We wish you a Happy New Year as we head into 1999. We continue to add new prospects every month and we are looking forward to a prosperous year. It is important that you continue to send any information that you may have on the FINLEY surname, including family group sheets, pedigree charts, and any other data you may come across, even if it doesn't relate to your direct line. We would also like to welcome all new and future subscribers.

Please forward all changes of address to us as soon as you can so that we may continue prompt delivery of your newsletters. Also send us all e-mail changes and updates to TMKessler@hotmail.com. We are not currently asking for subscription fees, but will gladly accept any donations for our expenses. I can often take your lines back to earlier generations. However, if you have any updated information on current generations, please send that to us as well.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation and patronage during the past years and in future years. With your help, we will continueFINLEY Findings International through the new millennium.

QUERY NO. 1: Sharon Finley SANKER, e-mail at ssanker@mail.win.org, writes the following: "Do you have any information on a James R. FINLEY who was born on July 16, 1806 in Tennessee? His father was from Tennessee and his mother from Virginia. He moved to Missouri around 1840 and died there."

"Do you have any information about an Isabella FINLEY LANDES who was b. about 1830 in Virginia and m. Abraham LANDES on October 25, 1853 in Augusta County, Virginia? I would appreciate any help that you could give me. I am stuck and cannot find any information about the parents of these two individuals."

ANSWER: Our database shows the following: James R. FINLEY b. July 16, 1806 in Knox County, TN, d. April 3 1888 in Cullen, Pulaski County, MO, buried in Colley Holler, Pulaski County, MO. Married Phatama B. _______, who was b. April 27, 1817 in Roane County, VA, d. June 20, 1889 in Cullen, Pulaski County, MO and is also buried in Colley Holler, Pulaski County, MO. They had 8 children: (1) Henson Grover FINLEY b. November 14, 1836 in Bradley County, TN. Died November 18, 1913 in Richland, Pulaski County, MO. Spouse was Mary HARBISON and had other marriages. (2) Robert "Bill" FINLEY b. 1839 in Bradley County, TN. (3) Jesse FINLEY b 1842 in Pulaski County, MO. (4) Mary FINLEY b. 1845 in Pulaski County, MO. (5) James H. FINLEY, b. December 28, 1847 in Pulaski County, MO. Died May 10, 1909 and is buried in Colley Holler, Pulaski County, MO. Married Martha ______. (6) Thomas R. FINLEY b. 1850 in Pulaski County, MO. Died in 1930 in Pulaski County, MO and is buried in Colley Holler, Pulaski County, MO. (7) Caleb FINLEY b. 1854 in Pulaski County, MO. Married Mary Ann LOVEL in 1872. (8) William M. FINLEY b January 8, 1858 in Pulaski County, MO. Died May 27, 1943 in Pulaski County, MO and is buried in Colley Holler, Pulaski County, MO. Married Lettia T. _______.

QUERY NO. 2: Dana ODLE, e-mail at 00tjlindley@bsu.edu, writes the following: "I am a descendant of Michael FINLEY who married Ann O'NEILL. Their son George FINLEY m. Elizabeth CUNNINGHAM and then their son George. Unfortunately, I cannot find any information on where either George or his wives are buried. Would any of your resources be able to help me?"

ANSWER: Captain George FINLEY JR b. December 15, 1757 in Kent County, MD. Died January 28, 1833 in Greensboro, NC. First wife was Margaret _____ died in 1798, cemetery is unknown at this time. They had 2 children: (1) William FINLEY b. January 27, 1797 in Guilford County, NC. He married Dorsey WEATHERBY. (2) Frances FINLEY was b. June 11, 1798 in Greensboro, Guilford County, NC. She married Louis TUMMELSON. George married his second wife, Mary BISHOP, in 1806. She was b. 1778 and died in 1866 in Putnam County, IN. This was her second marriage as well. From the second marriage they produced 9 children: (1) Robert Bishop FINLEY b. 1806 and d. January 1814. (2) Elizabeth Cunningham FINLEY was b. September 7, 1809 in Guilford County, NC. Died August 28, 1861 in Clay County, IN. She married James PHILLIPS on March 16, 1837 in Preble County, OH. (3) John Breadon FINLEY was b. September 7, 1809 in Guilford County, NC. He died January 1, 1858 in Randolph County, IL. He was married to Elizabeth WRIGHT. (4) George Washington FINLEY was b. March 31, 1812. He died September 2, 1879. (5) Araminta Bishop FINLEY b. February 11, 1814 and she died in Muncie, IN. She was married to Harvey HEATH on October 28, 1841 in Preble County, OH. (6) Eleanor Emily FINLEY was b. April 11, 1816 in Guilford County, NC. She was married to David Nelson BARNETT. (7) Mary FINLEY was b. September 18, 1818 and died May 15, 1819. (8) James Milton FINLEY was b. August 29, 1820 in Guilford County, NC and d. December 29, 1907 in Harmony, Clay County, IN. He was married to Esrelda GORDON in 1841. He also had other marriages. (9) Joseph Bishop Younger FINLEY was b. 1826 and died 1848.

QUERY NO. 3: Elizabeth A. DAVIS, e-mail at edavis@mail.llion.org, writes the following: "My grandmother was Bertha Finley HOLMAN b.1881-d.1935, born in Pulaski County, MO. Bertha's father was Nathaniel A. FINLEY b.1856-d.1935, he was born in Ind. His wife Amanda Catherine ROBERTS FINLEY b.1860-d.1943, born in Ind. Nathaniel had a twin brother named Nathan and I have no information on him. Nathaniel's father was Rev. John S. FINLEY b.1829-d.1901. John was born in Bucks County, PA and buried in Laclede County, MO. He was a congregational minister. He married Elizabeth Margaret MCKENZIE b.1826-d.1899.

John S. FINLEY's father was Francis FINLEY and Francis married Martha (Elizabeth) ALBERTSON. Francis FINLEY's father was Rev. Robert W. FINLEY and he married Rebecca BRADLEY FINLEY. According to the "Clan Finley" Robert FINLEY's children were: James Bradley FINLEY 1781-1856, John Patterson FINLEY 1783-1825, Samuel Finley 1785-1858, William R. FINLEY 1787-1822, Hannah FINLEY 1789-1856. Now I wonder if this is where Francis FINLEY would fit in. I can't find him anywhere.

Does anyone have any information on Francis FINLEY? What happened to Nathan Finley?

I recently had a book given to me; the author is Martha FINLEY b.1828-d.1909. She wrote several books and this one is "Elsie's Children". Does anyone know anything about Martha? I read in some information that I have that her grandfather was Gen. Samuel FINLEY."

ANSWER: The only information that we came across in our database was a Francis B. FINLEY b. about 1800-d. about 1826. He died in Shelby County, IN. He married Martha Elizabeth ALBERTSON. Francis's father was Rev. Robert Wilkes FINLEY and mother was Rebecca BRADLEY. Francis had 1 child: Rev. John S. FINLEY b.1829 in Bucks County, PA and died in 1901 and is buried in Laclede County, MO. He married Elizabeth Margaret MCKENZIE.

Unfortunately I have no information on Nathan FINLEY.

In an antique shop a few years ago we found a copy of Elsie Dinsmore, by Martha Farquharson FINLEY. The front flyleaf says it is the "Complete Authorized Edition," and that it is a Burt Book by Blue Ribbon Books Inc., New York. It was copyrighted in 1893 by Dodd, Mead and Co. and again in 1896 by Martha FINLEY.

Few FINLEYs have received as much recognition as an author as Martha Farquharson FINLEY has. Her books have received widespread acclaim and were used in Sunday Schools across the country for several years. She is also the subject of a forthcoming biography by one of the FINLEY FINDINGS INTERNATIONAL subscribers, Francis NACZI.

M. F. FINLEY connects with my direct line in the following manner. She was b. April 26, 1828 in Chillicothe, OH; d. January 30, 1909 in Elkton, MD. She was the daughter of Dr. James Brown FINLEY, b. June 7, 1794 in Chillicothe, OH; d. May 14, 1851 in South Bend, IN; m. Mary Theresa BROWN. He was the son of General Samuel FINLEY, b. April 15, 1752 in Cumberland County, PA; d. April 2, 1829 in Philadelphia, PA; m. Mary BROWN (b. 1767; d. 1838) on May 5, 1789. He was the son of John FINLEY, b. May 3, 1713 in Co Armagh, Ireland; d. 1759 in Shippensburg, PA; m. Martha BERKLEY (b. 1716; d. before 1769) in 1734. He was the son of Michael FINLEY, baptized May 7, 1683 in Mullaghabrac Parish, Co Armagh, Ireland; d. 1747 in Sadsbury Township, PA; m. Ann O'NEILL (d. 1758) on July 12, 1712. He was the son of Robert FINLEY, baptized May 4, 1634 in Incharvie Co Fife, Scotland; d. June 18, 1712 in Co Armagh, Ireland; m. Margaret Mary LAUDER in 1680. (This is the last couple joined directly to my line.)

In the Dictionary of American Biography, Vol.3, by CUSHMAN-FRASER, edited by Allen JOHNSON and Dumas MALONE (Charles SCRIBNER's Sons, New York), appears the following information:

"FINLEY, MARTHA FARQUHARSON (April 26, 1828-January 30, 1909), author, was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, the daughter of Dr. James Brown and Maria Theresa (BROWN) FINLEY, who were first cousins. Both FINLEYs and BROWNs were of Scotch-Irish descent, natives of Pennsylvania."

"Martha FINLEY's grandfather, General Samuel FINLEY, was a personal friend of WASHINGTON, a major in the Revolutionary army, and a general in the War of 1812, in which his son, her father, also fought. FARQUHARSON which is Gaelic for FINLEY, was sometimes used by Miss FINLEY as a pen name."

"She was educated in private schools in Philadelphia and in South Bend, IN, where her father moved when she was a child. She lived there until she was about 25, then went to NY and Philadelphia. She taught school for a time and in 1853-54 began writing newspaper stories and Sunday school books, published by the Presbyterian Publication Committee."

"Soon her juvenile books of this type became so popular that she gave her whole time to writing them. In 1876 she visited Elkton, MD, the home of some of her relatives, and so liked the place that she settled there, in a spacious house with beautiful grounds. Here all her later work was done and she continued to write almost to the end of her life, in spite of old age and poor health. She was of a social nature and gave much of her time to many of her friends and to the activities of the Presbyterian Church."

"She died at her home in Elkton. Miss FINLEY produced altogether about a hundred volumes, nearly all juveniles, many of them in series. Her greatest popular success was the Elsie series, but the Mildred series, the Do Good Library, the Pewit's Nest series, and the FINLEY series (not juvenile) also had large sales."

"Elsie DINSMORE appeared in 1868. The good little girl portrayed won such approval from parents and Sunday-school teachers that other Elsie books followed rapidly until by 1905 over 25 had been written and Elsie had become a grandmother."

"The Mildred series began in 1878 with Mildred KEITH and extended to seven volumes by 1894. Typical of her Sunday-school books, outside these series are: Grandma Foster's Sunbeam, The Little Helper, Loitering Linus, Milly, or The Little Girl Who Tried To Help Others and To Do Them Good (all 1868), and Willie Elton, The Little Boy Who Loved Jesus (1864)."

"She attempted several novels, among them Wanted-A Pedigree (1871), Signing The Contract (1879), and The Thorn In The Nest (1886), but their success was not striking."

"Miss FINLEY's books are among those which changing standards have thrown into discard. Her Elsie and Mildred, once held up as examples by many parents and beloved by most children, are today considered abnormally docile and unpleasantly priggish. Their psychology is not that esteemed desirable for children, yet for many years Miss FINLEY held a leading place among writers of juvenile books."

Sources for the above material are: Warren S. ELY, The FINLEYs of Bucks (1902), (of which I have a copy); Who's Who in America, 1908-09; Francis E. WILLARD and Mary A. LIVERMORE, American Women (1897); Mildred RUTHERFORD, American Authors (1894); Ruth SUCKOW, Elsie Dinsmore: A Study in Perfection, Bookman, October 1927; and the obituary in the Baltimore Sun, January 31, 1909.

The following section is the beginning of the first chapter of Elsie Dinsmore:

"The school-room at Roselands was a very pleasant apartment; the ceiling, it is true, was somewhat lower than in the more modern portion of the building, for the wing in which it was situated dated back to the old-fashioned days prior to the Revolution, while the larger part of the mansion had not stood more than twenty or thirty years; but the effect was relieved by the windows reaching from floor to ceiling, and opening on a veranda which overlooked a lovely flower-garden, beyond which were fields and woods and hills. The view from the veranda was very beautiful, and the room itself looked most inviting, with its neat matting, its windows draped with snow-white muslin, its comfortable chairs, and pretty rosewood desks.

Within this pleasant apartment sat Miss Day with here pupils, six in number. She was giving a lesson to Enna, the youngest, the spoiled darling of the family, the pet and plaything of both father and mother. It was always a trying task to both teacher and scholar, for Enna was very willful, and her teacher's patience by no means inexhaustible.

'There!' exclaimed Miss Day, shutting the book and giving it an impatient toss on to the desk; 'go, for I might as well as try to teach old Bruno. I presume he would learn about as fast.'

And Enna walked away with a pout on her pretty face, muttering that she would 'tell mamma.'

'Young ladies and gentlemen,' said Miss Day, looking at her watch, 'I shall leave you to your studies for an hour; at the end of which time I will return to hear your recitations, when those who have attended properly to their duties will be permitted to ride out with me to visit the fair.'

'Oh that will be jolly!' exclaimed Arthur, a bright-eyed, mischief-loving boy of ten.

'Hush!' said Miss Day sternly, 'let me hear no more such exclamations, and remember that you will not go unless your lessons are thoroughly learned. Louise and Lora,' addressing two young girls of the respective ages of twelve and fourteen, 'the French exercise must be perfect, and your English lessons as well. Elsie,' to a little girl of eight, sitting alone at a desk near one of the windows, and bending over a slate with the appearance of great industry, 'every figure of that example must be correct, your geography lesson recited perfectly, and a page in your copy-book written without a blot.'

'Yes ma'am,' said the child meekly, raising a pair of large soft eyes of the darkest hazel for an instant to her teacher's face, and then dropping them again upon her slate.'

'And see that none of you leave the room until I return,' continued the governess. 'Walter, if you miss one word of that spelling, you will have to stay at home and learn it over.'"

QUERY NO. 4: Louise E. NELSON, e-mail at lounelson@juno.com, writes the following: "Sarah Agnes FINLEY b. about 1825 in KY, married Dr. Samuel Thomas (or Thompson) REID or REEDS who died about August 1846. Sarah Agnes then married Eli FINLEY August 24, 1854 in Louisiana, Pike County, MO. Eli was the son of William FINLEY and Nancy BARRON. Eli's first wife was Sarah Elizabeth FINLEY, daughter of Dabney FINLEY and Mary LEWIS (which makes him my 1^st cousin 3 times removed, I think).

I have not been able to connect Sarah Agnes to parents. The 1840 census shows that there were 4 FINLEY families in Lincoln County, MO: Andrew, Cyrus, James and Samuel.

© 2002 TMKessler@hotmail.com