The Ancestors of My Grandchildren

"In Cumberlandshire, England, is a town called Standing Stone. Its name is derived from a lone rock fifty feet in height, which is just ourside the town. The population is now about 4,000. At the foot of the rock was the Friends Meeting House. In this town was born John Furnas, of whose geneology we write. He had three brothers. The English custom was that the eldest son would fall heir to the real estate. The father of John Furnas was a large owner of real estate, and because of his wealth he was known as a lord or peer. He had four sons. The birth of William, the eldest, is not known......In the same village lived Mary Wilkinson, born September 19. 1742. She received the attention of John Furnas and became his life companion March 24, 1762. They were married in the Friends Meeting House. The building has since been removed to the town Wigton and still stands.
Some time within the month of October they embarked for Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, N.A., reaching there February 18, 1763. Two days after casting anchor and while they were yet on ship, was born their son Joseph. The twin brothers Thomas and Jonathan also sailed to the same harbor....
John Furnas was quite athletic when a young man. Legend brings to us a story of his ability as a swimmer. When the waters off the shore of England were sailed by many a pirate ship, John and a mate were taken captive by a pirate crew. John made a vow that he would not be a slave or stay on board long. One dark night he and his mate fastened their clothing on their backs and jumped overboard and were soon swimming towards what they supposed to be an island. They were shot at byt miraculously escaped being hit. They swam for a long time and at last John's mate said he could go no further and sank to a watery grave, and John swam on for a short distance and landed on an island in safety. Later he was picked up by a friendly ship.
Mr. Boyd Furnas of Columbus, Ohio, writes me that the original way of spelling the name, even after landing in South Carolina, was FURNESS. He has an old bible in which his grandfather's name appears that way.⁵