Could Elijah be son of John Farley of Monroe County Virginia(WV)

Question

The names of Elijah's sons match the early mens names descending from Francis Farley who settled on New River in what is now Monroe County West Virginia.

Answer 1

More likely he’s the son of either Daniel or Matthew Farley who patented land abutting one another in Sevier County, TN (where Elijah was born) on Oct. 6, 1808.  Unfortunately Tennessee censuses from 1810 and 1820 are lost, so land and marriage records are about all there are.

Comments

Kathy, the entire Tennessee census is missing for both years?!?

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Mathew is also a male name used in descendants of Francis Farley of Monroe County Virginia.

Thanks

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Yes, sadly that is true. Tennessee isn’t the only early state that’s missing, either.

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Well! This sure does shed some light on why I’ve had such difficulties with families in that era and area (Tennessee). Finleys, Pattersons, and Kerrs.

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Some of the first families of the Knoxville area migrated from Giles and Wythe County Virginia. A letter by James Shannon told the story of blazing a trail to Knoxville, Thomas Farley was a neighbor in Giles County Virginia. Patterson families were also in the area. The Kerr family name is also a Giles county name.

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Right, and related families in Augusta County. My problem comes with the migration down to what is now Blount County, Tennessee. Several lines of these Virginia families ended up there. The gap in the records can only be filled in with land records and wills and such, and they don’t seem to help much.