Hi Donna,

You have the marriage dates exactly as they appear in the records I have. The marriage of Andrew to Sarah may have been a second marriage late in life (1788 & which is quite possible). Until now, I have thought Andrew m. to Sarah and your Robert (married to Lydia before the birth of their oldest child in 1795) were brothers. I'll have to re-examine the men's ages in the census records & let you know what I find.

I am very interested in researching the land record you transcribed. There was also a Solomon McFarland in Bristol who was married in 1776. He could be connected to Andrew Sr. & Jr.

I haven’t been able to trace back before Andrew m. to Sarah Robinson yet. Unfortunately, the records I have contain no family information for Andrew and Sarah’s children either. I do have a list of Robert and Lydia’s children and all their birth dates. Do you have that? If not, I’d be more than happy to transcribe it for you.

The Andrew from Boothbay m. to Betsey McKown may have been a cousin. I am very confident he is not in Robert's line nor is he the same Andrew married to Sarah Robinson.

The following excerpt is from “The History of Boothbay, Southport and Boothbay Harbor, Maine” by Francis Byron Greene:

“Andrew McFarland (son of Andrew, g-son of John) b. Sept 24, 1757, Boothbay.
He resided in Boothbay throughout his lifetime. He was a prosperous master mariner, engaged in foreign trade. He traveled extensively conducting business.
1st Marriage: to Betsey McKown dau of Capt. Robert and Margaret McKown of Bristol.
Betsey died Oct 25, 1790 (just 13 months after marrying Andrew). They had no children at the time of her death.
2nd Marriage: He remarried nine years later to Mary Sales of Chelsea, MA. They had one daughter named Mary Sales b. Jan. 13, 1800. His wife Mary died just 6 days after giving birth to Mary on Jan. 19, 1800. (just 2 years after this Andrew married her) He died Sept. 27, 1832”

I’m sure you can see why I am confident the above Andrew McFarland is not the father of Robert and is not the Andrew married to Sarah Robinson who remained in Bristol for over 40 years (as reflected in the Census records) and who raised a large family there.

I have reviewed the McFarland genealogies in the Boothbay book and although there are several Andrew McFarlands (none in Bristol), there are no Roberts or Walters.

The same book had the following to say about the Bristol and Boothbay McFarlands:

P 577 Note: -- “there are references in early probate records, also in depositions, to a James McFarland, a contemporary, apparently, of John. No descendants have appeared in town of this man, but it is thought that they were brothers, that both settled here for a time and that James went back to Pemaquid, where he founded the Bristol family of this name