Abner Harris was born before 1768[1] in Halifax County, North Carolina[2] to Elias and Silva (Chambliss) Harris.[3] He married Mary Pritchett in 1789 in Halifax County, North Carolina.[4][5]
It appears that Abner and his family moved to Tennessee with his mother and step-father around 1797. Abner and Mary's daughter Susannah was born in 1797. The 1850 census shows Susannah as born in North Carolina, although the 1880 census for William Martin, her son, shows Tennessee.[6]
Abner's mother Silva had re-married after his father's death. In September 1797, Colonel John Hargrove and his wife, formerly widow of Elias Harris, "sold the estate in Halifax Co, NC...the deed states that [they] were preparing to depart for the western country."[7] John Hargrove's brother, William, had received a land grant in Davidson County, Tennessee for his services in the Revolutionary War. John Hargrove died shortly after the move to Tennessee, as his inventory was returned at Davidson County in January 1799. Both Abner and his Mother Silvah purchased items at the 1801 sale.
In 1807 he was appointed guardian of John Pritchard, which continued for
several years.[8]
Abner Harris is listed as a Montgomery County Justice of the Peace in 1813.[9]
Daughter Susannah married in Montgomery County, Tennessee in 1818.
Abner was a Presbyterian:
The Chronicle, of May 24, 1819, announced, "The Rev. Wm. Stewart, of the Presbyterian professions, will preach in Clarksville, on Monday, the 31st inst. and at the house of Abner Harris, on M'Adoe [McAdoo], the evening of that day." Stewart was active in Christian County, Kentucky, and would return to Clarksville several times. Harris became a ruling elder when the Presbyterians organized in 1822.[10]
From "The Montgomery County (Tenn) Genealogical Journal," Volume IX, September 1979, No 1),[11] page 12:
He was an elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Clarksville where he and his wife, Mary, were organizing members in 1822.
Abner Harris died in 1826 in Montgomery County, Tennessee.[8][12]
The three youngest sons Abner, Sampson and Jessee, all under age 21.
Daughter Caty was also mentioned as being under age.
Alexander M. Rogers, Arthur Harris, Joseph John Harris and Wllliam Hust were executors.
The will provided that at the death of Mary Harris, the residue of the estate was to be sold and the proceeds divided equally among all the children. While no death date has been found for Mary Harris, she apparently died about 1828 when Arthur Harris was appointed guardian of Jessee R. Harris, a minor. The following persons subsequently sold all their right and title to the real and personal estate of Abner Harris to Arthur Harris for $50.00:
Elijah Martin 3 January 1829
John Duke of Wayne County, Tennessee 20 September 1828
William Hust 19 June 1829
Joseph John Harris 21 February 1828
Samuel Rogers of Dickson County, Tennessee 7 October 1828
Sampson Harris 26 October 1829
Abner Harris 27 February 1829
Jessee Reed Harris 11 February 1835
William Martin (also signed by Susannah Martin) 17 March 1828
Harris DNA Project: Harris DNA Results (archive.org link - 2011 capture by the WayBack Machine, accessed 12 March 2021)
Research Notes
Leads
Genforum post: marriage of Mary Pritchett and John Abner Harris abt 1790; children possibly: Rebechah, Mary H, Elizabeth, Susannah, Arthur, Joseph John, Nancy, John Abner, Sampson, Catherine, and Jesse Read.
A Rootsweb tree: Harris/Pritchett marriage in 1789, Halifax County; children Rebeckah, Mary H, Elizabeth, Susannah, Arthur, Joseph John, Nancy, John Abner, Sampson, Catherine, and Jesse Read. (source apparently Broderbund World Family Tree). Note: Dead Rootsweb link removed January 2021. The page was not captured by archive.org's WayBack Machine. Could not find where Ancestry had moved the page to (apparently, it was one of the ones permanently deleted). Google Search with "rootsweb" unsuccessful but one with "Halifax" [halifax +harris +pritchett +marriage +1789] found
Marriage at USGenWeb: Harris, Abner to Mary Pritchett from "List of Marriage Licenses for Halifax Co NC, for year 1789, Certified by John Justice and W. Alston Jr."
1790 Census (Harris, John & Pritchett, Nicholas appear in the Google Results)
Gary Young of Washington, D.C. provides details about the family of Elias Harris on the Rootsweb page of Jesse Mason Lawrence Jr that also includes a transcript of Elias's will. Note: As of 28 January 2021, that page no longer includes the transcript [and was gone completely by 2023]. However, a transcription was found in a free online e-book (see images attached to Elias's profile - page one of three is here).
Harris Family Collection in UNC, Chapel Hill. If Rev. John Abner Harris, b 1861, is a descendant, the collection might be pertinent. Abstract: "The Harris family includes William Harris Senior, an Irish immigrant to North Carolina, and his son, Joshua. The collection includes a complete copy of family records kept by Joshua Harris, including a list of family marriages, 1830-1858, and deaths, 1832-1858, with ages....and scattered family papers of the Reverend John Abner Harris of western North Carolina, concerning the Harris, McLelland, Morrison, and Stevenson families of Iredell County, N.C., and the Harris family in Indiana and Pennsylvania...."
↑ transcript of father's will, posted on the Rootsweb page of Jesse Mason Lawrence Jr (as of 27 Jan. 2021, that page no longer includes a transcription of Elias's will) [as of 22 June 2023 the page was gone completely]
↑ If Abner was 21 when he married, he would have been born in 1768.
↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #73749437 for Susannah has Halifax County in 1797 (no sources or pictures; attribution given to "Notes from Mignon Herrin Alward" and text implies information is from Susannah's grandson Bob Hilderbrand)
↑ 8.08.18.2TMCGJ: "The Montgomery County [Tenn] Genealogical Journal, Vol. IX, No. 1 (Sept. 1979): pp 11-18. Abner Harris of Montgomery County, Tennessee, by Oveda Meier
↑pdf, Tennessee Montgomery County Genealogical Journal, Vol. 10, Issue 3
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Abner by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Abner: