Sunday, January 6, 2013

The Samuel Harris Family in Appomattox County, Virginia

There has been such a flurry of activity among those of us chatting about the Harris/Glenn/Coleman connections that I have become very confused and overwhelmed.  So I will take the evening to set down what I know about my mother-in-law's Harris line in the area that is now Appomattox County, Virginia.

In September 2005 I posted the following information in an e-mail after a visit to the Jones Memorial Library in Virginia.


I viewed a book called Petitions to Form Appomattox County, Virginia from
Buckingham, Campbell, Charlotte and Prince Edward Counties 1825-1845 by
Harriett A. Chilton at the Jones Memorial Library in Lynchburg Virginia.

Harriett Chilton's opening paragraph says:



> Petitions to form a new county from parts of Buckingham County,
> Campbell County, Charlotte County, and Prince Edward County were
> presented to the Virginia Legislature beginning in 1825 and continuing
> until the County was established on May 1, 1845.  These petitions, for
> and against, are on file in the Virginia State Library in Richmond,
> Virginia.  .....The Buckingham County records from 1761 through 1869
> were destoyed by fire, as were the 1845-1892 records of Appomattox
> County.  It is hoped that the two thousand names listed here will
> partially fill the gap in the reocrd holdings of these two counties.....


I believe that my Samuel Harris signed the petition January 11, 1832
opposing the formation of the new County (Appomattox) from land taken
from Buckingham.  If it is my Samuel Harris (and I believe that it is as there is only one Samuel Harris in the census in 1830) he is married to Nancy
Apperson.    Also on the list opposing the formation of the new county
was John Harris, Elijah G. Harris,  and another John Harris.
......

The Bible pages also refer to the death of Jack Harris March 13, 1852.
I suspect that this is Samuel Harris's brother John Harris and also one
of the signers of the petition.

The Samuel Harris that I believe to have signed this petition had a son
named Samuel Sterling Harris.  Samuel Sterling Harris married first a
lady named E.M. Jenning.    After this lady's death, Samuel Sterling Harris married Louise Frances Woodson.....This marriage is said to have taken place
at Allen's Creek.  My data base says that the marriage bond was made at
Amherst, Virginia.  The map below shows where Allen's Creek is located.  Is this where Samuel Harris was living?  It is possible that it could have been the area in which the bride was from.    Because of the signing of the petition, I lean towards the theory that Samuel Sterling Harris was living in this area of Virginia where Amherst, Appomattox, and Buckingham adjoin.








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