| Friend |
Our line's "founding father in North America", a Swedish settler named Nils Larsson, adopted the surname Frände, meaning "kinsman" or "blood relative" in Swedish, possibly because of his influence among the Indians who considered him a "blood brother".
Nils Larsson was born about 1620 in Goteborg (?), Sweden. He is believed to have arrived in "New Sweden", a settlement in Upland, Chester Co., Pennslyvania, aboard the ship "Swan" in either 1648 or 1649. (Accounts differ, but most say 1648)
At that point in time, "New Sweden" was situated in Dutch territory. Prior to 1637 the Dutch had treated the local Indians pretty badly, but when the first colonies of Swedes became established in this region things changed.
Because Nils Larsson/Frände played a very prominent role in the Swedish community and owned a great deal of land in several counties, we know a fair amount about him and his family. In fact the land he once owned in present day Bucks County, was the land he traded to William Penn (where the Pennsbury estate was built) in return for 800 acres east of Red Clay Creek in New Castle County.
The earliest Courts of Upland were held in his home and the "House of Defence", built on his land, was where the Courts under the English government were held for some time. There is evidence that he acted as an arbitrator by appointment as early as 1673 and at the time of his death in 1686, Nils was serving as constable for Chester township.
After New Sweden was taken over by the English in 1674, Nils' adopted surname of Frände began to be anglicized to "Friend". The English probably found "Friend" easier to relate too then "Frände" in their various legal transactions and records. Certainly his surname Larsson had faired even worse in North American records. It was listed with such spellings as Larsen, Laerson, Lawson, Lausa and Lawsa.
These early records also show that Nils' sons used the patronymic Nilsson (daughters used Nilsdotter) and the surname Friend interchangeably. Ultimately though, Friend became the family surname of choice in North America. When Nils' widow Anne and two of their sons sold land in 1689, all were referred to with Friend as their surname. Anne was referred to, for example, as "...Anne Friend widow and Relict of Nils Larsson also Friend late of Chester also Upland deceased..."
Some of Nils' descendants eventually moved on to other parts of the eastern coast and left their mark. His grandson, Israel F. Friend, moved to Maryland where he mined ore and was even appointed ambassador to the Indians in 1725 by Lord Baltimore, Governor of Maryland.
Nils' great-grandson John Lewis Friend Sr. (son of Israel's cousin Nicholas) left the Potomac River valley in 1764 and hiked into the Allegany mountains. After descending into the only Indian village of what is now Garret Co., Maryland, John traded for land from the Indians. He returned to the Potomac River valley and the following year, with the help of his brothers, Augustine and Charles, he returned to settle on this land with his wife, Kerenhappuch Hyatt & their children. Soon the group was joined by John's father Nicholas, several more brothers and early settlers. Two of the brothers, Andrew & Charles eventually moved further west into the frontier, Ohio & Missouri, but John stayed and his homestead became the site of modern day Friendsville.
This pioneering drive to venture into frontier regions did not end with Old John's generation however. His son Charles took most of his children and grandchildren to Missouri in the fall of 1828, following in the foot steps of his Uncle Charles. Charles and his family did not fare as well as his Uncle Charles had however. He and his sons contracted Malaria in a marsh area of Missouri and on his deathbed Charles told his sons to go back to Maryland. "It is better," he said, "to live on wild game in the mountains than shake to death in Missouri." The family returned to Garrett County in the fall of 1834, but were always referred to as the "Missouri Friends". His sons never regained their good health despite their return; all had died by middle age.
Henry Amos Friend, the progenitor of our Friend line in Upshur Co. West Virginia, is a grandson of that Charles Friend.
Born about 1825, Henry was surely one of the grandchildren who'd traveled to Missouri and back. But while Henry's parents lived out the rest of their lives in Maryland, Henry, his wife and a good number of their children chose to leave Garrett Co. Maryland after the Civil War. About 1873 Henry and a group of assorted relatives left Maryland and settled in the beautiful remote Banks District of Upshur Co. WV. His wife Mary Elizabeth (Johnson) Friend died in 1875 near the community of Goshen 3 days after the birth of their 10th child. Henry soon remarried to Miss Sarah Ann Rice and lived on for 25 years in Upshur. While no trace remains of their mountain home today, their fieldstone marked graves can still be found deep in the woods near Goshen.
Friend descendants have formed the Friend Family Association which owns and operates a Friend Family Library in Friendsville, Maryland. The library houses many Friend family records and related materials.
Be sure to visit their web site at:
Friend Family Association of America
See additional "Friend" pages at this site in the "Special Interest" section of the Family (Tree) Room.
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