Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1872-05-15
INTEnEsrrNa OCCASION.
Family Reunion sf Mr. Karns'. SIXTY
eight Near Relatives Present.

ing occasions which occur only once in life
time, and which is never forgotten by those
participating. At the residence of Mr.. John
Harms, about two miles from the city, we're
gathered all his descendants, to the third gen.
Grafton, to the number of sixty-eight persons.
Heading the list were Mr.. Harms, the venera-
BILE patriarch of the family, and his wife.
eight daughters with their husbands, three sons
with their wives, and all their children.
Early in the morning they began to assemble,
and by ten o'clock they had all arrived. The
house could not contain the number present
and the majority repaired to grove close by
where q large table had been erected, which
was laden with refreshments of all kinds, while
pendant from the limbs of several giant oaks
swings had been provided, and wore soon filed
with happy children enjoying the poetry Of
notion though not in the fstiguing manner
of the devotees of Terpsichoro.
The Sabbath School hymn
THE children arc gathering from near and
from far"
would have been most appropriate, for any one
seeing the concourse assembled would have
thought n regular picnic had assembled, which
indeed 1t really was, in one sense.
The day was fine and passed as pleasantly MS
could have been desired. Young and old felt
that it was good to be there" and the parents
lived their childhood DER again. in witnessing
the happiness of their children gathered under
the old roof tree where they had spent their
boyhood and girlhood, until in the revolutions
of the wheel Of time they had severed their pa
ternal connection and went out to fight the bat
tie of life on their own account, in which TO
judge from their smiles Of pleasure, they had so
far been victors.
Mr. Harms is the son of Charles and Hannah
Harms, and was born in Liberty, Bedford coun
ty, Virginia, on the I'd of October, 1898, and is
now in his 18th year. When he was nine
years of age his parents moved to Richand,
Granger county, where they remained about a
year and half and then came to Knoxville
and took up their residence on the corner of
Main and State streets The city was then in
its infancy and boosted of only about twenty
| five houses and two stores, kept respectively
! by Messrs. Cowan and Greer. He lived in
Knoxville only two years, when he moved to
| the farm where he now lives, and on the
| 2ith Of August 1876 married Miss Sarah Gam
mon, of this county, who bore him nineteen
! children, fourteen girls and five boys Of whom
| nine daughters and three sons are living, and
| all are married except three Of the former. All
| of these were present except one daughter and
her children who are living at Elkton. Mis-
| souri,, and what is something remarkable in so
| large family, all live within radius of ten
/ miles.
| At the time of his marriage the country was
thickly populated by Indians and the early
settlers were forced to rely on block houses for
| protection from the savage foes. One of these
stood on Main street, opposite where the court
| house now stands and which was but recently
torn down. Other noted Notifications, men.
| toned by Ramsay, in his history of Tennessee
were erected at convenient distances, one or
Adairs, now known rs John Smiths farm
while yet another was situated at the conhuen
| of the French Broad and Holston rivers.
Some of the most valuable property in Knox
| vile, on which are located the largest business
| houses, were then corn fields, and Mr.. Kar1s ha'
| often planted corn where now Cowsn, Nc
Chung 81 Co.'S wholesale house rears its front
| extending to the present Market Place, wher
that public necessity was not dreamed of, ant
| the cawing of the crow was heard where now
do tbay ,,f tbao tn
| in running the press that daily disseminate
knowledge to the world through the columns o
the CHRONICLE
Though now almost fourscore years of age
Mr.. Harms, or Uncle John" rs he is affec
tionately termed is in the possession of his fac
ulties 10 a remarkable degree, enjoys vigorous
health and works every day on the farm HC
was an old Wing, when there were but two pc
litical parties known, and since the war ha
been strong Republican. Our friend Helms
was there yesterday, and an incident ilustra
ting party zeal was told, which was heartily en-
joyed by all, and by none more than by MIR
| Harms himself
John L. was then, as now, a strong Demo
crat and during an election when the Know
| Nothing excitement was at its height, attempt
ed to vote about forty foreigners solid in town
but the natives were too vigilant in the city anC
our friend thought that he could run them il
| at country precinct, and accordingly
marched out his squad. Mr.. Harms was judg
of the precinct, however, and refused to receiv
u
at place where Uncle Billy Hillsman' 9th
ciated as Judge, with like result. Helms salt
he was never so badly beaten in his life befor
or since, as out of the whole number only on
| was allowed to vote.
Mr. Harms has always been a temperate man
which accounts for his health and activity
though his years are beginning to tell, and ha
used tobacco for more than sixty years, an
from his long experience is good judge of tn
| weed. His estimable wife is several year
younger and appears twenty years younge
than she really IS
This is me first general assembly of the fam
ily but it should not be the last There is some
thing almost sacred in the very idea of fami
reunions and the world would be better off
such occasions were of more frequent occur
renee. What can be more interesting to tn
young listening to the life experience of thos
who pc Ietrated the wilderness and made it bios
som as the rose, or in hearing the recital Of cor
{ ficts with the Indians or more savage whit
{ men, who, fleeing from justice, banded with tn
aborigines in their relentless warfare again'
the early settlers OF such facts history is con
| posed and is handed down in written ard rel
able form instead of tradition, which is Away
, inaccurate, as is evinced by the laborious e
r forts of those who have endeayored TO preseI
in continuous form the history of those nation
now extinct whose fame and grandeur once eH
cited the admiration ofthe world.
To the Citizens OF Knox County.
Certain evil disposed persons have been an
are, ms L am informed, circulating false repor
{ about an intended withdrawal by n
from the race for Sheriff of the county. Thi