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The name Farrell comes from the roots of the Old Gaelic name Fearghail, Fear, meaning "man," and gal "valor," hence man of valor. The original Fearghail from whom the O'Fearghails have claimed descent was slain by the Danes at the battle of Clondarf in 1014. His great grandfather Anghaile gave his name to the territory that they possessed, Annaly in county Longford.
It was not until later that O'Fearghail was anglicized to O'Farrell and later Farrell
The first record of an O'Farrell was Father Richard O'Farrell of Annaly in the early 1600's.
Both Ferralls and Farrells exist in America, although Farrells outnumber Ferrells by approximately two to one.
See Also:
Mom's side: The Boullet Tree and the Palmer Tree
Dad's Mom's side: The Kempen Tree
'Our Ancestry' Home page
Dad - His life in a nutshell
Locate the only two boxes with pictures. This is William J Farrell and Irene C. Boullet, our parents.
We will go back in time beginning with Dad's parents:
Born: June 21, 1898 somewhere in Illinois.
No idea how many siblings. He and his brother Joe were raised by an uncle who lived on a farm in Indiana.
He joined the army in 1917 (19 yrs old) and fought somewhere until 1919. That would be the end of WW1, which went from July 1914 to Nov. 1918.
Apparently he received some pretty bad shrapnel wounds which kept him in and out of the local VA hospital.
On many of the censuses, he wrote that he was a machinist by trade.
He died in Hurley Wisconsin in 1962 at 64 yrs.
Pictures of William Charles Farrell:
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| In the Army -- After the Army --- In a VA Home |
Personal insights:
On our drive to Northern Wisconsin (Sept. 2016), Ruth matter-of-factly told me that their father was 'a drunk'. "Oh", she said, "you didn't know that?" He could be very fun and entertaining when he wanted to be, but when he was drunk, which was often, he could be pretty mean.
Also, she said, "he used to pick on Billy quite a bit. Dad thought Billy was a sissy." Billy was the oldest boy, and it seems that gramps, having fought in the war and all, maybe thought himself to be a manly man. Billy may have been a disappointment to him.
ALL four of Esther's grandparents were born in Holland. Check out her lineage.
Born: Sometime in 1904 in Wrightstown, Wisconsin.
She was the youngest of 8 children.
Her father (George) died when she was 6 years old.
She worked for a short time as a school teacher in North Dakota.
At some point she moved to Fort Wayne Indiana and worked in an insurance company where she met her future husband.
She died VERY young from pneumonia in 1947 at 43 yrs.
Pictures of Esther Kempen:
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| Esther Kempen (left) Her mom (right) -- As school teacher |
Both Ruth and Grace loved their mother very much, and spoke very highly of their 'Moma'. Grace likes to tell people that she was a concert pianist. Ruth warned me of this, and said, yes, she was a very good pianist. The family would often gather around the piano and sing songs, such as 'Big Rock Candy Mountain'.
On Feb. 24, 1925, they married and moved to Racine when Ruth was 9 months old. Esther's siblings lived close by and would often visit so that the cousins would be close. See the Marriage License.
Together they had 10 kids.
Their 10th child, Patricia, was born in 1940, only 14 years after their first.
According to Ruth, they moved around a lot. When I offered to take her to see their childhood home, she said, "Which one?"
About 1945, they couldn't find a place to rent, social services took over, and the younger kids were put into foster homes. The parents and Ruth, Grace, and Billy lived in a 4-room basement flat, and the plan was that they all work and save as much as they could so they could buy a house. Billy and Jimmy worked on a Mink farm in the area.
In 1947 Esther (mom) died of pneumonia at 43 yrs.
As soon as they were old enough (about 1947), Billy and Jimmy joined the army. After Billy got out of the army, he stayed in San Francisco and married Mom.
Ruth and Grace worked very hard to get the kids back out of Foster and adopted homes. One of the boys, Dan, stayed with his foster family, was adopted, and took their last name of Wilson.
There is a 72 yr. privacy period before Census information is made public. This is being written in 2014, 6 yrs before the 1950 Census is made public.
Shows 3 kids (Billy is the youngest) renting at 4124 Franklin St. Racine Wis. Anna Kempen (her mom) is living with them.
Shows 8 kids, renting at 3149 West Park Ave. Racine Wis. Nancy is the youngest at 2. Two more to come. Grandma Anna Kempen is still living with them.
Born: 1875 in Boston, Massachusetts
Lived in NYC at age 5
Died: July 13, 1963 at 88 yrs.
Born: 1876 in Indiana.
Her father was born in Ohio and her mom was born in Indiana. No idea what their names were.
They married in 1897. He was 22 yrs. and she was 21 yrs.
Shows 'Millie' as Married and living with her mother-in-law (Emma Phipps-Farrell) and her kids, along with her 'child' (un-named?). Would have been William C. Farrell.
In 1925, the marriage license of their son (William C. Farrell and Martha Esther Kempen) shows him being alive and working as a traveling actor. He was 50 yrs. And it shows Millie as being dead. She would have been only 49 yrs. old, so not sure that is true. See the marriage license.
Personal insights:
Ruth shared that her grandfather was in Vaudeville, sang and danced with his partner, 'Bobbie', and also acted in plays. This confirms the 'occupation' on the license. But I could find no official document of Bobbie, except for the following photos.
Pictures of William T Farrell (our great-grandfather), Bobbie, and their little girl Evelyn.
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Shows William T Farrell (65 yrs) living in Visalia, Ca. with his new wife (Evelyn - 39 yrs.) and her/their daughter (Evelyn - 17). Apparently he retired from Show life and now works as a 'pan greaser'.
The following is from the Death Certificate for William T. Farrell, just in case there was any doubt that this were he. Notice Tulare County, California.
Born: 1849 in New York, New York.
Parents both from Ireland. See 1880 Census below.
He died sometime between the 1880 Census and the 1900 Census.
Born 1855 In Boston Mass.
Her parents were both from Massachusetts
They married 1874; He was 25 yrs. She was 19 yrs.
In 1880 and 1890 lived in New York, NY. Lived in NY in 1890.
He worked as a Stone Cutter.
They eventually had six kids: William T. Jr, Emma, Esther, George, Laura, and Edward. The first two (on the 1880 census): William and Emma.
William Sr and Emma Sr were not very creative with the names of their first two kids.
1880 Census
Shows William T. Farrell's parents both from Ireland.
Shows Emma is the 'Head'. Millie with 1 yr 'child (William C.) living with her and her kids.
Shows Emma living with George Waddel (son-in-law) and his wife Esther (Farrell) along with her kids Laura and Edward Farrell. She listed as Widowed (not clear here but shows online.)