John P. Archer Jr., a retired farmer and cattleman whose family roots in Harford County and Maryland date to the 17th century, died Sunday of respiratory failure at his Darlington home. He was 92.
The son of John P. Archer Sr., a Cunard Line purser, and Caroline Farish Dietrich, a homemaker, John Potter Archer Jr. was born in Baltimore and raised at Shamrock, his family's farm near Bel Air.
Mr. Archer was a descendant of Augustine Herman, banker, lawyer, surveyor and lord of Bohemia Manor in Cecil County, who came to Maryland in the 1630s.
He was also a relative of Dr. John Archer Jr. of Rock Run, Harford County, who was commissioned by the governor of Maryland to serve as a surgeon during the War of 1812, and also of Confederate Gen. James J. Archer.
Mr. Archer attended Neumann Preparatory School and West Nottingham Academy. He also attended Bowdoin College and what is now the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Mr. Archer's lifelong love of farming began when he was growing up on Shamrock Farm and continued when he established Mount Yoe, his own 175-acre farm in Darlington. There, he bred Angus cattle and grew corn, soy, alfalfa and timothy grass. He retired at age 88.
A naturalist and bird carver, Mr. Archer also enjoyed history and reading. He was also a big game hunter. He had traveled to Africa and New Zealand, and was a member of the Safari Club International.
"He was a wonderful man and as down to earth as you can get," said Todd Holden, a Harford County writer and photographer. "He was the real deal, funny and sincere and always looked me in the eye. He was a great man."
He was a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Maryland Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
His wife of 65 years, the former Mary Lyman, died last year.
Mr. Archer was a communicant of St. Ignatius Roman Catholic Church, 533 E. Jarrettsville Road, Forest Hill, where a Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 1 p.m. Friday.
He is survived by two sons, John Potter Archer III of Goldsboro, N.C., and William Stevenson Archer of Darlington; two daughters, Elizabeth Harlan Archer of Tidy Island, Fla., and Melanie Archer Graetzer of Glen Rock, N.J.; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Another daughter, Emily Garesche Archer, died in 1969.
— Frederick N. Rasmussen