Maurice XAVIER [Parents] [scrapbook] was born 1 on 30 Jun 1913 in Osborn's Bridge, Fulton, New York, United States. He died 2, 3 on 16 May 1989 in Geneva, Ontario, New York, United States. He was buried 4 in Ovid, Seneca, New York, United States. Maurice married 5 Madelin Beatrice TURO 6 on 20 May 1939 in Ovid, Seneca, New York, United States.
Maurice was also known as Ivan John Farr. He was also known as John M Lyon. He was also known as John M Firmer. He resided 7 in 1915 in Northampton, Fulton, New York, United States. He resided 8 in 1925 in Charleston, A.D. 01, E.D. 01, Montgomery, New York, United States. He resided 9 in 1930 in Charleston, Montgomery, New York, United States. He resided 10 in 1940 in Ovid, Seneca, New York, United States.
Adopted name.
Changed his last name to Firmer for a while.
My husband's father, Maurice Xavier, was born & named Ivan John Farr, on 30 Jun 1913 in Fulton County, NY. (He didn't have a good relationship with his father and after leaving home, he changed his name.) Maurice/Ivan was the son of Nellie Mae King (1876-1951) and her husband John M Farr (10 Jun 1866 Granville, Washington County, NY- 11 Apr 1946 Town of Charleston, Montgomery County, NY). Here is where it gets confusing. John M Farr was adopted either officially or unofficially by Abel and Susan M (Akley) Lyon. The couple had 2 babies that had died previously and so they took John in and named him John M Lyon. John only attended school as far as the 6th grade and worked on the Lyons' family farm. After John married Nellie King, they lived with Abel and Susan Lyon for a while. In 1905 they were still living with them and raising their own children there. Abel was still referring to himself as a Lyon and working the Lyons' farm. By 1910 he had some kind of falling out with his adoptive parents and moved his family out. He changed his name back to John M Farr and purchased a farm on Bunker Hill Road in Northville, NY. By 1940 he had changed his name again to John M Firmer because he was sick and tired of people making fun of his last name and calling him John "Fart." Nellie separated from John in 1930. She referred to herself as Nellie Farr. But after her death, she was buried next to John in plot #8 of the Maple Avenue cemetery in Fultonville, New York, under the name "Firmer."John's marriage certificate states that his place of birth was Granville, NY, which is located in Washington County, on the Vermont border, due east of Glens Falls, Washington County, New York. His death certificate states his birth place as Glens Falls, in Warren County, NY. Granville, however, is considered to be a part of the greater Glens Falls metropolitan district. His adoptive parents, Abel and Susan Lyon stated that John was born in Saratoga County, just as they were, on the 1875 NYS Census for Saratoga County. That was obviously incorrect. John's NYS death certificate, filed under the name John M Firmer, stated he was born in Glens Falls. This same death certificate states John's parents as John Farr, and the mother's maiden name as Knox, birthplaces unknown. Unfortunately, I have not found John's birth certificate.
The only parents I could find that matched the death certificate were a John M Farr, born 6 jul 1828 in Woodbury VT, married to a Roxanna Knox. On 17 Sep 1850, John was living in Schroon, Essex County, New York. He was single, 22 years old and a joiner. He lived with Charles Knox, 24, and Byron Knox, 18. Both Charles and Byron were also employed as joiners and were born in Vermont. All three men were employed and living with a carpenter A B S Crew or A C S Crew, his wife, and 2 small children. Crew was also originally from Vermont. The following year, John M Farr had married Roxanna Knox on 14 Oct 1851 in Fair Haven, Rutland County, VT. Roxanna was probably the sister of Charles and Byron. By 1860, John M Farr was living in Chester, Warren County, NY. He was employed as a constable and owned his own home worth $150. He owned $800 in personal estate. His wife, Roxanna E Knox, was 26 years old. They had a son George and a daughter Jannettie. John M Farr enlisted on 31 Aug 1864, to serve a period of 1 year, as a Private, in Company E of the 2nd New York State Cavalry. He was mustered out 5 June, 1865, in Alexandria, VA. His occupation before the war was listed as a carpenter. He had blue eyes, brown hair, light complexion, and was 6 ft 2 inches tall. While he was in the Army, his wife and children remained in Schroon, NY. On the 1865 NYS Census, it shows a third child, named Laura M, had been born about 1861. John died on 22 Oct 1896 in Rutland County, Vermont from pneumonia. I have not found any death records for Roxanna E Knox Farr. She was supposedly born in Orwell, Addison County, Vermont. As to why they would give up their infant John...I suppose it is possible that she died during childbirth or shortly after giving birth to John Farr/Firmer/Lyon, was too ill to take care of an infant, or just felt she couldn't handle another child. I have yet to research newspaper obits and cemetery records for her. Before I delve into that research project, I told my husband to do a deep Y test and participate in the Farr DNA project and maybe we could someday figure out if John M Farr and Roxanna Knox were indeed the parents and we weren't climbing up the wrong John Farr tree. There WAS a John Farr living in the Stillwater Township in Saratoga County, NY on the 1900 US Census. He was born in 1850 in NY State and would have been 16 years old and single when John Farr/Lyon/Firmer was born. He's the only other John Farr paternal contender I have found.
As to your question about the middle initial M. No one in the family seems to know what our John M Farr/Lyon/Firmer's middle name was. And I have yet to figure out what the M stands for in John M Farr (1828-1850).
Recieved From C. Xavier
