses. He first appears on 1810 census: [Didn't find him listed in 1790 or 1800.] 1810 U.S. Census, Chester Co., SC page 286 [265 mf][520 census]: Farris, Saml Males 00010- Females 30100- Others 0-00 1 Male age 26-44, 1 Female 16-25, and 3 Females 0-9 Samuel is in Chester deeds in the 1790's, on Chester census in 1810, and mentioned in an 1810 will in Fairfield Co., SC: This is the only clue to a Samuel associated with other relatives that might be this same guy in 1810: Fairfield County, South Carolina, Will Book 5, page 36: Will of William Fearys, dated 5 Sept. 1810; Sons Thomas, Joseph, William; Granddaughter Mary, daughter of Samuel Fearys, dec'd; Daughter Genet Smith, son-in-law William Smith; Grandson William Fearys Smith; Granddaughter Mary Morrow Smith. ----- Original Message ----- From: Dashes1@aol.com To: Farris-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 3:37 AM Subject: [FARRIS] Thomas Farris 1790 South Carolina Two questions. 1. In the 1790 South Carolina census there is a Thomas Farris and wife;has anyone seen or read anything pertaining to this couple? 2. In an abstract of wills in South Carolina there is a John Wallace the last sentence of the abstract states that one of John Wallace's daughters was the wife of Thomas Farris. I believe the will was probated about 1813, has anyone seen or read anything on this couple? I am researching a Samuel Farris who is the administrator for the estate of Thomas Farris in 1843 in Lawrence County Mississippi. Some of Samuel's siblings were born in South Carolina so I am trying to find a paper trail from Mississippi to South Carolina. None of them Estelle