Household #3: Farrell, Eugene Alexander

Back to the 1900 Census & Household Index

In the 1900 Barney census, Eugene Alexander Farrell headed a 6-person household. The table below preserves the exact names, relationships, ages, birthplaces, and occupations recorded for the household.

Household Snapshot

The census records a 6-person household with 1 spouse or marital partner and 4 children.

The head's listed work was Turpentine Distiller; that gives this page its occupational context without repeating the census table below.

Reported birthplaces span Georgia and South Carolina, pointing to movement into Barney or family formation across county or state lines.

Newspaper and Public-Record Trail

The public-record trail adds one near-contemporary Barney item that is separate from the census table:

• On 9 September 1899, The Savannah Morning News printed a short domestic wine recipe sent in by "E. A. Farrell of Barney, Ga." The item places Eugene Alexander Farrell in Barney just before the 1900 census and gives a small everyday glimpse of his life outside the turpentine record trail.

Domestic Wine Recipe, 1899

The Savannah Morning News of Savannah, Georgia, published the following recipe on 9 September 1899, page 6:

E. A. Farrell of Barney, Ga., sends the Morning News the following receipt for making domestic wines: Press out juice and put two and a half to three pounds sugar to a gallon, and let it stand open twenty-one days. Keep it filled up with sweetened juice, and don't use any water at all. One bushel of grapes will make three gallons of wine. Jugs are best to use. When these directions are followed failure is impossible.

1900 Census Household

Children and Later Trails

This section is reserved for later-life child evidence. No later spouse, death, burial, obituary, probate, separate household, or descendant-line identification has been added here yet from direct records.

Family Narrative

• Head: Eugene Alexander Farrell (age 45, South Carolina, Turpentine Distiller) born ~1855. Full name confirmed via marriage certificate, death certificate, and Ancestry genealogy records.

• Spouse: Viola A. Farrell (age 41, South Carolina) born ~1858. Maiden name Viola A. Dursse. Married October 9, 1878 in Charleston, SC.

Viola's parents were Augustus Dursse (1823-1895) and Susan Varina Geise (1832-1915), confirmed through 1860 and 1870 Charleston census records.

• Children:
• Eugene Farrell Jr. (Son, born August 1881, South Carolina) age 18
• Nettie Farrell (Daughter, born March 1883, South Carolina) age 17. Census shows 'Vettie', likely a misread.
• Eula Farrell (Daughter, born September 1887, South Carolina) age 12. Later married Charles Windorne (listed as Mrs. L. C. Winborne in Eugene Farrell's obituary).
• Reynolds Farrell (Son, born December 1891, Georgia) age 8.

Parents Identified for Eugene Alexander Farrell

• Father: Richard Forrell (1810-1877), died at Willow Creek, Marion County, South Carolina.
• Mother: Sarah Elizabeth James Smith (1822-1866), died October 20, 1866, at Willow Creek, Marion County, South Carolina.

Family Timeline

• 1855: Eugene born in South Carolina, per death certificate.
• 1866: Eugene's mother, Sarah, dies when Eugene is about 11.
• 1877: Eugene's father, Richard, dies when Eugene is about 22.
• 1878: Eugene marries Viola A. Dursse one year after his father's death. Witness: George Farrell, likely Eugene's brother.
• 1882: Eugene is appointed postmaster at Ross Station, Colleton County, South Carolina, on June 8, 1882.
• 1891: The family is in Georgia by December 1891, when Reynolds is born there.
• 1910: Eugene is listed in Pearl River Township, Mississippi, as a turpentine employer.
• 1920: Eugene is listed in Pascagoula, Mississippi, as an insurance agent.
• 1929: Eugene dies February 26, 1929, in New Orleans, Louisiana, at age 73.
• 1930: Viola is widowed and living in New Orleans with her daughter Eula L. Windorne.

Death Certificate: Eugene Farrell. Died February 26, 1929, Orleans Parish, Louisiana. Age 73. Birthplace: South Carolina. Race: White. Spouse listed as "Ole Durose" (transcription error for Viola Dursse). Source: Louisiana, Orleans, Death Records and Certificates, 1835-1954 (FamilySearch Collection 60810, Record C175-RB6Z).

Obituary: Eugene Farrell's obituary was published February 27-28, 1929, in New Orleans, Louisiana. It lists spouse "Oll Dursse" (Viola's maiden name) and children: J R Farrell, Mrs L C Winborne (Eula), Mrs W T Johnson (possibly Nettie). Source: GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2013.

Vital Records: "Eugene Farrell, Father, Louisiana, Orleans, Vital Records, 1900-1965, Children: Eula Lee Farrell Winborne." Source: FamilySearch.

Migration Pattern: Marion County SC → Colleton County SC → Georgia (by 1891) → Brooks County GA (1900 census) → Pearl River County MS (by 1910) → Jackson County MS (Pascagoula, 1920) → Orleans Parish LA (New Orleans, 1929 death).

Occupation: Naval stores (turpentine) industry. Eugene likely learned the trade from his father's operations in Marion County. By 1910 census he is listed as an employer in Pearl River, Mississippi. By 1920 he had shifted to insurance work in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Postmaster Appointment: June 8, 1882, Ross Station, Colleton County, South Carolina. Source: U.S. Appointments of U.S. Postmasters, 1832-1971 (Ancestry Collection 1932).

Surname Variants: The 1900 census lists the family as 'Farnell' (enumerator transcription error). The 1880 census shows 'Farrel'. The marriage certificate uses 'Farrell'. Death certificate spouse name transcribed as "Ole Durose" (Viola Dursse).

Census Records: - 1860: E A Ferrell, age 5, SC; Marion County, SC. Living with father Richd Ferrell (49), mother S J Ferrell (38). - 1880: E. A. Farrel, 25, SC; Givham, Colleton County, SC. Wife Liala Farrel 22, son Eugene Farrel (9/12 months). - 1900: E A Farrell, 45, SC; Barney, Brooks County, GA. Wife Viola (41), children Eugene Jr (18), Nettie/Vettie (17), Eula (12), Reynolds (8). - 1910: Pearl River Township, Pearl River County, MS. Eugene A Ferrell (48), wife Viola (46), daughter Eulla Lee (20). 26 years married (actual was 32, likely error). - 1920: Pascagoula, Jackson County, MS. Eugene Farrell (60, insurance agent), wife Viola (59). Renting. - 1930: New Orleans, Orleans Parish, LA. Viola Farrell (71, widowed) living as mother-in-law with daughter Eula L Windorne (42) and husband Charles Windorne (44).

Open Research Questions

• Parentage audit: confirm both parents of the household head for HH#3 through direct or near-direct records where possible; mark derivative-only parent links as unresolved until supported.
• Child census audit: confirm every child named in the 1900 household against later census, marriage, death, obituary, cemetery, probate, or draft records; separate proven child links from same-name candidates.
• Other household member audit: verify boarders, servants, in-laws, stepchildren, grandchildren, and unrelated residents in HH#3; document the exact relationship instead of assuming kinship.
• Spouse and marriage audit: locate marriage records, death records, divorce records, or later census records for spouses or absent spouses tied to this household.
• Direct image review: re-check the 1900 census image and any cited index-only sources before treating ages, relationships, birthplaces, or name spellings as final.

Research Status

• Status: Source-exhausted for the current online evidence base.
• Strengths: Broad census coverage from 1860 through 1930, marriage and death records, obituary evidence, postmaster appointment, and supporting parent/death material from South Carolina and Louisiana.
• Remaining cautions: The 1870 census was not found in the current pass, no FindAGrave memorial has been confirmed, and any additional progress would likely require courthouse or local-record work in Colleton County, South Carolina, Brooks County, Georgia, or Orleans Parish, Louisiana.

Sources

• 1860, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 US Census records; Marriage Certificate (Ancestry Collection 1240, Record 3168); Postmaster Appointment (Ancestry Collection 1932, Record 936152); Death Certificate (FamilySearch Collection 60810, Record C175-RB6Z); Obituary (GenealogyBank, Feb 27-28, 1929); Vital Records (FamilySearch Orleans, Vital Records); Death records Marion County, SC (parents); The Savannah Morning News (Savannah, Georgia), 9 Sep 1899, page 6, E. A. Farrell domestic wine recipe clipping, Newspapers.com image 852562185.

• FindAGrave: NEGATIVE. No memorials found for Eugene Farrell or Viola Farrell-Dursse (broad search across Mississippi, Louisiana, and South Carolina, verified May 2026).

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