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Miss Alvahn Holmes of Baltimore, Maryland, published two volumes of family history in 1977 and 1979. They were the result of many years dedicated research to discover the truth about her ancestors who settled in America in the 17th century. Miss Holmes disproved the long held belief that her family was descended from William Farrar, son of Nicholas Farrar, a London Merchant. Nicholas was a member of the East India Company and the London Company given responsibility for colonising Virginia. William was called to the Bar in June 1618 and admitted to the Chambers of Messrs Cockes and Seymour. In June 1619 his brothers John and Nicholas commissioned a ship The Garland to take passengers to Bermuda and Virginia. The ship was eventually wrecked in Bermuda. William became an agent of the Virginia Company about this time and sailed to the colony. Many Americans believed he was the founder of the family known as 'the Farrar's of Farrar Island' until Miss Holmes disproved the theory. Confusion arose because another William Farrar was in Virginia at about the same time and Miss Holmes discovered he was directly descended from the Halifax family and the one who gave his name to Farrar Island family. William Farrer from Halifax arrived in America on the Neptune which left London with 200 passenger on March 16th 1618. They met contrary winds and very bad weather and the journey took 16 weeks. Many fell ill and 30 passengers died on the voyage, including Lord Delaware who was returning to Virginia as governor. On arrival in Virginia William was granted 100 acres of land which were situated about three miles from the junction of the James and Appomattox Rivers. Indian raids followed, and in the 'Great Massacre' of March 12th 1622 eleven people were slain in 'Mr Farrar's house'. He and other survivors fled for safety to Mr Jordan's house. He was a large landowner who was thought to have better defences. Unrest among the Indian tribes continued and the settlers formed bands to defend themselves. Every commander of a plantation was ordered to ensure that they had sufficient powder, munitions and suits of mail and armour. When a muster roll was taken on the Jordan's estate in 1624, William Farrar was listed as being there and gave his age as 31 years. Following Samuel Jordan death in March 1623, a local minister attempted to woo his widow Cecily. But he lost the lady's hand to William Farrar. In May 1625 they were married and eventually had two sons and a daughter. The Indians attacked other settlements along the James River, including a town of Henricus, founded in 1611. Henricus was named after Henry, Prince of Wales, and was situated about 15 miles south-east of Richmond. It was only the second major English settlement founded in North America, and the first to have a hospital and plans for a university. Three years after its foundation, Henricus was described as having 'three streets of well framed howses, a handsom Church and the foundation of a more stately one laid of Brick ... besides Store Houses, watch Howses and such like ... upon the verge of this River five fair block Houses ... wherein live the honester sort of people, as in farmes in England, and there keep continuell centinell for the Townes security ...' Henricus was though to be easy defensible because it was situated on a peninsula formed by loop of the James River — virtually an island with the exception of a neck of land 120 feet wide. However, this did nothing to stop the Indians and the town was attacked in the 1622 raids. The survivors evacuated the town and Henricus was finally abandoned after the Virginia Company was dissolved in 1624. Some settlements were re-established and others established along the James River. Within ten years of the raids, the area was designated the Shire County of Henrico. In 1637, William Farrar obtained 2,000 acres of land in the County which included much of the peninsula in the James River, and this became known as Farrar Island. It remained the home of the family for about 100 years. William was a man of great personal influence in the community. He acted as appraiser and executor of estates, became a member of the King's Council, and he was appointed a chief justice of the county. He was responsible for transporting 40 settlers to Virginia. The actual site of Henricus is uncertain. In more recent years two channels have been cut to divert the water and shorten the navigation of the river. After the first channel (the Dutch Gap) was cut in 1864, Farrar Island became a true island and was then placed in Chesterfield County. The second longer cut was made in the 1930s to make a shorter route to the power station. This work may have destroyed its foundations, and the old river beds which originally encircled the island, have now turned into swamp. Because the site is considered import, particularly because it had the first hospital in America, a trust was established in 1994 to reconstruct Henricus Town. Park land has been laid where Farrar Island meets the river, and its hoped the town will be recreated with a hospital, church and a tourist centre. References:
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