Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1891-02-21
Chapters OF Un.wrIstcn History.
BY sEPTUAGENARIAN.

4 A series of letters published in the
ENTERPRISE several months ago has
called forth many anxious inquiries
from descendants of families Incl
dentally referred to. now widely
scattered over distant portions of the
United States. Doubtless, to them,
and perhaps hardly less to many liv-
ing among us, the meagre facts yet
clinging to the memory of the Oldest
people, are clothed with a peculiar
interest. In the course of human
events, in very few years many OF
these facts, if unrecorded, must pass
forever into oblivion, with the few
environs of past generation.
The history of the Harmon family
1-of which especial inquiry has been
made by descendants residing in In
niana-goes back to an early period
of Accomac traditions. Standing
somewhat remote from the county
road, near Turlington's camp-ground,
is a quaint old building. doubtless
ono of the oldest on the Eastern Shore.
I Thisratl,cr unique structure of she'd
ded roof, brick gable and monstrous
open fire. place, together with it's an
tique site and surroundings, long ago
invested it with the title of .Noah's
Ark The house has been, for many
past generations, the Harmon home
stead, and has never passed from the
family Inheritance. How long it has
stood there, tradition does not say,
and actual knowledge of the family
antecedcnts does not take the writer
further back than Kendall Harmon.
1t is probable, however, that three
generations preceded him. Tradi-
ton claims the family to be of En-
glish origin. The name has some
times been written Hartman.
Next in line of descent after Ken
dali, WIS John Harmon; his children
were William, John, James, Bette,
Nancy, Sallie and Katie. Taking
these in order. their descent is. as fol-
lows: The children of William were
James. Robert and Sar. h. The first
two, though married, have had no
offspring. Sarah married Capt. w.
S. Phillips and has had family OF
three worthy children, two of whom
are now living. John Hartman, (of
john also reared an interesting fami-
ly of children and grandchildren.
James, lately deceascd, left two wor-
thy sons to survive him, both of them
residing on the old Harmon estate,
the younger having recently taken a
bride to the old homestead.
Various other branches of the fnmi-
ly name doubtless descending from
the same. progenitor, might be traced
in Accomac; and even in Northamp-
tor, nm old country scat in that coun-
ty bearing the name of Harmon
town. was doubtless the home, ori@i-
nally of some member of this family.
In earlier times it was especially pro-
life in female descendants. The
writer remembers the marriage of q
Miss Harmon to Littleton Bradford,
another to Geodiah Bell, another to
John Garrison, and still another, an
old maid generally known as 'Aunt
Tanner" to an aged gentleman, Mr..
Jesse Ames-quite happy union,
by the way. The descendants of
some of these marriages are still liv-
ing among us.
j Contemporary with the early settle
I.ment of the Harmons in Accomac
came a family of Walkers, who locat-
ed in the same neighborhood. The
Walkers being family of consider
bic enterprise attempted to build a
town, which ultimately resulted in
failure, the locality being known far
many years afterwards as Walkers
Folly" 1t is q rather curious circum-
stance that these two families inter-
married for three generations, and
socially became the closest of allies.
At period prior to the Revolution
airy war, VIM. Polk, a gentleman of
Irish descent, married a very intelli-
gent lady, Miss Sabra Bradford, di-
rect descendant Of the original settler
of Bradford's Neck. Polk was an
officer in tho Colonial service, and
suffered the loss of much of his prop
erty at the hands of the British in
one of their descents upon the coast.
From this union there resulted many
wellknown and worthy descendants.
Their children were:-Janes, who
emigrated to North Carolina; Will
liam, to Ohio; John, drowned while
bathing; Sallie, married to Jacob
Lerton, afterwards to Jas. Townsend,
and then Thos. Sturgis; Jennie, who
married Geo. Hanover, and after
wards Zorobabel Edwards; Patsie,
who married Joshua Fitchett; Bird
get, who died young, unmarried;
and Amelia, who married George
Harmon and moved to North Carroll
ma. No trace of this last branch of
the family was known to the writer
until recent letters from one of it's
descendants were placed in his hands.
Of the family characteristics of the
Harmons, many interesting things
might be said. They have been pre-
elninently noted for longevity. many
of them having passed beyond the al
lotted limit of tllree-score and ten,