User:Acdixon/James Harrod

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James Harrod
Born c. 1746
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Died Unknown
Occupation Pioneer
Title Colonel
Known for Built the first permanent settlement in Kentucky
Spouse Ann Coburn McDonald
Children Margaret Harrod
Parents John and Sarah Moore Harrod

James Harrod (c.1746 – unknown) was a pioneer who built the first permanent settlement in the U.S. state of Kentucky.

Contents

[edit] Early life

James Harrod was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, one of twelve children born to John and Sarah Moore Harrod.[1][2] His actual year of birth is disputed. When he volunteered as one of "Captain Cochran's Recruits" in June 1760, he listed his age at sixteen, but historian James C. Klotter notes that his listed height – 5 feet, 2 inches – varied greatly from his adult height of over six feet and may suggest that he lied about his age in order to serve.[1] Various sources list his birth year anywhere from 1742 to 1746, and the latter is most often considered correct.[1]

He grew up a frontiersman; but became particularly adept at hunting, trapping, and fishing.[3] His skill with a rifle was particularly noteworthy.[3] His brother Sam and his father's first wife were both killed by Indians.[1] Near the outset of the French and Indian War, Harrod's father died.[4] In 1755, Harrod's mother took the family and fled their home in Great Cove, Pennsylvania just before Lenape chief Shingas attacked the settlement.[4] The family relocated to Fort Littleton, where Harrod served as a ranger and a guard.[1][4] James Harrod and his brother William served under John Forbes during the French and Indian War.[4]

Despite his early experiences with the Indians, Harrod never developed a hatred of them.[1] In fact, he developed a reputation of generosity, often using his hunting skills to provide food for those less skilled than himself.[3] Early sources record that Harrod was illiterate, but Klotter points out that he is known to have kept written records and learned to speak French and several Indian languages.[3][1]

[edit] Exploration of Kentucky

In 1774, Harrod was ordered by Lord Dunmore to lead an expedition to survey the bounds of land promised by the British crown to soldiers who served in the Seven Years War.[5] Harrod and 37 men traveled down the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers to the mouth of the Kentucky River, eventually crossing Salt River into what is today Mercer County, Kentucky.[6] On June 16, 1774, the men established the first pioneer settlement in Kentucky – Harrodstown.[6] (Today, the town is called Harrodsburg, and is the county seat of Mercer County.)

Just as Harrod's men had completed the settlement's first structures, Dunmore dispatched Daniel Boone to call them back from the frontier and into military service against the Indians in Lord Dunmore's War.[5] Harrod attained the rank of colonel in the militia, and served with distinction at the Battle of Point Pleasant.

On March 8, 1775, Harrod led a group of settlers back to Harrodstown to stay.[6] Within months, the town grew, and the original fortifications became inadequate.[6] New structures were build on top of Old Fort Hill, which today is the site of Old Fort Harrod State Park.[6]

In 1778, Harrod married Ann Coburn McDonald[7] at Logan's Station, a settlement established by fellow explorer Benjamin Logan.[6][4] McDonald had come to Harrodstown in 1776; her first husband was killed by Indians later that year.[4] The couple had one daughter, Margaret.[6]

Harrod was well-respected in the settlement, and held several positions of political leadership. In 1777, he became a justice in Kentucky County, and was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1779.[8][4] In 1784, he attended the first of a series of meetings in Danville that eventually led to Kentucky's petition for statehood.[4]

[edit] Disappearance

As the settlement of Harrodstown grew, James Harrod became increasingly socially detached and wont to make long, solitary excursions into the wilderness.[3] In February 1792, he and two other men entered the wilderness of Kentucky searching for a silver mine; he never returned.[4]

Many theories have been proposed as to the fate of James Harrod. That he was killed by Indians or fell ill and died in the wilderness are among the common explanations, but some propose ideas of a more nefarious nature. Harrod's wife, daughter, and son-in-law maintained that he was killed by one of his fellow explorers.[4] Others speculate that he abandoned his family.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g (1992) "Harrod, James", in Kleber, John E.: The Kentucky Encyclopedia, Associate editors: Thomas D. Clark, Lowell H. Harrison, and James C. Klotter, Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813117720. 
  2. ^ James Harrod, U.S. History, Biographies. AllRefer.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
  3. ^ a b c d e Flint, Timothy (1856). The First White Man of the West Life and Exploits of Col. Dan'l. Boone, the First Settler of Kentucky; Interspersed with Incidents in the Early Annals of the Country. Retrieved on 2007-07-19. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Draper, Lyman Copeland (1998). The Life of Daniel Boone. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. ISBN 9780811709798. 
  5. ^ a b Skinner, Constance Lindsey (1919). Pioneers of the Old Southwest: a chronicle of the dark and bloody ground (TXT). Retrieved on 2007-07-19. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Old Fort Harrod State Park. Kentucky Department of Parks. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
  7. ^ Some sources give the name as McDaniel.
  8. ^ Filson, John (1784). The Discovery, Settlement And present State of Kentucke: and An Essay towards the Topography, and Natural History of that important Country (PDF), James Adams. Retrieved on 2007-07-19. 


[[Category:1746 births]] [[Category:Disappeared persons]] [[Category:History of Kentucky]] [[Category:Members of the Virginia House of Delegates]] [[Category:People of the French and Indian War]] [[Category:People from Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Year of death unknown]]