Harlan Record Spring 2002

Still Time To Register For June's Harlan Family Reunion
Thought it was too late? Haven't heard about it? Don't panic!

We're holding a spot for you and your family for "Celebration 315", commemorating the 1687 arrival of the Harlan Family in America on the shores of Delaware. The four-day affair will be held June 27-30, 2002, in Wilmington, Delaware.

Great News! Thanks to generous donations, we have made your family reunion family-friendly with very reasonable prices and lots of fun for all ages.

Highlights include:
o a spacious, comfortable hospitality room with refreshments, displays, the Harlan Store and more;
o a complimentary Thursday evening reception;
o free bus tours of Harlan sites in the gorgeous Brandywine Valley (seating limited);
o a Friday afternoon picnic with lots of good foods, games, rides, sports, swimming, a family talent show and more;
o informative workshops;
o time to tour historic and fun attractions in the Philadelphia region;
o a Saturday night banquet featuring Dan Harlan's short play, "Some Uncommon Kin";
o a special Sunday Quaker Meeting; and more!
o a Sunday Brunch.

Sounds fabulous?
A registration kit is easy to get, and you can look it over with no obligation. Just e-mail a request to Ruth Harlan Lamb at [email protected] or write to The Harlan Family in America at P.O. Box 1654, Independence, MO 64055. (If you already have a registration form, please fill it out and return it at your earliest convenience.)

The Doubletree Hotel in Wilmington (302-478-6000) will be Reunion headquarters and is the location of the opening reception and Saturday evening banquet. When you book your rooms, be sure to mention that you are with the Harlan Reunion. If we meet our room goal at the Doubletree, we'll receive a break on expenses. The block of rooms for Harlans will only be held until June 3.

Please do us a favor by telling your Harlan relatives about the reunion and encourage them to join you for the most pleasant, fun time you've had in a long, long time.

Sue writes that, "We always suggest that folks e-mail or call us to see if we have what they want on hand." Their e-mail address is: [email protected]. "We usually have lots of clothing in our home, but it isn't always the right size or color the customer wants. We usually do two big orders a year, around Christmas and prior to summer reunions. We give ten percent of our sales to the Family as a donation.

"This past year, sales have been very low. We have always tried to have quality products at a good price. We have decided that after the 2002 Reunion we will be closing The Store. Hopefully, before closing, we will be able to take care of all your needs and have your family dressed for the occasion. We have patriotic colors that we have been using, even prior to Sept. 11. "It has been enjoyable. The best part is meeting Harlan family all over the country. The challenge has been trying to decide the sizes of items to keep in stock."

The venture has always been financed completely by Jim and Sue. They have money tied in inventory, and they suggest that anyone trying such a venture should keep a very minimum of inventory instead of trying to have items on hand that you believe people will want.

"We have taken ideas from folks-items they were sure we would sell. Some had to be purchased in large numbers, and we sold very few. So we still have a lot of pins, patches and prints on hand," Sue said. Items sold through the store must have a definite Harlan connection, and some proceeds must go to the organization. Since the store was begun as part of the 300th Reunion, anyone who wants to sell items must obtain permission from the organization.

Jim and Sue have five children, nine living grandchildren and a great grandson. They had the largest group at the 1987 reunion, from Jim's parents, aunts, and cousins, to their children and their families, including the youngest child, Maureen Dugan.

Did you know the first issue of The Harlan Record has a preview of Alpheus Harlan's work?

Volume I, Number I, of The Harlan Record was published in St. Louis December 1, 1901. Under the title is the sentence: "Published in the Interest of the Harlans and Their Friends."

On page one of this Harlan newspaper is a short article about Alpheus H. Harlan (#4816), the faithful compiler of the Green Book (or red or tan, depending upon the publishing date), entitled History and Genealogy of the Harlan Family and in smaller print-And Particularly of the Descendants of George and Michael Harlan who Settled in Chester County, Pa., 1687.

Copying from this one hundred-and-one-year-old newspaper article about Alpheus we read:

Volunteers Wanted
If you would like to serve The Harlan Family of America in some capacity, please let us know. Eventually there will be vacancies on the board or on the Web site committee, so let us hear from you.

Please send your name and contact information, along with an explanation of your interest, to: The Harlan Family in America P. O. Box 1654 Independence, MO 64055.

Sir Edward Harland Honored with Plaque
Sir Reginald Harland CBE unveiled a plaque to honor Sir Edward Harland in Scarborough, Yorkshire, U.K., on December 4. Family members and officials from Scarborough Council attended the ceremony which was held at the house of Sir Edward's father, Dr. William Harland, whose family lived in the house in the 1840s.

Sir Edward was a founder of the Belfast shipbuilding company, Harland & Wolff, builders of the Titanic.

To the Harlan Record from Linda Przybyszewski
Associate Professor, P.O. Box 210373, History Department, Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

I noticed the article on Malvina Harlan's memoirs in your latest Harlan Record. You will be pleased to know that the memoirs will be reprinted by the Modern Library, a division of Random House, May 7, 2002.

I'm forwarding a quote, sent by the publishers, by Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer-prize winning author of Vera (Mrs. Vladimi Nabokov):

"I'm pleased to share this advance quote for Some Memories: 'Malvina Harlan's are the observations you wish they wouldn't leave out of history books. A charming slice of domestic-and national- history, worth the price of admission for the story of the disappearing Dred Scott inkstand alone. Mrs. Harlan was one wise woman.'"

Review of Linda Przybyszewski, The Republic According to John Marshall Harlan (Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1999), by Stanley N. Katz, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University: "Linda Przybyszewski's volume on 'the first Justice Harlan,' John Marshall Harlan (1833-1911), deserves a place on the library shelf that holds the finest recent examples of the genre: Gerald Gunther's Learned Hand, Andrew Kaufman's Benjamin Cardozo or, a little further back, R. Kent Newmyer's Joseph Story. I could name other candidates, but I want to make clear that Przybyszewski belongs on this special shelf.

"Or does it? I could make the argument that the Przybyszewski volume deserves a shelf all to itself, since it is such a wonderfully innovative approach to judicial (and especially United States Supreme Court) biography."

The Story of Murillo & Jim Bob as told by Ralph D. Reynolds
After the death of Murillo Elizabeth Harlan Smith, a former member of the Harlan Ninety Plus Club, an interesting story of her life surfaced.

Murillo's father, James Henry Harlan (#6058), was born in 1839 and served in the Civil War with Hood's Alabama Brigade, fighting in eight major battles, never wounded. He fought against Captain Arthur MacArthur, General Douglas MacArthur's father, at the Battle of Missionary Ridge. Captain Arthur MacArthur was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his action that day. James Henry played dead until dark, and then ran away to fight another day.

James and his first wife, Sarah, had nine children. The family moved to Texas in 1883 and attended the Blue Ridge Baptist Church in Reagan. The church organized in 1859 on land donated by George Harlan (#2405).

In 1897, Sarah died, and James later married Williean Spurgeon Mathews in 1902. Williean had a daughter by a previous marriage, and in the 1918 flu epidemic, both the daughter and Williean died, leaving five children from the second marriage, one of whom was Murillo, born in 1908.

A HARLAN FAMILY JOURNEY by Cynthia Rhoades, Hagerstown, Indiana

In looking for clues on the migration route of Aaron #41 and his family, I found a list of early tax records (1755) for Orange County, N.C., which included Aaron Harling; Valentine Hollingsworth, Aaron's father-in-law and father of Sarah Hollingsworth; as well as Joseph, Steven and Thomas Howard, names that appear frequently with the Harlans as they moved from place to place.

The history of Union County, S.C., tells that relocation to South Carolina started around 1751, encouraged by the availability of free frontier land. The Treaty of 1755 between South Carolina Governor James Glen and Old Hop (the principal Cherokee chief) accelerated this migration.

Among the early Union County settlers were English Quakers and Baptists. The Quakers established two churches: Padgett's Creek and Cane Creek. Some of these early Quaker families included the Gists and Hollingsworths. Many Union County Quakers left between 1800 and 1810, moving on to Ohio and Indiana because they objected to the large-scale slavery being developed in the area.

A group of Separate Baptists arrived in Union County from North Carolina and settled on the Broad River in 1759. In 1762 the congregation moved up Fairforest Creek to Dining Creek, in southwestern Union County. This Fairforest Baptist Church was the first Baptist church in the South Carolina up-country. Families in this group included Phillip Mulkey, Obediah and Stephen Howard, Benjamin Gist and others.

Aaron Harlin is listed as a resident of the "Old 96th District" in South Carolina in 1779, in records compiled as a type of census. The Old 96th District, created from parts of the original seven judicial districts, included Union County, which wasn't created until 1798.

We now have new information about the date of Aaron's death in Union District, S.C., in November, 1796, based on Letters of Administration of the estate of Aaron Harlan. Aaron's estate was administered by three of his sons: Samuel #195, George #197 and Jacob #198. The list of Aaron's estate includes two tracts of land to be sold, one with 205 acres and the other with 183. Besides the animals and farm equipment, the household goods were also listed. >From that, one must presume Sarah had preceded Aaron in death. Alpheus Harlan's History and Genealogy of the Harlan Family confirms this, although no date is given. Sarah reportedly died in Laurens District, part of the "Old 96th District."

We know that Aaron's son, James #199, and his wife, Edith Howard, left South Carolina in 1799 with their six children, which included Valentine #736, Elihu #737, Joshua #738, John #739, Jacob #740 and Nathan #741. They traveled first to the area of Pigeon Creek, Tenn., staying for about a year, then moving on to what was then Barren County, Ky., but in 1820, became part of Monroe County.

According to the meeting minutes, a church called Mill Creek Baptist Church, or Old Mulkey Meeting House, had been established in 1798. A small band of pioneer Baptists from North and South Carolina established the church led by Phillip Mulkey. John Mulkey was the first preacher of record. Among its members were James Harlan and his wife, who joined the church in March of 1800, as well as Gists and Howards and other Harlans.

Old Mulkey Meeting House is now a State Historic Site and is located near the town of Tompkinsville, Ky., close to the Tennessee state line. The current building was built in 1804, during a period of religious revival.

By 1809, a large congregation worshipped in the log meeting house. A controversy arose over the teachings of John Mulkey, leading to several heresy trials. Failing to gain a majority vote against him, the church decided to "choose sides." The majority who believed as Mulkey did continued to worship in the church, which became known as "Old Mulkey." The other congregation built the Second Mill Creek Baptist Church.

A copy of the land grant to James Harlan, for 135 acres in Barren County, dated January 1804, indicates James purchased land in 1804. The grant states that one boundary of the parcel is the east fork of the Big Barren River, and another boundary starts at a white oak tree on John Mulkey's line. That property boundary is one more link or proof that James was living in Kentucky prior to his journey on to Indiana.

He is also listed on the 1810 Federal Census in Barren County, along with his wife and nine children, six males and three females. By 1810, James #742, Edith #743, Polly #744, and Anna #745 had all been born and were part of the family. Since James' son Valentine was 23 by then, we can presume he was no longer living at home.

According to the history of the Harlan Family, James and his family lived in Barren County until 1817, when they moved to Darke County, Ohio, where James and Edith lived until their deaths. James is actually credited with settling the town of Bethel, Ind., in 1817, across the state line from Darke County, Ohio. The town was actually called Crossroads until 1844, when it was renamed Bethel after the Bethel Christian Church, established in 1827.

In the meantime, James' son, John #739, had moved to Union County, Ind, circa 1813-1815. There are two land entries for a John Harlan. One is dated April, 1813, and the other is March, 1815, but the actual copies of those land entries have not been confirmed. What is certain is that John married Catherine Brown Harlan on October 13, 1815, by James Lewiston, the Justice of the Peace in Franklin County, Ind. Franklin County is just south of Union County.

John and Catherine appear to have bought and sold a lot of land while they lived in Union County with the last parcel being sold in May of 1851. >From there they moved to Iowa, where they lived the rest of their lives. (Several from my line had the opportunity to visit the Iowa grave site during the 1987 Harlan Reunion, thanks to one member.)

John and Catherine's son, George #2508, was born in Union County, Ind., in 1818, just two years after Indiana became a state. George married Malinda Stevens in Union County in November of 1841. They raised ten children and remained in Union County their entire lives.

One interesting note is that George was elected a trustee of the Brownsville Christian Church in 1846. Somewhere along the line, the family became members of the Christian Church, as George's grandfather was also credited with establishing a Christian Church in Bethel, Ind. The 1860 Indiana census lists George as a farmer with property valued at $12,000 and personal property worth $2,000. Contrary to what the History and Genealogy of the Harlan Family reports, George died on July 26, 1903, and Malinda died October 27, 1904.

Their son and my great-grandfather, John Franklin #6326, was born in 1844. He is the last of my direct line to be listed in the History and Genealogy of the Harlan Family. I think the value of my efforts in both Warren County and Clark County is that they illustrate how the genealogy book really only tells part of the story. There is no substitute for going to the scene and checking out other resources to get a more complete picture of what our ancestors were up to. Information that might not have been important to Alpheus in 1914, or that might have been thought boastful or scandalous, may not appear that way at all today.

Editor's Note

You are welcome to submit family stories for publication in The Harlan Record. Please accept our apologies ahead of time if we have to cut a story for the sake of space.

If you feel strongly that we have out left something important, you can resubmit it for a future issue. We may occasionally run a story in installments.

Send stories to C.J. King [email protected]

Harlans Have Native America Connection

Some Harlan kin are members of the Omaha Tribe, located on a reservation outside the city of Omaha, Neb. Major T. L. Harlan relates that "we produced the first female Indian Doctor," and several of our kinsmen are members of the Tribe, including Joe Harlan, Sr., who is quite active in social events.

For anyone wanting to connect their Native American roots to Alpheus Harlan's genealogy, the early 1800s U. S. Census in Nebraska showed Indian Harlans in Omaha. In 1892, about a dozen Harlans were living on the Reservation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau records, copies of which are available from the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Echoes of Andersonville - Part One By Edward Harlan Wynn, Contributing Editor

By the winter of 1863-64, the Confederacy was near the last of its resources and manpower. Knowing this, Union General Ulysses S. Grant refused to continue the prisoner-exchange agreement that had been in operation during most of the war. This action cut down on the number of Confederate soldiers Grant's army would have to face in the coming campaign, but it also meant death to a great number of Union prisoners who would otherwise have been exchanged.

The concentration of war prisoners in Richmond, Va., drained the local food supply and was a source of danger should the Yankees attack. To relieve the burden, a new prison site was selected in the heart of Georgia, near the village of Andersonville, in Sumter County. The prison was officially named Camp Sumter.

When the first prisoners arrived in late February, 1864, they found 16.5 acres of open land enclosed by a 15-foot-tall stockade. The not-yet-completed prison provided little in the way of housing, clothing, or medical care. The only fresh water was a stream that flowed through the prison yard, with the downstream end serving as the camp latrine.

During the next few months, 400 more prisoners arrived each day, and in June the prison was expanded to 26 acres. By then, there were 26,000 men enclosed in an area intended to hold 10,000. By August, the prison contained more than 32,000 Union prisoners.

Conditions at Andersonville were worse than at any other war prison, North or South. The Georgia heat, along with disease, filth, exposure, and lack of adequate medical care, took a fearful toll.

In September 1864, General William T. Sherman's Union army captured Atlanta and brought its cavalry within reach of Andersonville. The Confederacy relocated surviving prisoners to other camps, and Camp Sumter operated as a smaller facility for the rest of the war. But the summer had taken a terrible toll: of the 45,000 Union soldiers confined at Camp Sumter, 13,000 died, including several Harlan men.

Wilbur Fisk Massey (#6787, son of Matilda Harlan #2712) was a fair complexioned 27-year-old teacher with blue eyes and light hair when he enlisted as a Private in Company D, 111th Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He enlisted in Xenia, Ill., on August 11, 1862, for a period of three years. On November 5, 1863, he was reported missing in an action against a guerrilla force at Gravel Springs, Ala.

Confederate records listed him on December 3, 1863, as a prisoner of war confined at Richmond, Va. He was sent to the prison camp at Andersonville in February, 1864, and was reported confined there on March 25. On May 15, 1864, he was admitted to the Hospital at Andersonville, where he died on May 28 of diarrhea, according to the Prisoner of War Records housed in the National Archives. The list of interments at Andersonville indicates that Wilbur is buried in Grave #1428.

Another young Illinois man, James C. Harlan (#6959), son of Jehu (#2751) and Rachel Sutton, was only 19 years old at the time of his enlistment in the Union army. His home was in Table Grove, Ill., where he farmed. At the time of his enlistment he was described as 5 feet 9 inches tall with a fair complexion, gray eyes and brown hair.

James was a farm boy who provided his own horse and horse-related equipment when he signed up as a Private in Company L, 7th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry. For a time he served as the Blacksmith for his unit, for which he received an additional .40 per day.

On October 11, 1863, during a charge near Collierville, Tenn., his horse was shot, and he was captured. Records reflect that he was confined in Richmond, Va. On March 21, 1864, he was sent to the prison camp at Andersonville. He was admitted to the hospital at Andersonville on July 22, 1864, where he died on August 24. The cause of James' death is listed as "Scorbutus" in existing records. James is buried in grave #6684. (To be continued in next issue)

Liz Harlan Sly found a post card in her belongings. It is a picture of Edward Harlan Stever, aged one year, and was addressed to Liz's grandfather, George W. Harlan, 244 St. Charles, Atlanta, Ga., who lived at this address in the early 1900s. The card was unstamped and probably not mailed.

The card has a photographer's identification: "Reid Studio, Ottumwa, Iowa." The message is: "This is Harlan at a year. It's fine of him except his hair. It is curly but after he wears his hood a while, it looks stringy … We are all well and busy. Expecting to spend New Years with Eula …"

The signature is "Lillie B. Stever, Batavia, Iowa." Liz will be happy to send this picture to a descendant. Her address is 18 Ravine Drive, Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677, or you may contact her at [email protected]

The 115th annual May Day Singing will be held at the Blue Ridge Baptist Church on Sunday, May 5. The church is located about 40 miles southeast of Waco on FM-1771. The church was organized in 1859 on land donated by George Harlan (#2405) which was granted to his father from Mexico, and the cemetery is filled with Harlan descendants and spouses. There will be singing from 10:00 until noon, followed by a covered dish lunch. Singing will then continue until 3:00pm. For information, contact: J. R. Hunnicutt - 254-587-2259 The Richardsons - 254-587-2210 Robert Powers - 254-662-4792

Restoring Historical Harlan Buildings

• The Monterey County (CA) Historical Society is in the process of restoring the former home of Benjamin Caleb Harlan (#9335) in Salinas. The 1890s house is historic since it is one of the early examples of a collaboration between an owner, builder and architect. It has classic examples of a master carpenter’s craft and early prefabricated parts. The Society is seeking any photographs of the house to assist in the restoration, as well as photos of Benjamin and his family. The house was saved from demolition in 1989 and was moved to the Boronda Adobe History Center. Anyone with photos or information can contact the executive director of the Historical Society at [email protected].

• The city of Marshall, Iowa, has purchased an opera house built in 1871 and named Harlan Hall for its builder, Howard Harlan (#2262). The hall has recently been added to the National Register of Historic Places. Howard was a businessman, builder, owner of the Sherman House hotel and a brick livery stable with the opera hall above. The city of Marshall plans to make the hall into a community center, with a theater upstairs. They intend to have a small museum above the hall, housed on an original balcony, and perhaps an interpretive center about the heritage of the National Road. If anyone would like a tour of Harlan Hall to see the work in progress, contact the secretary of the City of Marshall, Iowa, at 217-826-8087, Monday-Friday.

Welcome to a New 90-Plus Member

Lulu M. Harlan Horning is the newest member of the Ninety-Plus Club. She was born in May, 1906, and lives in Illinois.

2002 Harlan Family Reunion Talent Show and Volunteer Band

Are you coming to the Harlan Reunion in the Brandywine Valley June 27-30? Do you have a performing talent you’d share at the Friday afternoon Talent Show? Then step right up and let us know! Contact Junior Harlan at mailto:JFDMHarlan@%20aol.comor write him at 6218 E. Betty Elyse Lane, Scottsdale, AZ 85254, and give him the details. ALSO . . . VOLUNTEER BAND at the BRANDYWINE PICNIC PARK If you play a guitar, violin, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, harmonica, or whatever, please contact Junior Harlan (see above for address). Perhaps a family band can play at the Picnic Park sometime on Friday.

Become a Harlan Family 2002 Reunion Patron

You are invited to become a Reunion Patron and help support the 2002 national meeting of Harlans in Delaware/Pennsylvania from June 2730, celebrating our Harlan heritage. Contributions of any size are welcome and will help defray expenses associated with the gathering. Names of Reunion Patrons will appear in the Commemorative Reunion Program. All donations go directly to the costs of rentals, printing, postage, and other related expenses. (Officers and board members pay their own expenses to planning sessions and board meetings.) Your faithful support for both The Harlan Family in America organization and the 2002 Reunion is deeply appreciated. Checks, designated for the 2002 Reunion, may be mailed to The Harlan Family in America, P. O. Box 1654, Independence, MO 64055, and designate “2002 Reunion.” Thank you.

The Harlan Family in America is sending its newsletter, The Harlan Record, and other Harlan-related material to those interested in the organization and its mission.

If you do not wish to receive mailings of The Harlan Record and future reunion notices, kindly return this form to The Harlan Family in America P. O. Box 1654 - Independence, MO 64055

or e-mail your request for discontinuation to Ruth Harlan Lamb at [email protected]
Thank you.

City, State, Zip_________________________________________________________________

Harlan Record No. 19, Fall 2001	Harlan Record No. 18, Spring 2001
Harlan Record No. 17, Fall 2000	Harlan Record No. 16, Spring 2000
Harlan Record No. 15. Fall 1999	Harlan Record No. 14, Spring 1999
Harlan Record No. 13, Winter 1998	Harlan Record No. 12, Summer 1997