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James Louis Harmon



The James Louis Harmon Family



by

Katherine McClure



Wilson Harmon was a farmer, probably a sharecropper. He apparently was a poor man, as we have found no evidence he ever owned land. He taught his children to work from an early age, as there was much work to be done and many mouths to feed. Wilson Harmon and his wife Elizabeth Endicott had sixteen children. James Louis was their fourth child and the second oldest son. He was born November 21,1856, in Indiana.

James Louis and his siblings may have spent part of their childhood years in Gibson County, Indiana, but by 1870 the family had moved to Gallatin County, Illinois. Records indicate that the Harmon family stayed in Illinois but a short time and returned to Indiana about 1874. Between 1875 and 1879, the family migrated from Indiana southward toward the Indiana Territory of present day Oklahoma. We believe the Harmon family joined a wagon train of other settlers moving south. James Louis seperated from his family during that journey and does not appear with them on the 1880 Boone County, Arkansas Census.

Oral family history relates that James Louis Harmon was traveling with a wagon train around 1880 and he passed through Cave City, in Independence County, Arkansas. James Louis had been taught by his mother to attend church when he could and to trust in God to take care of him. Upon arriving in Cave City, James Louis sought a church where he could worship the next Sunday morning. As he walked down the street looking for the church building, he saw a beautiful, black-haired,black-eyed girl who he thought was the loveliest thing he had ever set eyes on, and he thought to himself that he would like to marry her. James Louis, upon nearing the lovely maiden, tipped his hat in greeting, but the maiden was said to have stuck her nose into the air and barely glanced at him. That Sunday, James Louis attended church and again saw the beautiful maiden. After services ended the minister invited James Louis to his house for dinner. Imagine James Louis' surprise when he found that the lovely stuck up maiden was actually the daughter of the minister, J.H. Crow.

Martha Jane Crow, the seventh of twelve children born to John Henry Crow and Sarah Jane Rollins, is said by some family members to have been half cherokee, although this has not yet been proven. Martha Jane Crow was born June 16,1858, at Cave City, in Independence County, Arkansas. She and James Louis were married February 23,1881, in Independence County.

It has been said that James Louis and Martha Jane had a loving marriage, and that James Louis was mild-mannered and Martha Jane was fiery. There may have been something to that as it has been told that after their marriage James Louis liked to go dancing, but Martha Jane soon put a stop to it.

James Louis was a farmer. He and Martha Jane settled at Cave City, where four of their five children were born. About 1890, James Louis put the few meager family belongings into a wagon, hitched up his team of oxen and moved his family to Pope County, Arkansas, settling a few miles south of Tilly. There he homesteaded 160 acres of land and began building a house for his family.

Trees had to be cut for the logs for the house. While this was being done the family lived in their wagon. When completed, the log house was small, but adequate in size to hold the few primitive pieces of furniture the family possessed. A large fireplace was built at one end to provide heat and to be used for cooking. The house had a wooden floor. A log barn was built near the house for the livestock. Until a well could be dug, the water supply was a natural spring near the house. An outhouse (toilet) was built several yards from the house to serve the needs of the family.

After the house was built, it was time to begin clearning the land for tilling and planting. After the timber was cut, smaller stumps could be dug and pulled from the ground using a team of oxen, but the larger stumps often remained for several years. Corn was probably the first crop planted, as it was considered to be the most practical in new ground because of the difficulty in plowing and cultivating because of the many stumps. A portion of the corn was ground into meal for eating. As farms of that day were self-supporting, it is assumed that James Louis also raised such crops as wheat,which was ground into flour for bread making and baking;and hay,oats and rye to provide feed for the livestock. An orchard was also planted to provide fruit for the family. In the spring a large garden was always planted and the vegetables were canned or dried for the winter months. In addition to these crops, other kinds of crops were also grown on small plots to supplement the food supply and to sell or trade with neighbors or in town. James Louis taught his sons how to plant, plow, clear the land, build barns, and split rail fences, raise livestock, hunt, trap and do all the other things involved in farming and providing for a family.

James Louis and Martha Jane were strict but loving parents. They taught their children to work, beginning at an early age. Work on the farm usually began before daylight and often didn't end until sundown. James Louis' sons were no different than other boys their age, and spent considerable time figuring out ways to finish their work quickly. Sometimes they would get caught, however. One time James Louis had the boys plant beans between the stalks of corn in the garden, the beans could run up the corn stalks and not have to be stuck or poled. The boys wanted to go play, so after planting about half the corn rows with beans they threw the rest of the beans away and told their dad they were finished. Being children, they never realized they would have some explaining to do when the beans began sprouting in only half the rows of corn.

Martha Jane, meanwhile, was busy teaching the girls how to cook, clean, spin,weave, sew, make candles and soap, preserve food, and make a home. A flax patch was planted and maintained for use in making linen cloth. Wool was shorn from sheep and then picked and carded and spun into yarn for weaving or knitting. Cotton was carded and spun on the spinning wheel into thread for sewing and knitting. Only the wealthy could afford to buy material or clothing from a store. Every house had a spinning wheel and weaving loom that were used to make all manner of clothing for everyone in the household. Even rugs for the floors were made on the loom. Also found in every house was at least one huge iron kettle that was used for everything from doing the laundry, to making soap and rendering lard.

Many happy years went by in that log house built by James Louis for his family, but eventually the children grew up and married. The three sons settled near the old home place and the two daughters settled a short distance away with their husbands. The old house has been gone many years now, as has James Louis and Martha Jane,but the Harmon family lives on in their descendants through several generations. Martha Jane died October 26,1915, and is buried in Archie Valley Cemetery. James Louis followed her in death on April 4,1917 and took his place beside her in the cemetery.

  • Sarah Almeda Harmon
    Born: November 21,1881



  • Charles Sherman Harmon
    Born: April 2,1883



  • Oliver Schuyler Harmon
    Born: April 1,1885



  • Effie Ann Harmon
    Born: January 23,1887



  • William Listenbee "Willie" Harmon
    Born: September 28,1897





Generation 2


Sarah Almeda Harmon



Sarah Almeda Harmon was born November 21,1881, at Cave City, in Independence County, Arkansas; died March 23,1931, at Morrilton, in Conway County, Arkansas;married Richard Christopher Omar Walker on October 28,1895 in Yell County, Arkansas.

Richard Walker was born July 1877, in North Carolina, and died December 31,1914, in Conway County, Arkansas. He was the son of James Wesley Walker and the grandson of Buckner Walker and Salethy Freeland.



Richard Walker and Almeda Harmon's Children are



  • Martha Iva Walker
    Born: 1898
    Married: Joseph Lee Michau
    Died: 1971
    Mother of six children



  • Pearl Mae Walker
    Born: 1900
    Married: James Drew Blackhawk "Short" Dixon
    Died: 1974
    Mother of nine children



  • Anna Belle Walker
    Born: 1901
    Married: Paul Jordon
    Died: 1929
    No Children



  • Grover Lewis Walker
    Born: 1902
    Married: Lurlene Lloyd
    Died: 1988
    Two Children



  • Flossie Walker
    Born: 1904
    Married: Ben Baker
    Died: 1944
    One child



  • Charles Walker
    Born: 1906
    Married: Ola Garrison
    Died: ?
    Two children



  • Leoah Walker
    Born: 1909
    Married: Ralph Weatherton
    Died:1988
    One Child



  • Edna Jewel "Betty" Walker
    Born: 1911
    Married: Bill Collins
    Died: 1972
    No Children



    Generation 2



    Charles Sherman Harmon



    Charles Sherman Harmon was born April 2,1883, at Cave City, in Independence County, Arkansas; died December 19,1963 in Pope County, Arkansas; married (1)Allie Cossey on April 15,1909 in Searcy County, Arkansas, then married (2)Effie Emerson on September 9,1927 in Van Buren County, Arkansas.

    Allie Cossey was born December 25,1890, in Arkansas and died April 18,1926 in Pope County, Arkansas. Allie was the daughter of John and Lucinda Cossey.





    Allie and Sherman had four children



    • Roy Dolphus Harmon
      Born: 1910
      Married: Thelma Hamblin
      Two Children



    • Agnas Harmon
      Born: 1913
      Married: George Bradley
      Died: 1995
      No Children



    • Connie Harmon
      Born: 1921
      Married: Verlie Casto
      Four Children



    • Tempie Harmon
      Born: 1923
      Died: 1931



      After Allie's death, Sherman married Effie Emerson. Effie was born September 1896, in Arkansas and died in 1980.





      Effie and Sherman had two children



    • Reba Harmon
      Born: 1930
      Married: James Dewey Carr
      Four Children



    • Wavel Lewis Harmon
      Born: 1932

      Married: Frances Cunningham
      Died: 1997
      Two Children




      Generation 2



      Oliver Schuyler Harmon



      Oliver Schuyler Harmon was born April 1,1885, at Cave City, in Independence County, Arkansas; died May 17,1959, in Pope County, Arkansas. Married (1)Sarah Ann Bruce on September 28,1904, in Searcy County, Arkansas, then married (2) Mrs. Helen Chadwick on April 25,1936, in Van Buren County, Arkansas.

      Sarah Ann Bruce was born in 1888 and died June 23,1934. She was the daughter of J. Alfred Bruce and Cicero "Sis" Bridges. Sarah Ann and Schuyler had eleven children, but we have record of only eight of those children:





      • Lonnie Lewis Harmon
        Born: 1905
        Died: 1977
        Married: Frances Etta Lou Homer
        Six Children



      • Ola M. Harmon
        Born: 1908
        Married: (1)Claude Chadwick
        eleven children
        Married:(2)Doyle David
        Died 1994



      • Effie Harmon
        Born and Died: 1911



      • Arves Harmon
        Born: 1914
        Married: Leona Pack
        Six Children



      • Lloyd Andrew Harmon
        Born: 1916
        Married: Carrie S. Walker
        Died: 1996



      • Rhoda Belle Harmon
        Born and Died: 1918



      • Azalee Harmon
        Born: 1921
        Married (1) Herbert D. "Doc" Owen
        Three Children
        Married:(2) Gene Shumate after Herbert's death



      • Paul David Harmon
        Born and Died: 1926





        Generation 2



        Effie Ann Harmon



        Effie Ann Harmon was born January 23,1887, at Cave City in Independence County, Arkansas. She married William Horton.



        More about Effie Ann Harmon's Family





        Generation 2



        William Listenbee "Willie"Harmon



        William Listenbee "Willie" Harmon was born September 28,1897, at Tilly, in Pope County, Arkansas; died October 13,1973, at Dalton Georgia. He married Minnie Hibberts on September 15,1922, in Searcy County, Arkansas.

        Minnie Hibberts was born January 10,1899, in North Carolina and died February 5,1991, at Dalton Georgia. She was the daughter of Cornelius Bert Hibberts and Nancy Burger.



        Children of William Harmon and Minnie Hibberts



      • Infant Harmon
        Born and Died: 1923



      • Cleburne Vernon Harmon
        Born: 1924
        Married: Eula Reid
        One Child



      • Infant Harmon
        Born: 1925
        Died: 1926



      • Ida Belle Harmon
        Born: 1927
        Married: Edward Lee Ingle
        Four children



      • Bulah "Nancy" Harmon Born: abt. 1930
        Married: (1) Henry Carter
        Three children
        Married: (2) John Laurence





        Children of Wilson and Elizabeth (Endicott) Harmon






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