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 o Are We Related to Edward Scarfe?
 o Was Edward Scarfe from the Isle of Man?
 o Did Edward Scarfe marry Marjorie Shaffer?

Who was John Scarfe's (b. 1670) Father?
Once again, there is an easy answer... we don’t know. From the same source (CAVALIERS AND PIONEERS, by Nugent, page 394) that showed Edward Scarfe being transported in 1663, (see Chapter III - American Beginnings) Henry P. Scalf searched for similar names and discovered:

1. John Scull, transported by William Story, 1643.
2. James Calfe, transported by Thos. Williford, 1649.
3. Thomas Scape, transported by Abraham Moone and Thos. Griffin, 1651.
4. Moses Scarfe, transported by Richard Cary, 1653.
5. Thomas Scafe, transported by Capt. Martin Palmer, July 7, 1660.
6. Edward Scarfe, transported by Peter Gill and Henry White, 1663.
7. Bryan Scarge, no further information.

Henry P. Scalf continued, Family students believe that James Calfe was a relative, probably distant, of Moses Scarfe, Edward Scarfe, and Thomas Scafe, mentioned as transportees in CAVALIERS AND PIONEERS. It is conceivable that he [James Calfe] was the father of a John Scarfe, Pasquotank County, North Carolina, who executed a will in that county in 1751.

Although Henry regrettably failed to clarify who these family students are, and why they believed James Calfe was a relative and possibly the father of John Scarfe, the fact that he even mentioned this possiblity should clue us into the fact that Edward Scarfe might not be John Scarfe’s father. He also gave no explanation for why he did not include Moses Scarfe or Thomas Scafe as alternate possibilities.

While we lack the documentation to definitively state whether James Calfe of Edward Scarfe (or someone entirely different) is the father of John Scarfe (b. 1670), there is enough conclusive evidence to support that this John Scarfe is the father of James Scarfe, who is the father of Lewis Scalf.

There are a number of reasons why it is nearly impossible to definitively identify John Scarfe’s father. First, the primary sources available from that time period were tax lists, land grants, property transfers, and census records; however these only listed the principle owner/head of household. Census records only listed the number of males and females of various age groups in the household, but no names other than the head of household were recorded. Next, about the only available source that provided names of family members were wills, and not everyone had a will recorded, or if they did, many of these records no longer exist. These records are very old. Years of damp storage destroyed many of these volumes. In some, the ink faded over time and the writing is no longer legible. And finally, if you have spent much time at all trying to find old documents that were kept in local courthouses, you have probably heard, There was a fire way back when and many of the old records were destroyed. Just to give an idea of how often this occurred, following is a list of the number counties in each state that experienced the destruction of records - many of these losses occurring during the Civil War.

COUNTIES WITH LOST RECORDS

State	# Counties
Alabama	33
Arkansas	35
California	11
Colorado	2
Florida	22
Georgia	62
Illinois	20
Indiana	19
Iowa	27
Kansas	2
Kentucky	67
Louisiana	14
Maryland	13
Massachusetts	1
Michigan	2
Minnesota	9
Mississippi	36
Missouri	50
Nebraska	3
Nevada	4
New Hampshire	2
New Jersey	4
New Mexico	1
New York	9
North Carolina	45
Ohio	18
Oregon	4
Pennsylvania	3
South Carolina	14
South Dakota	3
Tennessee	58
Texas	58
Vermont	1
Virginia	39
West Virginia	28
Wisconsin	16

Oddly, the states where our early ancestors in America lived — North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee — had some of the worst losses of records. As a result, we may never be able to determine with any certainty who John Scarfe’s (b. 1670) father is.

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Answer: Maybe... Maybe not!

In their books, both Henry and Elmer Scalf referred to the connection of the Scarfe name to the Isle of Man. I have verified this myself. In fact, there is still a stop on the Manx Electric Railway called Scarffe's Crossing. But is this name similarity enough to convice us that Edward Scarfe (or whichever Scarfe we are related to) came from the Isle of Man?

Because of the assumption that Edward Scarfe came from the Isle of Man, many began searching for records that could possible create a match. And indeed, Findmypast.com (which is the most complete source of historical records for the British Isles) has a Malew, Isle of Man parish baptismal record in Isle of Man, Births and Baptisms 1600-2010 for an Edward Skarfe dated 1650 Edward Skarfe - 1650 Baptism. As a result, we find countless family trees listing Edward Scarfe's birth year as 1650.

Let's scrutinize this connection a little more closely:

• This would have been an infant baptism.
• Edward Scarfe emigrated to America in 1663.
• If this had been the same person, he would been transported at age 13. Oxford Research Encyclopedias states, Most indentured servants were impoverished individuals, aged 18 to 25, who had agreed to a term of four to seven years of servitude... While there were clearly some younger males whose fathers signed them into servitude, I have never found a record for one as young as 13.
• The ship sailed from England. Rather than sticking to the assumption that Edward Scarfe was from the Isle of Man, wouldn’t it be more likely he was born prior to 1650 and perhaps in England rather than the Isle of Man?

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• Marjorie Maxine Shaffer, b. 2 Dec 1924, Illyria, Fayette County, Iowa to Lester Shaffer and Emma Drewer  Birth Certificate
• Marjorie, age 5  1930 Census
• Marjorie, age 15  1940 Census
• First marriage - James C. Thurston  First Marriage
• First divorce - lists daughter, Francine Thurston, b. 1946  First Divorce
• Second marriage - Wilbur Gill  Second Marriage
• Third marriage - Edward Scalf  Third Marriage Ancestry.com Link
• Edward Scalf in San Diego - 1967  Ed Scalf - 1967 Ancestry.com Link
• Marjorie - California Death - 29 Jun 1975 - birthdate matches birth certificate  California Death Index Ancestry.com Link
• Eternal Hills Memorial Park - Find a Grave  Find a Grave Link
• Marjorie - Obituary - listing Ed as surviving husband and Francine as daughter  Marjorie - Obituary

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