John Farrah

John Farrah, F.L.S., F.R.Met.S (28 May 1849 – 13 November 1907) was a British grocer, confectioner, biologist and meteorologist from Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. In the late 19th century he developed the business strategy for Farrah's toffee shop which he inherited from his family in Harrogate. He was made a fellow of the Meteorological Society in 1894. He was president of the botanical section of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union, working with Thomas Sheppard, George Edward Massee, William Eagle Clarke and Charles Crossland, and in 1903 discovered the mycological species Entoloma farrahi, which was named after him, although there has been some question as to its identity since then. He was a close friend of Harrogate historian William Grainge and for some years they were "constant companions", supporting each other in their work. The American mycologist George Francis Atkinson described him as a "great Yorkshire character". Farrah married three times, and had three children.

Life

John Farrah's paternal grandmother was Ann Farrah (d. 1843), a relative and assistant of tea-dealer Robert Hudson Swan (c.1810 – 11 May 1859), who started the family's grocery business. John Farrah's father was Joseph Farrah (Harrogate c.1807 – Harrogate 13 January 1857), a labourer and lodging house keeper until 1848 when he joined Swan's grocery shop and registered as a grocery dealer. Joseph and Esther had at least four children: Ellen (b. Harrogate 1837), Maria (b. Harrogate 1841), Emma (b. Harrogate 1843), and John (Knaresborough 28 May 1849 – Knaresborough 13 November 1907). He married Georgiana Livingstone Forbes (c.1850 – Knaresborough 1880) in 1879. He then married Emma Coulson (1853 – Knaresborough 5 December 1888) on 5 April 1883. In 1889 he married Hannah Pitchfold (Sheffield c.1852 – 21 April 1896), and they had three children: John William (Harrogate 1884 – Knaresborough 7 September 1907), Constance Annie (Harrogate 1887 – 15 September 1915), and Joseph Sumpster (Harrogate 1889 – Lewes 1958) of the Royal Engineers.

Farrah appeared in Court twice in 1880, the year when his first wife died. On the first occasion he was accused of trespassing on nurseryman E.J. Batchelor's land on Harlow Hill, Harrogate. The case was dismissed when it was established that Farrah was on a public footpath. On the second occasion he was suing labourer R.E. Sharpe for non-payment of groceries. A compromise verdict was given.

Farrah lived at a house named Jefferies Coate on the York Road, Harrogate, from at least 1894. After he retired, his health was poor. In the two years before he died, he bought two farms at Felliscliffe, but they required his time and money, and took him away from his botanical work. Nine years after Farrah died, his son Joseph presented eight marble busts by William John Seward Webber, besides Thomas Holroyd's portrait of Farrah's friend William Grainge and some "rare manuscripts" to Harrogate Library.

Character American botanist George Francis Atkinson (1854–1918) describes Farrah in his 1903 diary of his visit to England.

John Farrah Ltd Farrah's toffee shop,1875, designed for Farrah by Arthur Hiscoe. John Farrah was a baker and a grocer. In the late 19th century he was owner and director of Messrs John Farrah (Limited), grocers and confectioners of Crescent Road and Royal Parade, Harrogate.

One Joseph Farrah of Harrogate was selling "genuine spaw water" and exporting it as far as Hull in 1822. Robert Hudson Swan started a tea business in Crown Place, Harrogate. Farrah's paternal grandmother Ann Farrah was a relative of Swan and an assistant in the business, and his father Joseph was registered as a dealer for the company in 1848. The company was officially registered at 2 Crescent Place, Harrogate in 1873. By 1887 John Farrah was owner of the company, and in that year he registered Swan's recipe as Farrah's Harrogate Toffee, while trademarking his own name as the business name. However the company was not listed with directorships until 16 February 1897, when John Farrah Limited was registered; the directors were Fred Farrah Ridsdale, Fred Hunter and John Farrah. John Farrah resigned on 26 March 1900 at the age of 50.

Natural science John Farrah, F.L.S., F.R.Met.S, a "great Yorkshire character", He was a "well-known Yorkshire naturalist", and secretary and president of the Old Harrogate Naturalists' Club for "many years", "He had one of the best scientific libraries in the district." In the YNU he was on the executive committee for some years, he took "a leading part" as president of the Botanical Section, and assisted the Committee of Suggestions for Research. As a birder he would be in the field by three o'clock in the morning before work. while assisting at the Fungus Foray of the Mycological Committee, Farrah discovered a "large indigo-blue" toadstool, which was named Entoloma farrahi after him in 1904. The Yorkshire Naturalists' Union returned to the area in 1919, but the weather had been dry, and they did not find E. farrahi.

In 1948, the 1904 description of Entoloma farrahi by George Edward Massee and Charles Crossland was re-examined, and was judged to be dubious, on account of not being an Entoloma due to the given smooth shape of the spores. if assumed to be correct even if the shape is wrong, would only fit E. bloxamii. However, the fruit body which Farrah found in 1903 would closely resemble the endangered Entoloma species: big blue pinkgill, specifically E. atromadidum whose indigo colour (shading to black) is identical, if the 1904 drawing of the smooth spores were taken as an error.

Friendship with William Grainge

According to Thomas Sheppard, M.Sc. (1876–1945), Farrah was a "good antiquary, and had a thorough knowledge of the past and present history of the Harrogate district. For several years he was the constant companion of the late William Grainge, whose History of the Forest of Knaresborough is well known. In connection with this work Mr. Farrah helped a good deal." After Grainge died, Farrah wrote a Tribute to him, describing their friendship.

Farrah possessed a portrait painting of Grainge, which as of 2021 hangs in Harrogate library. The painting was presented to Harrogate Field Naturalists' and Camera club in the late 1890s by John Farrah. It moved to Harrogate library in 1916 when it was presented by Farrah's son Joseph.