Abraham Herrick / Harris came to Lycoming Co. PA about 1802, and settled there as Abraham Harris. He later applied for bounty land on the basis of his service aboard the ship President in the War with the Barbary States, but was turned down because there was no record of an Abraham Harris having served. He then provided the information that he had served under the name of Abraham Herrick, and his request was approved.
Y-DNA testing of a male-line descendant shows a near-perfect match to known descendants of Ephraim Herrick (1637/1638) of Salem and Beverly MA. We believe therefore that he was born Abraham Herrick, and (for reasons unknown) adopted the name of Abraham Harris as an adult.
Meginness, in his History of Lycoming County, states that Abraham settled "a half-mile south of Jersey Mills, at the present [1892] location of George Harris's residence. He subsequently removed to Waterville, and passed the remaining years of his life amid the quiet surroundings of that secluded village.... Mr. Harris was an old-line Whig, and an ardent admirer of Henry Clay. He served in various township offices, and officiated as justice of the peace for many years with creditable ability. He was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church."
Meginness says that Abraham was a soldier of the Revolution (which can't possibly be true, given his age) and that he came from Tioga County, PA. However, since Tioga Co. was formed from Lycoming this is difficult to interpret. Does it mean he came from the area of Lycoming county that became Tioga? The 1850 and 1860 census records give his birthplace as New Jersey.
Abraham married Fanny English, daughter of John English and Fanny Boatman, and they were the parents of ten children. Their first child, John, was born about 1804.
Abraham became the postmaster of the town of Waterville, and built the Waterville Hotel in 1825. In the 1850 census he is listed as 73 years old, a merchant. In 1860 he is 82, occupation "gentleman".
The family name was originally Herrick. Abraham applied for bounty land on the basis of his service on the ship 'President' in the War with the Barbary States. He came to Lycoming in about 1802, settling about a half-mile south of Jersey Mills, and later moved to Waterville. He was the postmaster, and built the Waterville Hotel in 1825.
[1]https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29731469, citing Waterville M. E. Cemetery, Waterville, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, USA FIND-A-GRAVE NOTE: The family name was originally Herrick. Abraham applied for bounty land on the basis of his service on the ship 'President' in the War with the Barbary States. He came to Lycoming in about 1802, settling about a half-mile south of Jersey Mills, and later moved to Waterville. He was the postmaster, and built the Waterville Hotel in 1825.
Meginness, John F. (ed.), History of Lycoming Co. PA (1892 [This book has obvious errors in Abraham's birth date and military service.]
Stephenson, Harry L., History of Little Pine Valley : History & Genealogy of Little Pine Valley and Its Residents. Camp Hill, Pennsylvania : H. Stephenson, 1992. [Birth and death dates for most of Abraham's descendants were taken from this book.]
Military records obtained from the National Archives by Clarke Glennon, a descendant.
1850 and 1860 census for Lycoming Co. PA
Find A Grave Memorial# 29731469 [The gravestone, which is recent, reads "Abraham P. Harris." We know of no 19th century evidence that he had a middle name.]
Kraybill, Spencer L. Pennsylvania's Pine Creek Valley and Pioneer Families. Gateway Press, Inc. (Baltimore, MD : 1991) pg 826 HR1Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Abraham is 24 degrees from Herbert Adair, 23 degrees from Richard Adams, 22 degrees from Mel Blanc, 27 degrees from Dick Bruna, 23 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 32 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 21 degrees from Sam Edwards, 18 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 23 degrees from Marty Krofft, 16 degrees from Junius Matthews, 16 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 18 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
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