William McFarland was born on May 8, 1774 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and was the son of Thomas and Hannah (Stuart) McFarland. He married Ann Singer, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Singer with whom he had six children, one of whom was surveyor Thomas Stuart McFarland. In 1799, after becoming a surveyor, William moved to Ohio and began laying out towns, one of which is named after him. By 1817, having lived in Indiana, he moved his family to Louisiana where his wife died shortly thereafter. In 1830, he moved his family to Texas where he purchased a portion of the Guerrero grant. He participated in the Battle of Nacogdoches in 1832 and represented the Ayish Bayou District at the 1832 Convention in San Felipe. McFarland was also a part of the committee to select the site of the town San Augustine, where in 1836 he was appointed chief justice by President Sam Houston. In 1838, McFarland was a member of the Texas Boundary Commission where he was appointed to determine the line between the United States and the Republic of Texas. He died on August 16, 1840 at Belgrade.
From the guide to the William McFarland papers MC164., 1837-1842, (Albert and Ethel Herzstein Library, )
