James D Harrell (1789 - aft. 1870)

Born 10 Dec 1789 in Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Harriet Middleton — married about 1810 in Loudoun County, Virginia

Descendants

Died after 1870 after age 80 in Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Edward Harrell [send private message]

Biography

James was born in 1789. James Harrell ... He passed away after 1870.

According to the marriage records of his son Thomas, James' wife was either H Harrell or S S Harrell.

Albert G Harrell (Harrell-1158) and John Harrell (Harrell- 1167) are probably the sons of James D Harrell. (See narrative below.)

Sources

Family data from family bible and census records 1820 to 1870.

Federal Census in 1810 shows him living in Loudoun County in his fathers household by enumeration data.

Virginia marriage records

Narrative

James D Harrell was born in1789, probably in the month of December. His father and mother were born in Maryland and Virginia respectively. Their marriage was in Fairfax County, Virginia and the whole family is found in Loudoun County in the 1810 census. So James, it seems, was born in Fairfax or Loudoun County since there is no documentation that any part of the family had moved into Fauquier County till the 1820 time period.

The early Federal Census’s taken from 1790 to 1840 only listed the head of household by name. So the 1810 census lists John Harrell and the rest of the household as number of people in categories of age and sex. The census matches up to what is know of the make up of the family at that time showing all siblings of James and of course his mother Martha. It also shows an extra, unknown, female, about 20 years of age. So what could this be telling us about James? This individual could be a cousin or friend living temporally with the Harrell family, but it is surely not another sibling of James. John’s children are listed in documents at the Marshall Historical Center in Fauquier County. Another possibility is this female could be the new wife of James. The time period is about right in that James’s children start being born soon after. So who was the wife of James D Harrell? The name has not turned up in any records found to date. A few people working on the Harrell trees have listed her as Harriett Newton, it seems because a son is named Armistead Newton Harrell. This middle name was also passed down to Armistead Jr. No one can say this is a definitely a wrong conclusion, but I think there are other perfectly good alternatives to research in the future. What we know about her is that she was born about 1790. In a marriage record of her son Thomas G Harrell she is listed as H in one and SS in another. If one accepts that Albert G is her son, then one cannot ignore the fact these two sons are sharing a middle name starting with a “G”. The hypotheses about the identity of James Harrell’s children can be derived from an examination of other census data, birth locations, marriages and naming conventions. These examinations leads to another, maybe more likely surname for James’s wife.

The 1820 Federal Census data was taken about James’s family on the 7th of August 1820 in Fauquier County, Virginia near the small village named Salem, now named Marshall after the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. Part of this area would be renamed Markham after the Markham mansion owned by the Chief Justice Marshall’s family. Virginia records show Richard Harrell was born in Markham around 1812. This coincides with where James D Harrell is living at the time.

Once again the census lists a head of household and the indicators of sex and age range for spouse and children. It should be noted that the census taker was not always careful about the age category of these enumerations, but in the case of this 1820 count it seems he was. (More or less)

Males 26 – 44 1 James D Harrell

Males Under 10 3 Richard, John, Albert G

Females 45+ 1 Wife of James D Harrell

Females Under 10 1 Mary

It is known that James and wife had three male children before 1820 and that up to now no documentation has been found that gives us their identities. The fact that these three male Harrell’s cannot be associated with any other Harrell families in the area is more then a hint. The culmination of the other data gleaned from other census’s and the marriage records, and DNA testing of descendents of these three males leads me to conclude the standard “preponderance of the evidence” has been meet in showing they are the children of James D Harrell.

The census of 1830 from Fauquier County.

Males 40-49 1 James D Harrell

Males 15-19 1 Richard

Males 10-14 2 John, Albert G

Female 30-39 1 Wife of James (mistaken age group)

Female 5-9 1 Mary (mistaken age group)

Female under 5 2 Harriet and a unknown child

The census of 1840 from Warren County.

Males 40-49 1 James D Harrell

Males 15-19 1 Albert G

Males 5-9 2 Thomas G, Armistead Newton

Female 40-49 1 wife of James D

Female 20-29 1 Mary

Female 15-19 1 unknown

Female 10-14 1 Harriet

What the 1830 and 1840 census indicates is an unknown female child of James D Harrell and as of this writing I have never seen any family tree where this is noted. With an estimated birth year of 1827 she either died, married or moved west before 1850. There is no indication of her in any census after 1840. I have not yet found a marriage record for her in Virginia.

Not only do age categories line up for Richard, John, and Albert G in the various census counts, but their life events do also. When we look at the marriage dates for them we see a coinciding absence in the following census. Richard Harrell marries Sarah Adams on 13 Dec 1836 and moves out. John Harrell marries Susan Adams on 17 Oct 1837 and moves out. Note that Sarah and Susan are sisters. These occurrences show up in the 1840 census. Albert G marries 31 Jan 1842 in Warren Co. and moves out and is missing in the 1850 count.

Thru testing both Y-DNA and the autosomal Family Finder through Family Tree DNA, downstream relations of the three male children show up when compared to my own data. A close common male ancestor is indicated in the Y testing with a Richard Harrell descendent. I am a descendent of Armistead and these results are in line with what we would expect to see if Richard, John, and Albert were my 2X great uncles.

If it is accepted that Richard, John, and Albert are James’s children, then we have a larger base of possible surnames being passed down as middle names. Newton, while possible, is not the primary surname that stands out when the list of descendents is studied. It should be noted that the marriage location for James is more likely Loudoun County or possibly Fairfax. The Harrell family is not found in Fauquier County till 1820. The birth of Richard is in 1812 and if we accept the time line of events we have James marriage about 1810 in Loudoun and a move of this new family unit to Salem before the birth of Richard in 1812. I find the likelihood that James’s wife was originally from Fauquier County remote. It is much more likely that it is Loudoun we should research.

The Newton surname is not unknown in Loudoun County, but its not all that common either. While the “Middleton” surname is much more prevalent in Fairfax and Loudoun, and is found more often passed down through the lines of the early Harrell children. In fact, the first-born child of Richard was Middleton D Harrell. Exploring the descendent trees of Albert and John more “M” middle names are found most of which I have not been able to translate as Middleton. But a Grandson of Albert G Harrell is one Ulysses Middleton Harrell. Ulysses father was Albert M.

Chancery Records Index of Loudoun County, Virginia Index# 1833-001 case M6485 held 15 Mar 1832 names James Harrill and Harriet Middleton husband and wife.