Robert McFarland was the son of Mayor William McFarland and Nancy Turley McFarland. He was born, probably in Springvale (a few miles from Morristown), on November 27, 1863. He was the nephew of Judge Robert McFarland.
He married Jessie Trent (b. July 4, 1869 - d. Feb. 12, 1899). She was the daughter of Capt. Trent, a Union veteran.
They had three children:
After the death of his wife, Robert married again, this time to Ida Trent (b. Jan. 13, 1871 - d. Feb. 12, 1928), who was a sister of his first wife.
Robert McFarland was a local merchant who was elected and served as mayor almost two terms, from 1899 to 1902. On November 20, 1902 McFarland died in office. His accomplishments as mayor included the paving of many of the main streets in town. He was buried in the City Cemetery, with the local businesses being closed that day in his honor, and with the town aldermen acting as pall bearers. As far as I know, in my research so far, he is the only mayor to die in office. He has probably since been removed to Jarnigan Cemetery, but this is not certain.