John L Harmon
birth: about 1767 in Virginia, father possibly William Harmon of Crooked Creek, Montgomery, VA
death: 1825 in Marion Co, Indiana
burial: Old Cotton Cemetery, Pike Twp, Marion Co, Indiana

marriage: 16 Dec 1787 in Montgomery Co, Va
Elizabeth Byrd
birth: about 1771 in Virginia to John Byrd and Sarah ( unknown). (Sarah Byrd married William Burch after John’s death)
death: after 1850, Carrol Co, Indiana
burial: maybe at Harmon Christian Church Cemetery, Harmon, Knox, Indiana

Children of Elizabeth Byrd and John L Harmon:

• William W Harmon (1788 – 1866), m. 1814 Nancy Campbell
• Richard Harmon (1793 – after 1860), m. about 1811 Mary (unknown)
• John Bird Harmon (1795 – 1860), m. 1818 Mary Findley
• James Harmon (1797 – 1847), m. 1816 Philadelphia Dickerson
• Nancy Jane Harmon (1799 – 1872), m. (1) 1816 William Christ, (2) 1819 Robert Mitchell, (3) 1827 Chesley Wray
• Mildred Harmon (1801 – 1838), m. 1821 Hiram Hamilton Lewis
• Sarah Harmon (1803 – after 1860), m. (1) 1819 John Adams, (2) 1835 Nathaniel P Walters
• Mary Harmon ((1805 – 1880), m. 1827 Alexus Jackson
• Elizabeth Harmon (about 1807 – died young)
• Hiram H Harmon (1810 – 1836), m. 1831 Ruth Parrish
• Charles Harmon (1811 – 1883), m. (1) 1831 Elizabeth Rodman, (2) 1873 Mary Pitzer

Where John L Harmon lived:

• about 1767- Born in Virginia
• about 1820- John migrated to join his sons in Marion Co, IN
• 1825- Died in Marion Co, IN

Other Information:

John L Harmon was likely born in Virginia as he left tax records and married in Montgomery County, VA. Deeds and tax records indicate he also lived in Grayson and Russell counties in Virginia. By 1804, John had moved to Pulaski County, Kentucky, where he can be found in the 1810 census. Later that year, the family moved to Hamilton County, Ohio but by 1820 they were in Marion County, Indiana.

John L Harmon did not have a middle initial in any record until deeds registered in Marion County, Indiana show him with the middle initial “L”, perhaps to differentiate from the records of his son. Some seem to have arbitrarily given him the name Lincoln, but that seems highly unlikely a name for a man born in the mid 1700’s.

Several John Harmons served in the Revolutionary War and this man has been accepted as a Patriot at NSDAR but it is very likely wrong, as he does not seem to have been old enough to have served.

John has often been placed in German families in North Carolina and western Virginia, but Y-DNA tests suggest he could not have been a part of these families. He is first found in the tax records of Montgomery County, Virginia, with a William Harmon. Because John L Harmon named his first son William, it is highly likely that the tax record William was his father, but there is no documentary proof.

Submitted by:
Kay Haden
Email: khaden1959@gmail.com