---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Warren B. Carah" _wcarah@livingonline.com_ (mailto:wcarah@livingonline.com) Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 09:04:36 -0400 Subject: John and Amiah Harris of VA, SC and Coffee Co., TN I have renewed my search for the origins of John and Amiah Harris of Coffee County, TN. John Harris was born between 1771 and 1780. No records have been located that point to where he was born, but it is likely it was in Virginia, North Carolina or South Carolina. He lived for an extended period in South Carolina as this is where most, if not all his children were born. He moved to Franklin county Tennessee sometime before the 1820 census. This is in the south-east part of Tennessee between Nashville and Chattanooga. He lived in that part of Franklin Co., that became Coffee County in 1836. He died sometime between the 1840 and 1850 census. No grave has been located, but it is likely he is buried in the old Harris Cemetery near Hillsboro in Coffee Co. John's wife was a woman named Amiah who was born in about 1776 in Virginia based on 1850 census data. Amiah is a form of the name Amy and is sometimes used as a male first name. There has been no information uncovered regarding where in Virginia Amiah was born or where she was married. Amiah died in Coffee county, Tennessee sometime between the 1850 and 1860 census. The following children have been identified: Abel K. Harris, b. abt. 1802--South Carolina, moved to Perry Co., Alabama by 1826, d. 1870--Bibb Co., AL Lewis Harris, b. abt. 1805--South Carolina, lived in Coffee Co., TN all his life, d. 1867--Coffee Co., TN William W. Harris, b. 1809--South Carolina, lived in Coffee co., TN all his life, d. 1892--Coffee Co., TN Unknown Female Harris, b. bet. 1811-1815, known from census enumeration Robert Oliver Harris, b. 1813--South Carolina, moved to Perry Co., Alabama by 1830, d. 1874--Perry Co., AL Unknown Male Harris, b. bet. 1816-1820, Known from census enumeration, may have been an Andrew J. Harris based on local documents Elizabeth J. Harris, b. 1819--Location Unknown, moved to Perry Co., AL, d. 1841--Perry Co., AL There are other Harris's with the name Abel, but I have not been able to link them to John Harris as possible relatives. The uniqueness of the name Amiah has been my main focus in finding the Virginia origins of this wife of John Harris. Since a number of the Harris Hunter list members have searches focused in Virginia, perhaps you have come across the name "Amiah" in your research of the 1770's and later period. Any inputs gratefully accepted! Regards, Warren B. Carah Brighton, MI

Submitter Warren has a tough genealogical problem here.  His message is at the bottom.  We have all been in this same boat, with certain families at least. I have a couple of suggestions.  These are all time-consuming activities, of course. South Carolina MAY be a lost cause!!!! Use the naming patterns of the children to try to find similar names for Harrises in other colonies or states.  This is an endless search, of course, but the internet MAY make it easier.  (Do be careful of family histories/trees being contributed by newbies to Ancestry.com.  I am constantly making comments to try to set these newbies on the right road, and sometimes I am detoured also.  Harris-Hunters sometimes help me a LOT.) Also, do NOT overlook old county histories.  Although professionals warn us about these *mug* books, I found films of two county histories from a burned county in Illinois.  Such a county history helped me unlock some maternal relatives of my great-grandfather.  One of the persons to whom great-grandfather, a relative newcomer to Texas, owed money (letter from another cousin in Springfield, IL) was featured, and was he a blabber-mouth.  Had he not told of his three marriages, the origins of his first wife, also details about the children,dead and alive, and also of his parents, I would still be looking in Kentucky instead of finding cousins in Illinois and in Kansas City, Missouri.  Also the relative (a noted attorney) in Springfield, IL contributed a family history in a history of Sangamon Co., IL about his mother, her Kentucky origins, her maiden name, etc.  And the extended family of my great-grandfather had letters from this attorney in Springfield.  Thank goodness, great-grandma, a terrific letter-writer and hoarder, had relatives who were not good at keeping house and kept that old trunk all these generations. Long ago, when I first began this crazy hobby, I attended a lecture by Arlene Eakle, PhD, one of the first editors of the series of books called The Source.  She knows a great deal about Southern families. She warned, If you are researching in Virginia, study all the counties.  I thought she was crazy, until I got back to my Dad's colonial Virginia roots.  Fortunately, a cousin, much more scholarly than I, told me books I needed to have, in particular, The Boone Family, which is now on the internet (HeritageQuest and probably other databases)  This old family history will not help with ALL the Harrises, but it helped me. Two ideas here: 1)  Enlist your relatives in this search.  Many of us became great correspondents before the internet disrupted our habits. 2) Also, do not pay attention to county boundaries, or at least learn the parent county and the progeny counties of the county where you have been researching.  The old Everton Handy Book for Genealogists used to give this info.  The Red Book by Eicholz has some helpful info, but not always so detailed as Everton. I have not used this resource a good deal.  I understand it is now on the Internet: NUCMUC [genealogists call it Nuck-Muck]  This is a National Union Catalog of Manuscript... [ask a librarian for the whole name].  This is a *round up* by Library of Congress of Manuscripts which are held in libraries around the United States.  You may never ever think this will help you, but you MAY be surprised.  My Dad had two maternal relatives who were authors or editors.  Using these hefty books (many series) at a local University library, I found two of these men had items listed, and the NUCMUC told the whereabouts of these items.  (Genealogy is where you find it.)  Ask your librarian, when she or he has time, to either tell you about NUCMUC or else explore Wikipedia to explain this topic or some such internet explanation.  Hardly a national genealogical conference, at least in the past, failed to have at least one such lecture on this item--NUCMUC. Other Harris-Hunters will give you some ideas, I am sure.  For Southerners, of course, land records are VERY useful, and so are probates (when you can find them), but keep exploring what publications or internet items may pop up.  And, don't give up, unless poverty or poor health intervenes.  South Carolina, again, is most difficult.  Imagine how difficult it must have been for our ancestors!!!  You may have to research each of the children--and their spouses--and their places of residence--to get clues about their father. Michigan has some great University libraries,  A correpondent some years ago told me he did most of his Southern research (genealogical) at the University at Ann Arbor.  You might explore these research areas of your State.  A librarian (also a genealogist, author, lecturer) told me some time ago that most University and college libraries agree to interlibrary loan.  E.W.Wallace ________________________________ From: "PatCLARE@aol.com" <PatCLARE@aol.com> To: HARRIS-HUNTERS-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 6:49 AM Subject: [HARRIS-HUNTERS] John Harris/Coffee Co. TN wife Amiah LNU ----------  Forwarded message ---------- From:  "Warren B. Carah" _wcarah@livingonline.com_ (mailto:wcarah@livingonline.com) Date:  Sun, 20 May 2012 09:04:36 -0400 Subject:  John and Amiah Harris of VA, SC and Coffee Co., TN I  have renewed my search for the origins of John and Amiah Harris of  Coffee County,  TN. John  Harris was born between 1771 and 1780. No records have been located that  point to where he was born, but it is likely it was in Virginia, North Carolina  or South Carolina. He lived for an extended period in South Carolina  as this is where most, if not all his children were born. He moved to  Franklin county Tennessee sometime before the 1820 census. This is in  the south-east  part of Tennessee between Nashville and Chattanooga. He lived in that  part of Franklin Co., that became Coffee County in 1836. He died sometime  between the 1840 and 1850 census. No grave has been located, but it  is likely he is buried in the old Harris Cemetery near Hillsboro in Coffee  Co. John's  wife was a woman named Amiah who was born in about 1776 in Virginia based  on 1850 census data. Amiah is a form of the name Amy and is sometimes used  as a male first name. There has been no information uncovered regarding  where in Virginia Amiah was born or where she was married. Amiah died  in Coffee county, Tennessee sometime between the 1850 and 1860 census. The  following children have been identified: Abel  K. Harris, b. abt. 1802--South Carolina, moved to Perry Co., Alabama  by 1826,  d. 1870--Bibb Co., AL Lewis  Harris, b. abt. 1805--South Carolina, lived in Coffee Co., TN all his life,  d. 1867--Coffee Co., TN William  W. Harris, b. 1809--South Carolina, lived in Coffee co., TN all his life,  d. 1892--Coffee Co., TN Unknown  Female Harris, b. bet. 1811-1815, known from census enumeration Robert  Oliver Harris, b. 1813--South Carolina, moved to Perry Co., Alabama by  1830, d. 1874--Perry Co., AL Unknown  Male Harris, b. bet. 1816-1820, Known from census enumeration, may have  been an Andrew J. Harris based on local documents Elizabeth  J. Harris, b. 1819--Location Unknown, moved to Perry Co., AL, d. 1841--Perry  Co., AL There  are other Harris's with the name Abel, but I have not been able to link  them to John Harris as possible relatives. The uniqueness of the name Amiah  has been my main focus in finding the Virginia origins of this wife of John  Harris. Since a number of the Harris Hunter list members have searches focused  in Virginia, perhaps you have come across the name "Amiah" in your research  of the 1770's and later period. Any  inputs gratefully accepted! Regards, Warren  B. Carah Brighton,  MI ------------------------------- 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