Benjamin Harris (1732 - 1812)

Born 13 Jan 1732 in Greensville County, Colony of Virginia

Died 1812 at about age 79 in Southampton, Isle of Wight, Virginia, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Dave Abigt [send private message]

Biography

This biography was auto-generated by a GEDCOM import.^[1] It's a rough draft and needs to be edited.

Name

Name: Benjamin /Harris/ Lt^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]}

Name: Benjamin /Harris/

Found multiple versions of NAME. Using Benjamin /Harris/ Lt.

Birth

Birth:

Date: 13 JAN 1732

Place: Greensville County, Virginia, United States of America^{[11][12][13][14][15][16]}

Birth:

Date: 1732

Place: Greensville, VA

Found multiple copies of BIRT DATE. Using 13 JAN 1732

Death

Death:

Date: 1812

Place: Southampton, Isle of Wight, Virginia, United States^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23]}

Death:

Date: 10 APR 1774

Place: Southampton, VA

Found multiple copies of DEAT DATE. Using 1812Array

Residence

Residence:

Date: 1782

Place: Mecklenburg County, VA^[24]

Burial

Burial:

Place: Shoulderbone, Hancock County, Georgia, United States of America^[25][26]

Research Notes

Liz Shifflett received the following from Tom King in response to her proposed merge of Harris-8794 and Harris-16283, which she then rejected (although it may be the profiles are indeed duplicates, intended to represent the same man, whether or not the information about him is correct - I'm afraid I can't figure out what information Tom is saying is right [if anything] or wrong based on what [if any] proof). His message is posted here for whatever information someone else may be able to glean from it in order to find sources to support the statements made therein:

Subject: Benjamin Harris (1725 - 1774) Harris-8794

Your 17 Mar comment about the DAR Applications is misleading as are all of these DAR Applications that they accepted before 1970 when they did not require proof of lineage for each generation. They all named Benjamin Harris 1732-1812, son of Robert Harris and Mourning Glenn, as the father of Absalom Harris The local DAR chapter even erected monuments for Benjamin, Absalom and his brother in law Jacob Jeter. What these applications had done is to take the name, dates of birth and death and service record of an entirely unrelated Benjamin Harris and added it as the father of Absalom Harris. Even the service record for Absalom was invented as he never was a lieutenant in the Virginia regiment but only an ensign in the Greenville County VA militia during the Revolutionary War and supplied guns and meat to the cause. These applications stated that Absalom enlisted in the regiment of his father Benjamin Harris at age 20. The birth date of Absalom from his published Family Bible was in 1752 so he enlisted in 1772, three years before the war started into a regiment that did not exist until the war. This line was blocked for further applications when it was learned that Absalom's father Benjamin Harris had actually died in 1774 in Southampton County , VA, a year before the war even started. The local Hancock Co., GA DAR chapter is taking down the monument for Benjamin Harris and leaving the one for Absalom, though the record of his service is now changed. These old DAR Applications are not accepted as proof of lineage by any genealogical society, not even the DAR or SAR. They sure weren't when I got into the SAR in 1972.

There have never been any proof of parents for this Benjamin Harris 1725-1774. Boddie and Robert Harris who copied Boddie's claim stated that this Benjamin Harris was the son of Henry Harris and Mary Drew which is proven false by their Family Bible in my possession that lists no son named Benjamin. He also could not have been the son of John Harris and Mary Drew who lived all of their lives on the same land in Isle of Wight that became Southampton in 1749, where John Harris died in 1764 naming all of their 6 children in his Will that did not list any son named Benjamin. Southampton Will Bk 2, pg 108. It did name a son Nathan that Henry Harris and Mary Drew sold his 1727 patent of 280 acres to in 1772 when they moved to North Carolina. All SIX of the children of John Harris and Mary Drew are those that are named as grandchildren in the 1745 Will of Edward Drew, that does not include any grandson named Benjamin. Unless someone can find a living direct male Harris descendants of this Benjamin Harris d1774, to take a FTDNA yDNA test, there is no proof of who his parents may be. FYI, there are at least four unrelated lines of Harris in Isle of Wight, proven by FTDNA as being distinct lines, while there is no evidence to support that this Benjamin Harris d1774 was actually born in Isle of Wight. All other trees on the web site his birth in some other county.

Elizabeth Russo retracts her statements as to the children of Henry Harris and Mary Drew. She had combined this Henry Harris with the one that died in Southampton in 1791 that married a Mary Parker Drew, widow of Jeremiah Drew. in 1786 so she gave Henry Harris and Mary Drew the siblings of this unrelated Henry Harris who married a Mary Parker Drew.

There is absolutely nothing in the 1791 Will of Henry Harris that names his parents or those of his siblings. IT IS ONLY AN ASSUMPTION THAT THE BROTHER BENJAMIN HE NAMES IS THE BENJAMIN HARRIS D1774. There is absolutely no relationship of this Henry Harris d1791 to any DREW, only to his wife Mary Parker and her 1st husband Jeremiah Drew by whom she had six Drew children. Hope this helps.

Tom King

Sources

1. ↑ Harris-16283 was created by David Cooley through the import of David Cooley_2015-06-05.wikitree.ged on Jun 5, 2015. This comment and citation can be deleted after the biography has been edited and primary sources are included.
2. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: SAR Membership Number: 80333
3. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: SAR Membership Number: 72276
4. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: SAR Membership Number: 72279
5. ↑ Source: #S137
6. ↑ Source: #S139
7. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: Volume: 186; SAR Membership Number: 37151
8. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: Volume: 216; SAR Membership Number: 43029
9. ↑ Source: #S127
10. ↑ Source: #S138
11. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: SAR Membership Number: 80333
12. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: SAR Membership Number: 72276
13. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: SAR Membership Number: 72279
14. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: Volume: 186; SAR Membership Number: 37151
15. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: Volume: 216; SAR Membership Number: 43029
16. ↑ Source: #S127
17. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: SAR Membership Number: 80333
18. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: SAR Membership Number: 72276
19. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: SAR Membership Number: 72279
20. ↑ Source: #S137
21. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: Volume: 186; SAR Membership Number: 37151
22. ↑ Source: #S74 Page: Volume: 216; SAR Membership Number: 43029
23. ↑ Source: #S127
24. ↑ Source: #S138
25. ↑ Source: #S137
26. ↑ Source: #S127

• Source: S127 Author: Ancestry.com Title: U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; Repository: #R1
• Repository: R1 Name: Ancestry.com Address: http://www.Ancestry.com E-Mail Address: Phone Number:
• Source: S137 Author: Ancestry.com Title: U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; Repository: #R1
• Source: S138 Author: Ancestry.com Title: Virginia, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1607-1890 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 1999; Repository: #R1
• Source: S139 Author: Ancestry.com Title: Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011; Repository: #R1
• Source: S74 Author: Ancestry.com Title: U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011; Repository: #R1