William McFarland - obituary, New York, about 1876

[Erato]

I am looking for an obituary or an account of the funeral of William McFarland, born 1817 in Maine. Based on the attached newspaper article, it is likely that he died in 1876 in New York.

[haliared]

I think if he is the one living in 1870 in Brooklyn Ward 19, Kings, New York with wife Nancy, he may have survived and been living in 1880 in Queens, Queens, New York, USA.

[Erato]

Yes, that is the right man. I'm glad he made it to 1880 but I still need an obituary.  I'm hoping that it will shed some light on his family connections - parents, siblings and the [adopted?] daughter Carrie/Caroline who was born in England.

I have a strong hunch that he is connected to a branch of my tree but I don't know if the connection is one of kinship or one of friendship/admiration/gratitude.

[haliared]

His mother is listed as Elizabeth and is living with him in 1880, I think Nancy is a widow in the next census though so that might narrow things down.

[Lisa in California]

… I'm hoping that it will shed some light on his family connections - parents, siblings and the [adopted?] daughter Carrie/Caroline who was born in England…

One family tree states

William’s parents -
Robert McFarland, 1791-1872
Elizabeth Mary Hannaford, 1795-1890
   Robert’s and Margaret’s children: Margaret H, William B, Thaddeus, Dennison, Robert, Susan E, Mary Lovina, David, James Nelson, Jane A

William’s info:
Son, Frederick H, born 1844, Charlestown, MA. (no death given).  Married Clara. Children William N and George.
Daughter, Carrie, born c1850, England.  Carrie married Joseph Clark.  Children Sadie and William.

Of course, this is someone’s tree; I’ve not checked to see if details are correct.

Added: as you most likely know, according to the 1900 census, Carrie immigrated in 1860.

[Erato]

What I am after is the possible connection between the safe maker William McFarland and the Stalla/Logan family of Brooklyn, NY.  Was there a connection and, if so, was he related to them by kinship or marriage, or was he just a friend/employer/benefactor?

My gg-grandparents Robert Logan and Janet Conning immigrated to the United States from Scotland in 1834. They went first to Brooklyn, NY where, according to my grandmother, both had relatives who had preceded them to the United States.  I have identified a Conning connection in Brooklyn, but I don't know who the Logan relative(s) might have been.

Robert and Janet were accompanied to the US by Robert's sister, Jane Logan.  Jane stayed in Brooklyn where she married Robert Harvey Stalla, an English immigrant who had arrived at about the same time.  He worked as a laborer in 1840 and was a porter in 1850, but it is unknown who employed him.  Robert and Jane had two sons:  William Henry Stalla (b. ~1843) and Joseph McFarland Stalla (b. 3 December 1844), both born in Brooklyn.  (William and Joseph and all of the later Stalla descendants eventually changed their surname to Stella).

William and Joseph Stalla both found employment in the safe making trade.  Joseph was recorded as a safe maker in Brooklyn in 1865 while William was recorded as a safe maker in Philadelphia in 1870 and 1880.

Their occupation combined with Joseph's middle name suggest that they might have been somehow connected to William McFarland of the Tilton & McFarland Safe Co. in Brooklyn.  Was William McFarland a relative of some kind who employed them and taught them their trade?  Or did Robert Stalla simply name his son Joseph McFarland in tribute to his employer and then his sons followed in his footsteps to also work with William McFarland?  Or was there no connection at all, but merely a coincidence of time, place, occupation and name?

[Lisa in California]

Thank you for the additional details, Erato.

I cannot open the article (operator error, I’m sure), but I found Nancy’s obit on the following site:
https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html
Under the search term Nancy S McFarland
Perhaps it might name relatives?  Earlier I searched for William but didn’t see anything but perhaps I may have missed his obit.

I found a will/probate record on Ancestry for William but other than Nancy and a Mr. Ford (I can look again for his first name if you like) no “unknown” relatives were mentioned. The record was dated 1 February 1882.  I believe Hempstead was mentioned as William’s last residence.  (The document was several pages and just seemed to repeat tedious information.)

Added:
William was “late of the town of Hempstead”.
Nancy was the executrix and John H Ford was the executor.

[Lisa in California]

Nothing helpful…

Nancy’s obit
https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/555785791/?terms=Nancy%20s%20Mcfarland&match=1

Added: just the death index that includes William McFarland.
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01sym/
But, the “event place” was Smithville, Jefferson, New York.

[Lisa in California]

The document mentioned above states:
William was an inhabitant of Hempstead, County of Queens, and died in the said town, 16 January 1882.

“… and that he left him surviving as his only heirs at law and next of kin, Nancy S. McFarland his widow and Frederick H. McFarland, his son, both of full age and severally residing at Smithville South in said county of Queens.  That said decedent left no other child or descendent him surviving…”

I thought Carrie was still alive in 1900?  Was she not considered his child?  You mentioned that she was adopted, but still….