Hi, all, Been off this list for a time ordering new records for the descendants of Benjamin (d. 1762) & Sarah Dumas Harris (d. 1780), Hanover Co., VA, and am just now gathering together all of the information on all of the numerous descendants of Obediah Harris (1741-1830, the oldest child of Benjamin & Sarah Dumas Harris) and Rebecca Johnson Harris (1742- 1801, the daughter of David & Mary Woody Johnson.) (This family traces to Harris DNA Group 6.) It may take me some time to compile all the descendants of Benjamin & Sarah, but I will be communicating further information on their lines. Pam

In response to the query cited below. Unfortunately, most of the pre-Civil War records of Hanover Co. VA have been burned at the end of Civil; War during the *evacuation fire* at the wharves set by the Confederates as Richmond was being taken over by the Union forces.  The fires reached the Archives where the Hanover (and other counties) records had been moved for *safekeeping*.  (Source:  Robert Young Clay, now deceased archivist at LVA, in a lecture for a Richmond conference of Rose family, as I remember.) However, my recent discovery is that familysearch.org has digitized the vestry book for colonial Hanover Co.  It is about 600 pages, and there is an index--but, as you know because of your librarian training--the index is at the very end.  The author is C. Chamberlayne.  Go to the FHL catalog website and either do an author search or a place search (Hanover) Everyone, unless excused by the vestry, had to pay tithes to the Anglican church, and the church had many civic duties besides the payment of tithes.  It was the welfare dept., the processing body, etc.  Until after the American Revolution, an LVA archivist said, The Anglican church was the official church of Virginia. (same source:  Robert Young Clay) Louisa Co. was formed from Hanover Co., and Mrs. Rosalie Edith Davis of near St. Louis MO transcribed many of those Louisa Co. early records, including for Fredericksville Parish.  (I wonder if these booklets, inexpensive but thorough, are held by the Library of Congress, which has a vast genealogical library.) Rosalie Edith Davis of or near Manchester, Mo, some years ago transcribed some of the few remaining court records of Hanover Co., but her website no longer responds to e-mails.  However, some Davis heir, it seems, has taken over, but I do not know the URL.  Someone sent it to me, but I have lost that address.  Maybe google.com can help.  If not, call the St. Louis, MO county library [not city of St. Louis] and ask if they have the current URL for Mrs. Davis.  Talk to the genealogy section which handles the NGS library holdings now. In between medical appointments (or telephone calls to medical personnel) I will be sending info on unorganized info I have of early Harrises of New Kent, Hanover, and Louisa Cos, VA.  My typing has slowed down because of chemotherapy treatments causing neuropathy in my right hand.  Doctor has given me a ray of hope, however--so we will see. Do not overlook the VA land patents of Harrises in the right place at the right time--and the land patents of their neighbors (cluster genealogy--as these folks clustered together, even in migrating). Books entitled Cavaliers and Pioneers will help immensely, but the Library of Virginia has digitized what earlier had been the LVA card catalog for VA land patents.  The earliest volumes of C&P by Nell Marion Nugent may be at your local library.  Check the online catalog and learn what is available locally. Use search engine google.com for Library of Virginia to get current URL for their website.  Then when the alpha index for LVA appears, check the L list for Land records including the words *Northern Neck Land Grants* [the Fairfax proprietary]. The colonial land records will be way at the end, as the newest ones [even in the 21st century] appear first.  I like the Cavaliers and Pioneers books [8 volumes now, the last five published in the last decade or so by the The Virginia Genealogical Society] as they have indexes for place names and watercourse names.  Unlike New Englanders, our Virginia ancestors lived on isolated plantations and not in villages.  Living styles were different in the south--probably a root cause for the un-Civil War. The other night, while watching the kinda boring boob-tube, I searched the patents in C&P for Elk Creek in or near colonial Hanover Co. (or was it New Kent Co?)  I found a William Harris and neighbors, but I think an article in a long-ago Virginia Genealogist stated that this William Harris, associated with an Alves family, was NOT of the same William Harris whose wife is said to be Temperance Overton.  (Why genealogy is so challenging!) Search the familyhistory.org link to the library catalog for the surname Overton.  While there may be errors, there are enough clues that one may use these Overton clues as springboards for further (challenging) research. I think FHL in SLC may have digitized the Overton genealogy by an author named Anderson.  Remember--colonial VA marriages generally occurred among neighbors.  Transportation was generally by water.  A lot of Virginia below the *fall* line was swampy, infested by animals and native Americans, etc.  Tobacco barrels [hogsheads?] were generally rolled to the nearest navigable watercourse.  E.W.Wallace ________________________________ From: Pam Stone <pamstone@cfl.rr.com> To: harris-hunters@rootsweb.com Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2012 6:35 PM Subject: Re: [HARRIS-HUNTERS] Benjamin Harrises Hi, all, Been off this list for a time ordering new records for the descendants of Benjamin (d. 1762) & Sarah Dumas Harris (d. 1780), Hanover Co., VA, and am just now gathering together all of the information on all of the numerous descendants of Obediah Harris (1741-1830, the oldest  child of Benjamin & Sarah Dumas Harris) and Rebecca Johnson Harris (1742- 1801, the daughter of David & Mary Woody Johnson.) (This family traces to Harris DNA Group 6.) It may take me some time to compile all the descendants of Benjamin & Sarah, but I will be communicating further information on their lines. Pam ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to HARRIS-HUNTERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

-----Original Message----- From: Pam Stone <pamstone@cfl.rr.com> To: harris-hunters <harris-hunters@rootsweb.com> Sent: Mon, Jul 23, 2012 12:52 pm Subject: Re: [HARRIS-HUNTERS] Benjamin Harrises Hi, all, Been off this list for a time ordering new records for the descendants of Benjamin (d. 1762) & Sarah Dumas Harris (d. 1780), Hanover Co., VA, and am just now gathering together all of the information on all of the numerous descendants of Obediah Harris (1741-1830, the oldest child of Benjamin & Sarah Dumas Harris) and Rebecca Johnson Harris (1742- 1801, the daughter of David & Mary Woody Johnson.) (This family traces to Harris DNA Group 6.) It may take me some time to compile all the descendants of Benjamin & Sarah, but I will be communicating further information on their lines. Pam ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to HARRIS-HUNTERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message