David M. Harlan (1804 - 1869)

Born 1804 in Cherokee Nation (East)

Ancestors

Husband of Julia Ann (Tucker) Harlan — married 30 Nov 1865 in Newton, Missouri, United States

Descendants

Died 2 May 1869 at about age 65 in Oklahoma [uncertain]

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Biography

David was Cherokee.

David M. Harlan was born about 1804 in the Cherokee Nation. He was the son of Ezekial Harlan and Hannah (Lewis) Harlan.^[1][2]

He married Lucinda Tucker about 1829. Together they had the following children:^[3][4]

1. John Harlan (Abt. 1830 - Abt. 1849)
2. Melinda Jane (Harlan) Lane (Abt. 1832 - Abt. 1859)
3. Napoleon B. Harlan (Abt. 1840 - Abt. 1863)
4. Lucinda Ann (Harlan) Archer Willard (28 Jun 1840 - aft. 24 Jun 1904)
5. David Lewis Harlan (23 Jul 1843 - 15 Feb 1929)
6. Albert Weir Harlan (Abt. 1846- Abt. 1925)
7. Nathan Lafayette Harlan (Abt. 1849 - Abt. 1933)
8. Muron P. Harlan (Abt. 1851 - Abt. 1892)

In 1835, his family resided in the area of Mouse Creek, Tennessee, where he farmed 75 acres.^[5] On 11 Sep 1837 he appeared before Judge John Kennedy, one of the commissioners to the Cherokee, in Tennessee, where he swore an affidavit regarding a debt owed to the estate of his grandfather, Ellis Harlan.^[6]

The family removed to Indian Territory. The 1851 Drennan Roll shows David and five children living in the Delaware District, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory.^[7] They settled in an area which would come to be known as the Cherokee Neutral Land, an area of land in the southeast corner of Kansas that was disputed between Kansas and the Indian Territory.^[8]

He married Rebecca Vannoy about 1855. Together they had the following children:^[3][4]

1. George Washington Harlan (1856 - 1938)
2. Eliza (Harlan) Cannon (Abt. 1858 - Abt. 1895)

In 1855, he was living in the 6th District of the Kansas Territory, located in the extreme southeast corner of the territory.^[9] In 1859, his daughter, Melinda Jane (Harlan) Lane, passed away and his granddaughter, Tennessee, came to live with him. During this period, he worked as a farmer and a millwright.^[8]

During the Civil War, they were forced from their home in the Cherokee Neutral Lands and into Kansas. He rented a farm near Humboldt, Kansas. His sympathies were with the south, though one of his sons, David L. Harlan joined the Union army. Many years later, his granddaughter, Tennessee (Lane) James, said that he complained to a man named Bob Taylor that he should, "Go home and lay down your arms for if the Union wins, we won't have anything left."^[8]

In that same interview, his granddaughter said that her grandmother died in 1864, and was buried in Kansas.^[8] Her biological grandmother, Lucinda (Tucker) Harlan, appears to have died previous to this. She was likely referring to her step-grandmother, Rebecca (Vannoy) Harlan.

Following the war, they returned to their home in Indian Territory.^[8]

He married Julia Ann (Tucker) Lane on 30 Nov 1865 in Newton County, Missouri.^[10] She was the younger sister of his first wife, Lucinda, and the widow of Alexander Lane. Together they had the following children:^[3][2]

1. Andrew Oliver Harlan (04 Jun 1868 - Abt. 1941)

He died about April or May 1869. ^[11]

Research Notes

In History of Cherokee County, Kansas the author, Nathaniel Thompson Allison, writes that, "[David M.] Harlan and [John] Rogers were commissioners in behalf of the Cherokees in the treaty of 1817, when the Indians were ceded lands in Arkansas, and afterwards in Indian Territory."^[12] However, this seems to be incorrect. They were not among the men who signed that document -- unless they were using different names.^[13]

Likewise, the book states that they came to the area of Cherokee County, Kansas in 1835.^[12] While this is possible, records indicate he appeared before a Judge in Tennessee in 1837.^[6] It seems unlikely he traveled back to Tennessee from Kansas.

The author's information appears to come from an interview with Harlan's daughter Lucinda. Later information, during her lifetime, is likely to be more reliable.

His daughter-in-law, Harriet (Shoe) Harlin, said in an interview that "..David Harlan, Sr, had been Chief when he brought the Immigrants and Old Settlers here. They had settled on Spring River at the mouth of Shoal Creek."^[14] I have found no evidence that he was ever a Chief, though he does seem to have been among the first settlers of that area.

Sources

1. ↑ Harlan, David L. - Application Number 2051. M1104 - Eastern Cherokee Applications of the US Court of Claims, 1906-1909. National Archives. NAID: 56399760. pp 6.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "Interview with Andrew O. Harlan, 15 Apr 1937." Indian Pioneer Papers. Western History Collections. University of Oklahoma.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Hampton, David K. Cherokee Mixed-Bloods. Arc Press of Cane Hill, Lincoln, Arkansas. 2005. pp. 171-175.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Harlan, David L. - Application Number 2051. M1104 - Eastern Cherokee Applications of the US Court of Claims, 1906-1909. National Archives. NAID: 56399760. pp 5.
5. ↑ Henderson Roll. Census of Cherokees in the Limits of Tennessee in 1835. National Archives. T-496. Page 5.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} David Harlan Affidavit. Ellis Harlan Papers. National Archives.
7. ↑ Drennen Roll of “Emigrant Cherokee,” 1851. Series 7RA-01. Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75. The National Archives at Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas. Delaware District, p. 254, family # 934
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4} Tennessee James, interview by Nannie Lee Burns, Supplementary Interview, 17 May 1937. Indian Pioneer Papers, Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma. The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.
9. ↑ The Census of the Territory of Kansas, February, 1855: with Index and Map of Kansas Election Districts in 1854. Knightstown, IN: Eastern Indiana Publishing Co. Page 12a (List of Voters), 31 (Index), and ii-iii (District Location).
10. ↑ "Missouri Marriages, 1750-1920." FamilySearch. 18 January 2020. Juliann Lane in entry for David Harlen, 1865.
11. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images accessed 22 January 2024, memorial page for David M. Harlan (1804–2 May 1869), Find A Grave: Memorial #65389145; Burial Details Unknown; Maintained by George T. Huggins (contributor 48095146).
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} Allison, Nathaniel Thompson, ed. "History of Cherokee County, Kansas, and Representative Citizens. Chicago: Biographical Publishing Co., 1904. pp. 34-35.
13. ↑ "Ratified Indian Treaty 89: Cherokee - Cherokee Agency, July 8, 1817." National Archives. RG 11: General Records of the United States Government. Series: Indian Treaties. NAID: 100361593. pp. 22-23.
14. ↑ Harriet Harlan, interview by Nannie Lee Burns, 02 Aug 1937. Indian Pioneer Papers, Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma. The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.

See also:

• James Hicks book, "Cherokee Lineages."