Many of the settler in southeast Kentucky had their origins in the New River area of Virginia. One such family is the Farleys.

About 1755, Thomas Farley, who was of English ancestry, settled in that area. He and his wife Judith had a number of children, including a son, William.

William Farley married Elizabeth Thompson and soon afterward moved further west, settling in what is now Lee County, Va., where they remained for the rest of their lives.

Among other children, they had three sons, Thomas, Jesse and Henry, who all moved across the mountains into Harlan County. Forrest Farley, one of William's brothers, also moved across the mountains into Kentucky, living mostly in Perry County.

William's son Thomas was born about 1795. He is believed to have married twice. The first wife's name is not known, but they are thought to have had a son Thomas whose wife was Deborah.

The elder Thomas Farley's second wife was named Margaret and they had six children: Martha Jane; Henry C.; Mary who married Ephraim Sergent; Lucinda who married Daniel Walton; John Clay who married Eade Stanton; and Judah.

Thomas Farley Sr. was a stonemason. He died in Harlan sometime before the 1870 census. His wife, Margaret, often called Maggy or Mag, continued to live in Harlan for many years.

In the 1880 census, she is listed as the head of a household which included two grandchildren, Judey and William and her son John Clay's wife, Eade.

Jesse Farley, son of William and Elizabeth Thompson Farley, was born about 1796. He married Henry Clay's daughter Lavina and they had at least four children: William who married Mary Howard; Elizabeth who married John Kelly; John who married Jane Sergent; and Henry. The name of Henry's first wife is not known but, in 1881 he married as a widower to E.J. SMith.

The youngest of the three brothers who migrated to Harlan was Henry, born about 1800. He is also thought to hae had two marriages with the identity of the first wife unknown. They had at least one child, Henry who was born about 1822 and married Martha Ledford in 1845.

It is known that the elder Henry married Mary Marks in 1825 in Harlan County. They had five children: William M. who married Louisa Ledford; Mary who married George W. Crider; Elizabeth who married Benjamin F. Noe; John M. and Martha Jane.

From these three brothers and their uncle Forrest Farley descend most of the present Farleys in southeast Kentucky.