As a partial expansion of Pat Clare's e-mail given below, one should look for *missing* Harrises of Virginia (perhaps of Maryland also) at least in the colonial period in North Carolina.  Lord Granville had not given up his land claims in North Carolina as other *proprietors* had, and about (more or less) 1746 or so, many Virginian families went to North Carolina.  Some good reasons for Virginians to go to North Carolina: 1)  In Virginia, primogeniture [look thatup on wiki--or your old-fashioned dictionary] was the LAW.  If you were a younger son, tough luck!!! (Crafty colonial folks, like one ancestor of mine, acquired LOTS of Virginia land, particularly south of the James River, and deeded this land to his several younger sons. He, another common-surnamed ancestor, went to Granville Co. ca 1755 and his will indicated he was a wealthy man. But indeed one had to be crafty--or like another ancestor (HARRIS) around Louisa-Albenarle Cos., VA who became colonial county surveyor and acquired lots of land, as probable payment for his surveying activities.  He generously gave land to his several sons and slaves to his sons-in-law.) 2)  The land was cheaper in North Carolina than in Virginia. Mrs. Margaret M. Hofmann has published at least four volumes of pre-Revolutionary North Carolina land grants, some of the Granville District and others for more western parts of North Carolina.  One of the experts on North Carolina geneaology has indicated in a long-ago lecture in Richmond, VA that many early NC settlers were from Virginia.  Reason:  The *graveyard of ships*--that is, the barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina prevented easy entry from the Atlantic.  Until one gets to Wilmington, NC, there are inadquate harbors in NC. 3)  Tobacco, according to historians, uses up the land, and new land was always being sought.  (Even 20 years or so ago, when I visited Granville Co., I was told by the county attorney--with whom I shared a lunch counter at Rexall Drugstore--that tobacco was still the economic base of Granville Co.)  BE VERY CAREFUL in not misidentifying those somewhat later Harris males in North Carolina, however, as they have some of the same given names as their cousins or uncles in Virginia.  (One of the brothers of my Chrsitopher Harris of late colonial Albemarle Co., VA, later of Madison Co., KY was named Tyree or Tyre Harris, appaarently the eldest son.  He and his first wife migrated to Orange Co. NC, part of which became Caswell Co. NC in 1777.  I cannot tell you how frequently I trip over the name Tyree Harris.  Using google.com, one day I found there was living professor named Tyree Harris.  Tradition does not die early in parts of the South. Besides the rather expensive NC colonial land record books by Mrs. Hofmann [note the spelling of the surname] there is a NC will index, which I am told is now on the internet.  I have not looked for it there.  It was compiled some time ago by an archivist at the NC State Archives: Thornton W. Mitchell:  North Carolina Wills:  A Testator Index, 1665-1900 Corrected and Revised Edition [Baltimore;   Genealogical Publ. Co.2nd printing 1993] (If you find the URL or if it is on Ancestry.com or some such genealogical website, how about sharing the URL, especially if it is free? In my hard copy, there are three pages of Harris wills, with two columns on each page.  As with many NC publications, instead of the county name there is a code for each county.  So, if you find this book on the internet, be sure to print out, at least, the codes for your particular counties of interest.  About NC--Remember for that many a decade, Tennessee was a part of North Carolina. And I believe Kentucky and Tennessee had quarrels about their boundaries.  Ancestors are where you find them!!!  In a military prison, in a divorce court, in a fort far from the rest of hi family!!!) Oh, yes, Mitchell does not have a will listed for an Asa Harris in NC.  Perhaps he died intestate, or else he removed to another STATE. E.W.Wallace ________________________________ From: "PatCLARE@aol.com" <PatCLARE@aol.com> To: harris-hunters@rootsweb.com Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 7:40 AM Subject: Re: [HARRIS-HUNTERS] Harris - Blackley Families, Granville Co., NC 1850 United States Federal Census > North Carolina > Granville  > Fishing Creek Asa Harris 43 NC Mary 41 NC Alexander Harris 16  NC Melchisa Harris 16  NC>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>(twin  to Alexander) PMH Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: Fishing Creek, Granville, North  Carolina; Roll: M432_631; Page: 86; Image: 169. This would be the Melchisa Green Longmire woman in the cemetery m to  William Iverson Longmire per Ia's post. She is d/o    Asa P.  Harris/Mary K. Blackley  . Harris DNA project Group 2 Asa P. Harris b. 1807, Fishing Creek Township, Granville,  NC +Mary K. Blackley b. 1809, Fishing Creek Township, Granville, NC Alexander Harris b. 1834, Fishing Creek Township,  Granville, NC +Lucy Ann Garrett b. 1852, Kittrell Township, Granville,  NC Henry T. Harris b. Nov 1877 d. May 9, 1915,  NC +Elnora (Ella) Marshall b. Oct 1880 Richmond, VA Marshall Thurston Harris b. July 2, 1906 Richmond, VA  d. Oct 8, 1959 Richmond, VA +Margaret Josephine Fagan b. Nov. 15, 1906  Richmond, VA d. Mar 29, 1994 Richmod, VA PMH In a message dated 6/12/2012 9:48:15 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  barebear@insightbb.com writes: > > > From: Ira Harris  <barebear@insightbb.com> > Subject: [HARRIS-HUNTERS] Harris -  Blackley Families, Granville Co., NC > To:  HARRIS-HUNTERS-L@rootsweb.com > Date: Monday, June 11, 2012, 6:54  PM > > > Source: Granville County, North Carolina  Genweb > > Granville County, North Carolina Cemeteries, Volumes 1  - 5 > Compiled by Granville County Genealogical Society 1746,  Inc. > > HARRIS - BLACKLEY FAMILIES Cemetery (Gray Rock  Rd) > Location: off Gray Rock Rd about 2 miles east of Gray Rock  Methodist Church > ------------------------------- 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

Mrs Wallace, thanks for your very helpful (as always) info. We've corresponded before about my Smiths. (It was my Smith grandfather who married the Harris.) Pat, thank you for the additional info you sent earlier about DNA testing and results. Once again, I'll appreciate anything any of you have that might help. As several of you have said, there were so many Harrises with the same names! A lot more than the other branches of my family. Caroline Sent from my Verizon Droid X2 On Jun 12, 2012 6:25 PM, "EVELYN WALLACE" <hdanw@verizon.net> wrote: > As a partial expansion of Pat Clare's e-mail given below, one should look > for *missing* Harrises of Virginia (perhaps of Maryland also) at least in > the colonial period in North Carolina. Lord Granville had not given up his > land claims in North Carolina as other *proprietors* had, and about (more > or less) 1746 or so, many Virginian families went to North Carolina. Some > good reasons for Virginians to go to North Carolina: > > 1) In Virginia, primogeniture [look thatup on wiki--or your old-fashioned > dictionary] was the LAW. If you were a younger son, tough luck!!! > > (Crafty colonial folks, like one ancestor of mine, acquired LOTS of > Virginia land, particularly south of the James River, and deeded this land > to his several younger sons. He, another common-surnamed ancestor, went to > Granville Co. ca 1755 and his will indicated he was a wealthy man. But > indeed one had to be crafty--or like another ancestor (HARRIS) around > Louisa-Albenarle Cos., VA who became colonial county surveyor and acquired > lots of land, as probable payment for his surveying activities. He > generously gave land to his several sons and slaves to his sons-in-law.) > > > 2) The land was cheaper in North Carolina than in Virginia. > > Mrs. Margaret M. Hofmann has published at least four volumes of > pre-Revolutionary North Carolina land grants, some of the Granville > District and others for more western parts of North Carolina. One of the > experts on North Carolina geneaology has indicated in a long-ago lecture in > Richmond, VA that many early NC settlers were from Virginia. Reason: The > *graveyard of ships*--that is, the barrier islands off the coast of North > Carolina prevented easy entry from the Atlantic. Until one gets to > Wilmington, NC, there are inadquate harbors in NC. > > 3) Tobacco, according to historians, uses up the land, and new land was > always being sought. (Even 20 years or so ago, when I visited Granville > Co., I was told by the county attorney--with whom I shared a lunch counter > at Rexall Drugstore--that tobacco was still the economic base of Granville > Co.) > > > BE VERY CAREFUL in not misidentifying those somewhat later Harris males in > North Carolina, however, as they have some of the same given names as their > cousins or uncles in Virginia. (One of the brothers of my Chrsitopher > Harris of late colonial Albemarle Co., VA, later of Madison Co., KY was > named Tyree or Tyre Harris, appaarently the eldest son. He and his first > wife migrated to Orange Co. NC, part of which became Caswell Co. NC in > 1777. I cannot tell you how frequently I trip over the name Tyree Harris. > Using google.com, one day I found there was living professor named Tyree > Harris. Tradition does not die early in parts of the South. > > > Besides the rather expensive NC colonial land record books by Mrs. Hofmann > [note the spelling of the surname] there is a NC will index, which I am > told is now on the internet. I have not looked for it there. It was > compiled some time ago by an archivist at the NC State Archives: > > Thornton W. Mitchell: North Carolina Wills: A Testator Index, 1665-1900 > Corrected and Revised Edition [Baltimore; Genealogical Publ. Co.2nd > printing 1993] > > (If you find the URL or if it is on Ancestry.com or some such genealogical > website, how about sharing the URL, especially if it is free? > > In my hard copy, there are three pages of Harris wills, with two columns > on each page. As with many NC publications, instead of the county name > there is a code for each county. So, if you find this book on the > internet, be sure to print out, at least, the codes for your particular > counties of interest. About NC--Remember for that many a decade, Tennessee > was a part of North Carolina. And I believe Kentucky and Tennessee had > quarrels about their boundaries. Ancestors are where you find them!!! In > a military prison, in a divorce court, in a fort far from the rest of hi > family!!!) > > Oh, yes, Mitchell does not have a will listed for an Asa Harris in NC. > Perhaps he died intestate, or else he removed to another STATE. > > E.W.Wallace > > > > ________________________________ > From: "PatCLARE@aol.com" <PatCLARE@aol.com> > To: harris-hunters@rootsweb.com > Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 7:40 AM > Subject: Re: [HARRIS-HUNTERS] Harris - Blackley Families, Granville Co., NC > > > 1850 United States Federal Census > North Carolina > Granville > Fishing > Creek > Asa Harris 43 NC > Mary 41 NC > Alexander Harris 16 NC > Melchisa Harris 16 NC>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>(twin to Alexander) > PMH > > > Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: Fishing Creek, Granville, North > Carolina; > Roll: M432_631; Page: 86; Image: 169. > > > > This would be the Melchisa Green Longmire woman in the cemetery m to > William Iverson Longmire per Ia's post. > > She is d/o Asa P. Harris/Mary K. Blackley . > > > > Harris DNA project Group 2 > > > Asa P. Harris b. 1807, Fishing Creek Township, Granville, NC > +Mary K. Blackley b. 1809, Fishing Creek Township, Granville, NC > > Alexander Harris b. 1834, Fishing Creek Township, Granville, NC > +Lucy Ann Garrett b. 1852, Kittrell Township, Granville, NC > > Henry T. Harris b. Nov 1877 d. May 9, 1915, NC > +Elnora (Ella) Marshall b. Oct 1880 Richmond, VA > > Marshall Thurston Harris b. July 2, 1906 Richmond, VA d. Oct 8, 1959 > Richmond, VA > +Margaret Josephine Fagan b. Nov. 15, 1906 Richmond, VA d. Mar 29, 1994 > Richmod, VA > > PMH > > > > > > > > > In a message dated 6/12/2012 9:48:15 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, > barebear@insightbb.com writes: > > > > > > > > > From: Ira Harris <barebear@insightbb.com> > > Subject: [HARRIS-HUNTERS] Harris - Blackley Families, Granville Co., NC > > To: HARRIS-HUNTERS-L@rootsweb.com > > Date: Monday, June 11, 2012, 6:54 PM > > > > > > Source: Granville County, North Carolina Genweb > > > > Granville County, North Carolina Cemeteries, Volumes 1 - 5 > > Compiled by Granville County Genealogical Society 1746, Inc. > > > > HARRIS - BLACKLEY FAMILIES Cemetery (Gray Rock Rd) > > Location: off Gray Rock Rd about 2 miles east of Gray Rock Methodist > Church > > > > ------------------------------- > 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 > > ------------------------------- > 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 >