Staggs Family History

My ancestors in the United States

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      John Baird McFerrin (1806-1895)

      BIRTH: 1806, Abbeville, South Carolina, USA
      DEATH: 1895,  Compton, Newton, Arkansas, USA
      FATHER: Archibald McFerrin (1759–1840)
      MOTHER: Mary —- (1760 to 65 – after 1830)
      SPOUSE: Martha Ann Rogers (1801–1876)

      When John Baird McFerrin was born in 1806 in Abbeville, South Carolina, his father, Archibald, was 47 and his mother, Mary, was 46. He had three sons and two daughters with Martha Ann Rogers. He then married Ruthy Parks on July 23, 1878, in Newton, Arkansas. He died in 1895 in Compton, Arkansas, having lived a long life of 89 years, and was buried in Newton County, Arkansas.

      The Life of John Baird McFerrin

      South Carolina → Alabama → Arkansas

      John Baird McFerrin was born in 1806 in the rolling backcountry of Abbeville District, South Carolina, into a large Scotch‑Irish frontier family whose roots stretched back to the colonial era. He was the son of Archibald McFerrin Sr. (1759–1840) and Mary (maiden unknown), a couple whose children spanned nearly two decades and whose lives reflected the restless movement of families pushing westward in the early 19th century.

      John grew up in a household of many siblings — Thomas, Lydia, James, William Bryant, and others — all born during the family’s final years in South Carolina. Sometime in the 1810s, when John was still a boy, the McFerrins joined the great migration into the newly opened lands of Tuscaloosa and Walker Counties, Alabama. By the 1820s, the family was firmly established in the Alabama frontier, farming the red clay soil and carving out a life in a region still dotted with Creek and Choctaw settlements.

      Early Adulthood in Alabama

      By the 1830s, John had become a young man of the Alabama frontier — a farmer, a laborer, and a member of a tight‑knit extended family that lived, worked, and moved together. He married Martha Ann Rogers (1801–1876), a woman five years his senior, whose family had also migrated into Alabama during the same period.

      The 1840 U.S. Census places John in Walker County, listed as “John Mcfarin,” heading a household that already included several young children. The census format does not name family members, but the age brackets match what we know of his early family: sons and daughters born in the 1830s, a wife in her thirties, and John himself in the 30–39 age category.

      By 1850, the federal census again shows John in Walker County, farming and raising a growing family. His siblings lived nearby — Thomas in Jefferson County, William Bryant in Tuscaloosa County, and others scattered across the region. The McFerrins formed a recognizable cluster in western Alabama, appearing in land records, tax rolls, and census pages under a dizzying array of spellings: McFerrin, McFerren, McFerron, McFarrin, and even “Feirren.”

      The 1855 Tuscaloosa Census — A Breakthrough Record

      One of the most revealing documents from John’s Alabama years is the 1855 Alabama State Census, taken in Tuscaloosa County. The census page is filled with variant spellings of the McFerrin name — “James M. Ferren,” “John Bell Ferren,” “Wm. M. Ferren” — but the most important entry is written in a hurried, slanted hand:

      “John B. M. Fenn” with a household of 5 whites:

      • 2 white males under 21
      • 1 white male over 21
      • 1 white female under 21
      • 1 white female over 21

      This household structure matches exactly what John Baird’s family looked like in 1855. The census taker clearly heard “John B. McFerren” and rendered it phonetically as “John B. M. Fenn.”

      This record places John in Tuscaloosa County at the precise moment when many Alabama families — including several of his siblings — were preparing to move west into Arkansas.

      The Move to Arkansas

      Sometime between 1855 and 1860, John and his family left Alabama and traveled west into Arkansas, part of a broader migration of Alabama settlers seeking new farmland in the Ozarks. The 1860 federal census lists him in Saline County, Arkansas, under the spelling “John McFerin,” living near other Alabama‑born families who had made the same journey.

      He appears again in the 1860 Agricultural Schedule in Tuscaloosa County — evidence that he was still wrapping up affairs in Alabama even as he established himself in Arkansas. This overlap is typical of frontier families who moved gradually, leaving older children or property behind while scouting new opportunities.

      By the 1870s, John had settled permanently in Newton County, Arkansas, a rugged region of steep hills, clear streams, and isolated farms. Here he lived out the remainder of his long life, farming, raising livestock, and watching his children and grandchildren establish their own households across the Ozark foothills.

      Later Years and Death

      John’s wife, Martha Ann Rogers, died in 1876, after more than forty years of marriage. John lived nearly two decades longer. On July 23, 1878, John married Ruthy Parks (1827–1894). She died the year before John died. John and both wives, Martha and Ruthy, were buried in the McFerrin Cemetery.

      He died in 1895, at the remarkable age of 89, having lived through:

      • The War of 1812
      • The opening of Alabama
      • The Trail of Tears
      • The Civil War
      • Reconstruction
      • The dawn of the modern South

      He was buried in Arkansas soil, far from the South Carolina hills where he was born.

      Legacy of John Baird McFerrin

      The legacy of John Baird McFerrin is not found in monuments or public records of high office, but in the quiet, enduring story of a frontier family whose movements trace the arc of American expansion.

      His life embodies:

      Migration: From South Carolina to Alabama to Arkansas, John’s journey mirrors the westward push of thousands of families seeking land, opportunity, and stability.

      Family Continuity: The McFerrins were a clan — siblings, cousins, and in‑laws who traveled together, lived near one another, and appear in census after census as a recognizable cluster. John’s presence in the 1855 Tuscaloosa census, surrounded by variant spellings of the same surname, is a testament to that continuity.

      Survival and Adaptation: John lived through wars, relocations, epidemics, and the hardships of frontier farming. His survival to age 89 speaks to resilience and determination.

      A Lasting Line: Through his children and grandchildren, the McFerrin name spread across Arkansas and beyond. Many descendants trace their lineage through John’s son John Brown McFerrin (1836–1923), whose own life story continues the family’s westward narrative.

      Historical Clarity: For decades, genealogists confused John Baird with the Tennessee Methodist minister Rev. John Berry McFerrin. But the records — especially the 1855 Tuscaloosa census — make the truth clear: John Baird was an Alabama farmer, not a Tennessee clergyman. His story is distinct, grounded in the soil of the Deep South and the Ozarks.

      In the end John Baird McFerrin left no sermons, no published works, no political speeches. What he left instead was something quieter, but no less enduring: A family. A legacy of movement, resilience, and survival. A story carried forward by his descendants — now rediscovered, restored, and remembered.

      Parents

      FATHER: Archibald McFerrin (1759–1840)
      MOTHER: Mary —- (1760 to 65 – after 1830)

      Married

      1st: Martha Ann Rogers (1801–1876)

      2nd: Ruthy Parks (1827–1894) married 23 Jul 1878 in Newton, Arkansas, USA

      Children

      • Children with Martha Ann Rogers
        • John Brown McFerrin (1836–1923) married Clementine Tabitha McCrea (1841–1922)
        • Martha Ann Rosanna McFerrin (1839–1919) married: George Warren Blackstone (1842-?)
        • Lucy M. McFerrin (1840/41 – ?)
        • Lewis Lycurgus McFerrin (1842–1862) killed in Civil War, Battle of Seven Pines
        • Richard Hall McFerrin (1847/48 – ?)

      Documents

      • Birth Records
        • None
        • Find a Grave > Birth: 1806, Abbeville, Abbeville County, South Carolina, USA
      • Wedding records
        • Married 2nd: Arkansas, U.S., County Marriages Index, 1837-1957 > Name: J B McFerin; Gender: Male; Marriage Age: 67; Event Type: Marriage; Birth Date: 1811; Marriage License Date: 11 Jul 1878; Marriage Date: 23 Jul 1878; Marriage Place: Newton, Arkansas, USA; Residence Date: 1878; Residence Place: Newton, Newton, Arkansas; Spouse: Ruthie Parks; FHL Film Number: 1035372
      • Death records
        • Find a Grave > Birth: 1806, Abbeville, Abbeville County, South Carolina, USA; Death: 1895, Newton County, Arkansas, USA
        • Burial: McFerrin Cemetery, Newton County, Arkansas, USA
      • Census Records
        • 1840 United States Federal Census > Alabama > Walker > Name: John McFerrin; Residence Date: 1840; Home in 1840 (City, County, State): Walker, Alabama; Free White Persons – Males – 5 thru 9: 1; Free White Persons – Males – 20 thru 29: 1; Free White Persons – Females – Under 5: 1; Free White Persons – Females – 30 thru 39: 1; Persons Employed in Agriculture: 1; Free White Persons – Under 20: 2; Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 2; Total Free White Persons: 4
        • 1850 United States Federal Census Page 2 > Alabama > Tuscaloosa > District 1 > Name: John B McPhearson; Gender: Male; Race: White; Residence Age: 40; Birth Date: abt 1810; Birthplace: South Carolina; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: District 1, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Occupation: Farmer; Industry: Agriculture; Real Estate: $150; Line Number: 38; Dwelling Number: 727; Family Number: 727; Other Household Members: Martha McPhearson (wife 52), John McPhearson (15), Martha R McPhearson (11), Lucy M McPhearson (9), Richard Hall (2)
        • Alabama, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1890 > Name: John B. McFerren; Residence Date: 1855; Residence Place: Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Line Number: 5727; Page number: 001
        • Alabama, U.S., State Census, 1820-1866 > 1855 >Tuscaloosa > Name: John B Mc Ferren; County: Tuscaloosa; Census year: 1855
        • Alabama Tuscaloosa Co Census 1855 Index
        • U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 > Alabama > Agriculture > 1860 > Tuscaloosa > Name: John McFerren; Enumeration Date: 1 Sep 1860; Place: Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Schedule Type: Agriculture; OS Page: 35; Line Number: 14
        • Arkansas, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1819-1860 > Name: John McFerin; Record Type: Federal Population Schedule; Residence Date: 1860; Residence Place: Saline, Saline, Arkansas, USA; Page: 697; Database: Ar 1860 Federal Census Index
      • Other

      Relation of John Baird McFerrin to Karen Edgar: 3rd great-grandfather

      Page last updated June 12, 2026

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