Herman/Harman/Harmon Connections to Dauphin County

A previous blog post dated 10 August 2014 gave information on John Harman and his descendants but only gave the baptismal records for John and his son Hiram at the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Killinger, Upper Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The previous blog post should be read for more information if anyone is interested in this family.  John Harman in his marriage to Lydia Bish in Jefferson County in 1854 gave his parents' names as Daniel and Elizabeth Harman and his birth place as Millersburgh, Dauphin County.  His first wife was Catharine Harman whose father was Jacob Harman.

Harman/Harmon is the same surname as Herman and its various spellings.  There were many Hermans in Upper Paxton Township and the adjacent townships of Lykens and Mifflin Township in the late 1700's and early 1800's.  Lykens Township was formed from Upper Paxton Township in 1810 and Mifflin Township was formed from parts of Upper Paxton Township and Lykens Township in 1819. 

An examination of the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church records in Killinger, Upper Paxton Township, in Dauphin County and St. John's Lutheran Church near Berrysburg, Mifflin Township, in Dauphin County reveals many Herman baptisms and a couple of Herman confirmations.  An examination of the estate records in Dauphin County shows only one estate record for a John Herman whose wife Ann was named administrator of his estate since he died intestate before 1787.  It also names three children under fourteen years of age:  Elisabeth, John, and Daniel.  All these children would have been born after 1773.  Deed indexes were examined for Herman with the first name of Daniel, John, and Jacob.  The pertinent deeds were then downloaded for further study.  It appears from the examination of the above records that there were three Herman men in Upper Paxton Township in the 1770's and 1780's with children:  John Herman, Jacob Herman, and David Herman.  Both John Herman and David Herman had a son named Daniel so it is not possible to determine which may have been the father of John Harman from the extant records.

It was possible however to determine how John Harman's wife Catharine Harman fit into the Herman family in Upper Paxton and surrounding townships in Dauphin County.  We know her father was Jacob Harman and that she had a sister Rachel and a brother Jacob from an Orphans Court record in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania (Number 11, June Term 1842).  There are baptism records at the St. John's Lutheran Church near Berrysburg, Mifflin Township, in Dauphin County for the four children of Jacob Herman (Catharine Harman's father) and his wife Maria:

Rahel born 17 July 1799; baptized 18 August 1799
Elisabeth  born 3 February 1801; baptized 22 March 1801
Jacob born 24 September 1803; baptized 2 January 1804
Catharina born 11 January 1808; baptized 23 March 1808

Jakob Hermann and A. Margaretha were the sponsors at the baptism of Rahel.  Jacob Hermann and wife Anna Margaretha's son and daughter , Johann George and Catharina were confirmed on May 31, 1789 at the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Killinger, Upper Paxton Township in Dauphin County.  Jacob Herman later transferred property to George Herman; to John Umholtz, his son-in-law; and to Jacob Herman, Jr. 

The father of John Harman's wife, Catharine Harman, was Jacob Herman, Junior and her grandfather was Jacob Herman, Senior.  She also had a brother Jacob Harman who appears in the 1850 census with his wife Hanna living next to John Harman.

It is likely that the three Herman men having children in the 1770's and 1780's in Upper Paxton Township (Jacob Herman, John Herman, and David Herman) were somehow related but it is not possible to determine how they are related from the records that were examined.  Since Dauphin County was formed in 1785 from Lancaster County, perhaps earlier records in Lancaster County might shed some light on their relationship.

The Orphans Court record (number 11, June Term 1842) in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania gives more information on Jacob Harman, the father of Catharine Harman.  Jacob Harman died on 19 February 1840 after he had entered into an agreement with James Kerr  on 7 January 1840 to sell him his property of 42 acres in Redbank Township, Armstrong County.  James Kerr was to pay him $160 and he was to receive a deed for the property but Jacob Harman died before this occurred.  The Orphans Court record lists the three children of Jacob Harman:  his daughter Racheal married to Henry Stopp; his son Jacob; and his daughter Catharine married to John Harman.  Since both daughters of Jacob Harman died before him, it also lists both his daughters' children.  Racheal's six children were Elias, Nathan, Susannah, Elizabeth, Henry, and Joseph, all minors living in the State of Ohio.  Catharine's seven children were Hiram, Levina, Anna, Urias [Uriah], Elizabeth, Sarah, and John residing in Redbank Township, Armstrong County.  The administrators of Jacob Harman's estate were his son, Jacob Harman, and his son-in-law, John Harman.  John Harman was appointed guardian for his children.  The Orphans Court ordered Jacob Harman's administrators on 23 September 1842 to execute a deed to James Kerr. 

I cannot find any further record for Henry Stopp or his children in the census records in Ohio and the Orphans Court records in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania do not give any further information.  If anyone has any further information on the Herman/ Harman/Harmon families, please contact me.