REV. WILLIAM FARLEY - Historical Albion Michigan

A reminder: All of my Albion history materials are available at the Albion Chamber of Commerce. These would make interesting “extra” Christmas gifts for family and friends. Stop by the Chamber and see what’s available. These include my History of the Albion Public Schools, and my Riverside Cemetery tour programs.

One person we featured this past October during my annual Riverside Cemetery tour was the gravesite of a very early settler of Albion Township, the Rev. William Farley (1807-1872). William was a native of Hunterton, New Jersey, and came to Michigan in the fall of 1836. A farmer by occupation, he purchased 160 acres of land in Sections 15 & 22 of Albion Township along F Drive South, west of 28 Mile Road. If the name Farley sounds familiar, it should. William’s brother David Farley (1805-1888) purchased the property adjacent to William in 1837 and started his nursery. The Farley Nursery was in existence for over 140 years.

Rev. William Farley served as a local minister at the South Albion Methodist Episcopal Church, where he and his wife Sally Ostrom (1814-1871) taught the first class. The couple were married in 1832. Farley was elected as Albion Township Supervisor in 1838, 1839, 1841, 1842, 1853, and 1856. Furthermore, he was treasurer of Albion College during the Civil War.

Politically, Farley was a “Copperhead” Democrat, which went against the pro-Union grain of popular northern opinion in the days leading up to the Civil War. Because of this, he never succeeded in getting elected to office after 1856.

Rev. William Farley is buried in Riverside Cemetery with his wife on the hill overlooking the Kalamazoo River in Block 29. Numerous other Farley members are buried in the lot, as well as some of William’s descendants.

From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of Rev. William Farley, his wife Sally, and son Nelson Farley. These are courtesy of a descendant, Pattie Burkitt of Franklin, Tennessee. Her great-great-grandfather Nelson Farley was the son of Rev. William Farley. The name of Nelson Farley by the way has been passed down from generation to generation. There is currently one living in California.

	Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook \| From the Archives \| Subject List \| 100 Years Ago \| Alphabetical Index \| Frank Passic Home Page \| Albion History Books \| Contact Frank
	Michigan Prints by Maggie LaNoue Michigan Prints offers limited-edition archival Giclée prints, miniprints, notecards and boxed sets featuring Michigan landmarks, nature, resorts and nostalgia. Each print and card includes a legend on the back with stories about Michigan history. Albion scenes include the Kalamazoo River waterfall and the Blizzard of 1978. Find Michigan Prints online and at local shops. Michigan Prints \| Albion Scenes \| Custom Cards \| Zazzle Gifts
	AlbionMich.net — General Guide to Albion AlbionMich.net is a hub for community life in the greater Albion area, featuring current news, city council updates, river restoration stories, parks and trails. See Albion's beautiful Kalamazoo River waterfall as it looks today — and follow the story of its future restoration. Includes news from The Recorder and stories about Albion's 17 parks. AlbionMich.net \| Albion Blog \| Frank Passic on AlbionMich.net
	General Guide to Albion AlbionMich.net offers two General Guides to the Albion area — one covering community life including city council, veterans, history, youth and wellness resources, and one covering the outdoors including roads, rivers, parks, trails and downtown. Both guides feature stories by local writers including contributors to The Recorder, sorted by topic for easy reference. General Guide — Community \| General Guide — Outdoors
	Robin James — Indices Unlimited Robin James is the editor of the Albion Historical Notebook and has kept Frank Passic's thousands of articles organized and searchable for decades. A trained librarian and archivist, Robin specializes in back-of-book and online indexing, multimedia collection management, and corporate information distribution. He also enjoys strange music and is a contributing editor for Igloo electronic music magazine. For more about his indexing services, visit Indices Unlimited.
AlbionDesign.com — Communications Specialists Since 1981 \| Advertise on AlbionMich.com