James Harrod (abt. 1742 - 1792)

Born about 1742 in Little Cove, Bedford, Pennsylvania, British North America

Ancestors

Husband of Ann (Coburn) Harrod — married 1778 in Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Kentucky

Descendants

Died Jul 1792 at about age 50 in Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Kentucky, United States

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Biography

James Harrod is Notable.

James Harrod is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A052327.

James Harrod has English ancestors.

James Harrod established the first European settlement in Kentucky but he is often over looked.

James Harrod (c. 1746 – c. 1792) was an Appalachian pioneer, soldier, and hunter who helped explore and settle the area west of the Allegheny Mountains.

James Harrod was the founder of Harrodsburg, Kentucky. In the spring of 1774 he led a party into Kentucky with the purpose of establishing a permanent settlement. Taken partially from "Genealogy Family Name: Harrod". Material from Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, Kentucky.

Harrodsburg was founded on June 16, 1774 by James Harrod, the first city in Kentucky. It was initially known as "Boiling Spring Station [[1]], and then Harrod's Town or Harrodstown. See Wikipedia: Harrodsburg, Kentucky

Kentucky Probate Records, 1727-1990 Mercer Will records, 1786-1795, Vol. 1, Image 75.

Last Will and Testament of James Harrod of Mercer County and District of Kentucky.

Beneficiaries: Wife Ann Harrod and daughter Margaret Harrod.

Executrix: Wife Ann Harrod.

Executors: William Moon of Mercer County and John Hardin of Nelson County.

Sealed, published and declared in the presence of: John Winn, John Young, Ismael Donatson, Thomas Banfield and Samuel Naylor.

Dated: 28 November, 1791

Proven: January Court, 1794^[1]

Old Mercersburg by The Woman's Club of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, Published Under the Auspices of The Journal of American History, By Frank Allaben Genealogical Company, Number Three West Forty-Second Street, New york, in the Year 1912, Chapter: In The Revolution and War of 1812; page 31^[2]

It is difficult to determine the soldiers who enlisted in the War of the Revolution from West Conococheague, as it then was part of Cumberland county. There was one Company, No. 4, from Peters township, that had the following officers : Captain, James Patton ; First Lieutenant, Thomas McDowell ; Second Lieutenant, John Welsh ; Ensign, John Dickey. Another, Company 6, recruited from Montgomery and Peters townships. Captain, William Huston ; First Lieutenant, William Elliott ; Second Lieutenant, James McFarland ; Ensign, Robert Kyle. It was on the occasion of this Company starting for the field that Dr. King made his stirring patriotic address before accompanying it as Chaplain. William Smith, Jr., the founder of Mercersburg, was a lieutenant in this Company and captain in 1780. Captain John Marshall, Joseph Mitchell, James Morrison, Walter McKinney, James Smith, James Herod, William McDowell, Sr., Robert McCoy, Samuel Patton, William Waddell, Robert McFarland, and Jonathan Smith are given as soldiers in this war. William, James and David Rankin, three brothers, and Jeremiah, a son of James, all enrolled in Captain Huston's Company.

In the above list of men given as soldiers in the Revolutionary War first appears the name of James Herrod, who, subsequently emigrated to Kentucky, and who founded and after whom was named the town or village of Harrodsburg, in that State. That this James Harrod came from Mercersburg is clear from an old ledger kept by one of the earliest storekeepers in Mercersburg, and still in existence, which contains an entry, as follows: "Col. James Herrod, Land to be taken up for my use on Cain Tuskee or Cumberland River, or where the Colonel pleaseth, it being situate for trade." That what we now know as Kentucky was, even in those early days, engaging the attention and interest of the settlers in and around Mercersburg is manifested from the will of William Shannon, registered in Franklin County Records, June 15, 1786, in which he wills, viz "I also will and devise unto my son Nathaniel Shannon his heirs and assigns all my right and title in or to a warrant for four hundred acres of land in Cane Took Settlement." (Kentucky.)

As the settlement of Harrodstown grew, James Harrod became a wealthy farmer, owning more than 20,000 acres (80 km²) across Kentucky. He also became increasingly socially detached and wont to make long, solitary excursions into the wilderness. In February 1792, he and two other men entered the wilderness of Kentucky to hunt for beaver. Harrod never returned from the expedition.[2][3]

Sources

1. ↑ "Kentucky Probate Records, 1727-1990," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9P32-9ZWY?cc=1875188&wc=37R5-BZ3%3A173587801%2C173594201 : 20 May 2014), Mercer > Will records, 1786-1795, Vol. 1 > image 75 of 117; county courthouses, Kentucky.
2. ↑ https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/public/gdcmassbookdig/oldmercersburg00woma/oldmercersburg00woma.pdf

• A History of James Harrod, the founder of Harrod's Town, the first settlement in Kentucky. https://www.kentuckyhistory.co/kentucky-people/jamesharrod
• Kentucky History Podcast
• Wikidata: Item Q1680533, en:Wikipedia
• Wikipedia: James Harrod
• ancestry.com Wikipedia, "The Tenmile Country and Its Pioneer Families" by Howard Leckey.
• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L2TV-X5V
• https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search_adb/?action=full&p_id=A052327
• http://genealogytrails.com/ken/mercer/bio_harrod_james.html
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11754399/james-harrod