Master cabinet (furniture) artisan Mr. Charles Mc Farland of St. Croix, Virgin Islands of the United States (b.1850-d.1926) The late Ramon Himmelstrup MacFarlane, the youngest son of Frederic Charles MacFarlane/McFarlane (1889-1948), of Thiensville, Wisconsin (USA), research of the family roots among the (MacFarlane) McFarlane and Clendinen (Clindinin) families of the former Danish West Indies (DWI) since 1960. These are his findings. As is true in most geneological searches of this type, one has to begin with a variety of assumptions. Some of these assumptions were grounded in fact (i.e., having documented or verifiable sources) and some of these were based, in large part, on the nature of the oral tradition (i.e., hearsay or stories handed down from many generations and held as truths). This, then, is what is so true of studies dealing with minority races originating on or near islands in close proximity to the continent of Africa. One element that makes the gathering of this kind of data difficult is its time-consuming nature of the research. Although both families discussed herein originated on the Caribbean island of St. Croix during the time in which these West Indian islands were owned by the country of Denmark, it was not until 1917 when the three islands of St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John (along with Puerto Rico)were sold to the United States. Prior to 1917, any research being undertaken before the turn of the century had to depend on such sources as one could find. Family records, magazines, domestic and foreign newspapers (i.e., the St. Thomas Tiende; the St. Thomas Daily News; the St. Croix Avis; the St. Croix Herald; the West End News; the St. Croix Tiende), books such as: The Virgin Islands Story (by Larsen); New Colored in St. Croix (by Lawaetz); Black Educators in the Danish West Indies (by Lawaetz) and Seven Streets by Seven Streets (by Robinson), church and cemetery records (i.e., Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Frederiksted, St. Croix; Anglican Church of Christiansted, St. Croix; Moravian Church of St. Thomas; Lutheran Church of St. Thomas), the genealogical services of the St. Croix Landmark Society, the Enid Baas Library of St. Thomas, the National Archives in Washington, DC and the LDS Family History Center of Hales Corners, Wisconsin were a few of the sources that were used. Charles Frederik McFarlane was born to John David McFarlane (1825-) and Susannah Smith (1829-) on August 29, 1850 in Frederiksted, St. Croix, DWI. He died on October 22, 1926 at his home on 50 King Street, Frederiksted, St. Croix, USVI at 76 years of age. Charles Frederik McFarlane was married to Elizabeth Lancaster Moorhead with four sons being born of this union: Reginald Alva, Charles Smith, Sidney Vivienne, Alva Amelius and one daughter: Sarah Elizabeth McFarlane. Charles Frederik McFarlane also had children with two other women: Adelaide Arabella Boldt (1855-1914) and Virginia Amelia Bjergrav (1873-). He had one son: Frederick Charles McFarlane/MacFarlane (1889-1948) by Adelaide A. Boldt (1855-1914) and three deceased sons: Bjergrav McFarlane (1901), Cecil Rhodes (1905), Pierpont Bagger (1907) and one daughter, Idalia Virginia McFarlane (1904-) all of them by Virginia A. Bjergrav. It is believed that Charles Frederik McFarlane was educated in church and Danish state (Lutheran) schools of Frederiksted, St. Croix, DWI. It has also been stated that young Charles Frederik acquired his skills in woodworking from apprenticeships that he shared with Duncan Phyfe in Germany. By profession, he is listed in later years as a joiner, a term which, at that time meant latheman or cabinetmaker. In an article in the 1978 Architectural Digest, Charles McFarlane is credited with mastering a twist motif found on many four poster beds of 1870 vintage. He is also credited with having built the Greathouse at Golden Grove for Captain Andrew Blackwood, agent for Bertram Brothers, an American firm with an interest in the sugar industry. Information from Genealogy
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 06:47:37 +0000
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