I'm Irish! No, I'm really Irish! Who knew. Well, I had always been told Grandma's (my Dad's Mother) people came from Ireland, but who really takes that stuff seriously?! Turns out they did come from Ireland!
So, this is my Grandma's Grandpa, Nathaniel McFarland. I only knew my Grandma as "Grandma Archer." I was never an Archer. My Grandma married an Archer long after she gave birth to her 11 children by Monroe Flick. My Dad was a Flick. I am a Flick. Hence, my son's name Stafan Flick. LOL Anyway,
Uncle Norman, Mike, my sister, Boone and I took a trip to French Lick to visit Patoka Lake Cemetery to visit Grandma's gave. Uncle Norman is 86 years old. Without fail, he travels two and a half hours to Grandma's grave every year. As soon as we got there I knew Uncle Norman had put these flowers on Grandma's gave. He is the only one out of her 11 children still alive. Uncle Norman treated her the best out of all 11 children. She was a good lady. She raised 11 kids all by herself after Monroe Flick abandoned all of them! They had a rough childhood. All the kids would tell a story about Monroe Flick and they all sounded the same. "I saw him one time." Sometimes I would hear "I visited him one time after I was grown."
OK, so don't get confused in all this. Flick is another side of the family. Grandma McFarland Flick Archer married a Flick. Flick is another part of my blood--strong German. You only have to go down to southern Indiana and visit Jasper (where there is a German settlement) to see how German that is. There are Flicks all over including the cemetary. Here a Flick, there a Flick, everywhere a Flick Flick. Old McFarland had a Flick, E-I-E-I-O! : - )
There is a reason all this was not so clear to me before. Patoka Lake is man made. It hasn't been around that long. My Grandma was not even buried here. When they put in the lake the "history" people, whoever they are, moved all these stones. They are the ones who studied the family ancestry and put all these graves and stones next to one another. Also, the Internet, and especially ancestry.com, has made it very simple to look up the family line online!
Grandma's Mother's stone. She died at age 27 years old. I grew up knowing Grandma's Mother died at a young age and Grandma had a stepmother. And I knew she didn't like her stepmother.
The side of Grandma's Mother Sarah's gravestone. We learned her Mother had a baby that died at about one week old.
This was Grandma's infant brother that I did not know existed. Uncle Norman didn't know it either. We learned it that day at the cemetery, thanks to the history preserved with the gravestones. This baby would have been Uncle Norman's Uncle.
I grew up knowing that Grandma had only one brother--Desco McFarland. Desco lived to be 47 years old.
Now it makes sense why Grandma only had one sibling that I knew about--their Mother died very young. And of course she had the infant brother who I didn't know about until our trip the other day.
Uncle Norman is my Dad's brother. This is their Mother's stone.
Grandma's stone. Uncle Norman's name is on the very bottom. My Dad was Marvin.
Eating in French Lick on our interesting trip to Patoka Lake.
OK, this is weird. Now I feel the need to visit Ireland. LOL
Grandma McFarland Flick Archer is in the red along with all her children (except the infant who died). My Dad is 3rd from the front with his arms folded. Uncle Norman who is now 86 years old, and the only one still living, is the first in from the front. Again, he went with us to the cemetery. Look at my Uncle Delbert in the snazzy shorts! He raised his kids in Carmel if that tells you anything. LOL They were lined up oldest to youngest--oldest was next to Grandma.
A whole lot of Flicks. Grandma McFarland Flick Archer is front and center with the white hair. All the Flick "kids" are in the front. My Dad is 2nd from the right. I'm in the middle row center in a white shirt with my arm crossed (between the girl in striped shirt and the white-haired man). My sister Becki is three people to my left (next to the man in the brown shirt).
My Dad's brother Elmer and his wife.
My Dad and Mom.
Some Flick boys and one sister. My Dad is the center.
My Dad's brother Delbert.
Uncle Norman and me.
MCFARLAND HISTORY NAME: Mc Farland is from the Gaelic
EARLY HISTORY: It is noted that the McFarland family may be descended from the first Celtic Colonists from Spain who arrived in Ireland, and later settled in Scotland. The first records of the family date to Arrochar, Scotland in about 1150 AD. Much of the clan was broken up about 1600 AD, and several moved to Northern Ireland. McFarland is found almost solely in the Ulster Province of Ireland, and are principally located in the Counties of Tyrone and Armaugh, and some in Leitrim.
AMERICAN IMMIGRATION: The first of the McFarland family to America was in about 1665. This was Purthe McFarland from Scotland who settled in Massachusetts. However, there are found three principal migration periods to America prior to about 1800:
(1) 1718/1719 (from Ireland)
(2) 1730 to 1740 (from Ireland)
(3) about 1770 to 1790 (from Scotland).
Guess I better learn to speak Irish.
