LEROY McFARLAND has been a representative of commercial interests in Carrollton for forty years and throughout this entire period has sustained a reputation which any man might be proud to possess. Belonging to that class that the world designates as self made man, he has during his entire residence here never incurred an obligation that he has not met or made an engagement that he has not filled, and he enjoys the unqualified trust of the business community. His commercial interests have also been a factor in the promotion of business activity and prosperity in Carrollton, and as the years have gone by he has supported many public measures for the general welfare.

Mr. McFarland, a native of Washington county, Virginia, was born on the 6th of March, 1835, and is a son of James M. and Elizabeth (Williams) McFarland, who were also born in the Old Dominion. The paternal grandfather, Colonel James McFarland, was a native of Scotland and was brought to America by his parents during colonial days, the family home being established in Virginia. He became a physician and practiced throughout his entire business life in that state, the value of his labors being recognized by the community in which he lived.

James M. McFarland also became a physician and surgeon and not only gained professional prominence and success but was also accorded a position among the most prominent and influential men of his district. He served as a member of the state legislature and in political circles wielded a wide and beneficial influence. He continued to practice in Virginia throughout the cholera epidemic in that state and for years afterward, and when he passed away his community mourned the loss of one of its most respected and honored men. He married Miss Elizabeth Williams, and they became the parents of three sons and two daughters, of whom Leroy McFarland was the second in order of birth.

Good educational privileges were afforded Leroy McFarland, for after acquiring his preliminary education he attended Emery and Henry College, in Virginia, being thereby well prepared for the responsible duties of a business career. The refining influences of a cultured home also aided in molding his character and shaping his destiny and throughout his life he has been a follower of many of the ennobling lessons which he received in his boyhood's home. Completing his education, he then went to Richmond, Missouri, where he was engaged in the dry-goods business until September, 1864, when he came to Carrollton and embarked in the same line of commercial enterprise. He had but limited capital and he began in a small way, entering into partnership as a member of the firm of McFarland, Hubbell & Company. On the death of Mr. Hubbell the firm was changed to McFarland, Robinson & Company, which connection was maintained for ten years, when Mr. Robinson retired, and the firm of McFarland & Company succeeded to the business. Two years later Mr. Weagley was admitted to a partnership under the style of McFarland & Weagley, and when, four years later, the junior partner sold, the senior partner was joined by Mr. Linn, in forming the firm of McFarland & Linn. In 1892 the McFarland & Linn Dry Goods Company was organized, having a continuous existence of five years, when again the name of McFarland & Company was resumed, the present partners being Mr. McFarland and his sons Oscar and Lee. Thus for forty years Mr. McFarland has been actively associated with the dry-goods trade of the city, and has long maintained a place in the foremost ranks of the representatives of mercantile interests in Carrollton. The company occupy commodious quarters in a large brick store, forty by one hundred feet, on the northeast corner of the square and carry a large and well selected line of goods. Their sales are extensive and the fact that many of the patrons of the house have given to Mr. McFarland their trade through long years is incontrovertible proof of the honorable methods of the house.

On the 8th of September, 1870, occurred the marriage of Leroy McFarland and Miss Anna C. Bradt, a native of New York and a daughter of Peter Bradt, of Onondaga county, New York. They have five sons: Harry, who for ten years has been successfully engaged in the raising of rubber trees, coffee and kola nuts in Tehuantepec; Oscar and Lee, who are partners with their father in the dry-goods business; Charles W., who is also on the isthmus of Tehuantepec, where he has charge of a coffee plantation; and William J., who is a graduate of the Illinois State Normal and is now principal of the high school of Carrollton. They also lost a daughter, Anna, their sixth child, and twins who died in infancy.

Mr. McFarland is a good citizen, upright, honorable, capable, progressive and public spirited. His success in all his undertakings has been so marked that his methods are of interest to the commercial world. He has based his business principles and actions upon strict adherence to the rules which govern industry, economy and strict reliability. What he is to-day he has made himself, for he began in the world with little save his own energy and willing hands to aid him. By constant exertion, associated with good judgment, he has raised himself to the prominent position which he now holds, having the friendship of many and the respect of all who know him.