March 7, 2025
If you’ve spent much time building your family tree, you’ve probably learned that many of your ancestors were farmers. In my own family, six of my eight great grandparents lived on farms (The other two lived in Oslo, Norway, and my great grandfather was a lamplighter for the city).
It isn’t too surprising that so many of my family owned farms. After all, as recently as 1900, 60% of Americans lived in rural areas. A hundred years before that, in 1800, 90% of Americans lived on farms.
One of the main reasons that people came to America was the chance to own land. In Europe and other parts of the world, land ownership was for the upper classes. Average people had no chance to own property. America was the land of opportunity because it allowed people to obtain land and become self-sufficient.
In addition, in earlier times, cities were smaller. The world was less industrialized. Most people practiced subsistence farming to survive. Even if someone practiced a trade, he or she usually still farmed to grow plants and animals for food or for extra income.
My Revolutionary War ancestor, Parshall Terry, is an example of the kind of life that people often led during that time. Parshall was a tailor. Family lore states that he could make a man’s coat in a day – for only a dollar! Despite his proficiency with a needle, Parshall spent most of his adult life obtaining farming property. He grew most of his family’s food and sold wheat and other produce to the rebels during the Revolution.
Another Revolutionary War ancestor, Timothy Skinner, was a miller. He built and operated both flour and sawmills. His expertise in building these mills is well documented in journals and other documents from that time. He, too, purchased large tracts of land which he farmed.
Parshall Terry and Timothy Skinner were not unusual. Like many men of their times, they practiced trades, but they also farmed. Supermarkets and department stores were well in the future. If families wanted food or clothing, they needed to produce it themselves.
Nowadays, only about 2% of Americans are farmers. Between about 1900 and now, most of our families transitioned into a more urban or suburban life. Many of these families have lost all knowledge of their farming ancestors. Genealogical research can reconnect you to those lost farmers.
Carol Stetser
Researcher
Larimer County Genealogical Society