John Harmon (abt. 1641 - 1712)

Born about 1641 in England [uncertain]

Husband of Mary (Dorchester) Harmon — married 7 Jan 1669 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 13 Feb 1712 at about age 71 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts

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Biography

John Harmon, son of John Harmon & Elizabeth, was born about 1641. ^[1]John and his brother, Samuel, were born before the family's arrival in Springfield, but it is unknown, where the family was located when John and Samuel were born.

23 Dec 1659 a church seating list was made up. It was mostly the men in town except "And for order sake there were placed ... John Harmon, Samuel Harmon ... The rest of the younge persons that want years, are to sit on the other side of the alley ...^[2], implying that John, Samuel and some other boys were a rowdier group.

The next seating in the records was dated 23 Feb 1662. John and Samule were seated on the south side below the pillars. Their brother Joseph was in another section of the south side.^[3]

John and Samuel were each granted 40 acres of land 8 Feb 1663 [63/4]^[4]

John Harmon & Mary Dorchester were married Jan. 7th 1668, in Springfield, Massachusetts.^[5]

John was fined 6d on 5 May 1669 for being late to the Town meeting.^[6] In 1670, he and other residents were assessed wood to be part of the minister's salary.. His assessment was 1 load.^[7] When wolves became a problem about 1671, he, his brothers Samuel and Joseph and some others were active in killing wolves.^[8] He was chosen a fence viewer in 1675.^[9]In 1679, John and two others were chosen to appraise the town's stock.^[10]

It is said that John Harmon served in the King Philip's war.^[11], He no doubt was part of the local trainband when Springfield was burned by the Indians.

The General Court , in obedience to a royal proclamation ordered that inhabitants take the oath of fidelity. John Harman and others took the oath on 3 Dec 1678 or 1 Jan 1679.^[12]

John became a freeman of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1690.^[13][14]

"John Hermon who had bin the husband of mary Hermon was sick and died feb 13: 1711/12."^[5] His wife Mary was also sick and died just a few days before he did, 7 Feb 1711/12.

Children:^[15]

1. Sarah, b. October 14, 1669, d. November 13, 1673.
2. Mary, b. October 23, 1671, m. Zachariah Booth.
3. Sarah, b. February 13, 1675, d. unmarried 16 March, 1746/7.
4. John, b. March 2, 1678, m. Hannah Sexton.
5. Elizabeth, b. December 3, 1680, m. Caleb Monson.

Sources

1. ↑ Harmon, A. C. (Artemas Canfield). The Harmon genealogy, comprising all branches in New England. p.159. Washington, D.C.: Gibson Bros. Inc., 1920
2. ↑ Burt, Henry M. The first century of the history of Springfield; the official records from 1636 to 1736, with an historical review and biographical mention of the founders. (Springfield, Mass., H.M. Burt, 1898) p. 126
3. ↑ Burt [https://archive.org/details/firstcenturyofhi01spri/page/128 pp. 128, 129
4. ↑ Burt p. 310
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Vital Records of Springfield, Massachusetts, to 1850. Volume One. (Clifford Stott: compiler) Boston: NEHGS, 2003. pp 22, 124.
6. ↑ Burt. p. 368
7. ↑ Burt. p. 388
8. ↑ Burt p. 394, 390, 391
9. ↑ Burt p. 413
10. ↑ Burt [https://archive.org/details/firstcenturyofhi01spri/page/426 p. 426
11. ↑ Suffield Historical Society Family History of John Harmon.
12. ↑ Green, Mason Arnold. Springfield, 1636-1886 : history of town and city : including an account of the quarter-millennial celebration at Springfield, Mass., May 25 and 26, 1886. ( [Springfield, Mass.] : C.A. Nichols & Co., 1888) p. 187
13. ↑ Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692. Vol. I-IV. Boston, MA, USA: 1860-1862.
14. ↑ Colonial justice in western Massachusetts, 1639-1702; the Pynchon court record, an original judges' diary of the administration of justice in the Springfield courts in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1961) p. 387
15. ↑ Warren, Thomas B. Springfield Families Vol II F-O. p. 336