In a message dated 06/04/2000 12:25:39 PM Central Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: << Gunny,what outfit when?I am of Michael Harness who first came to Hardy with his buddy Yoakum.What do you have on Mike Harness?R >> No outfit. My son picked that out..... These are the mentions of HARNESS in my book: pg 20 - Ca. 1787, the deed for the Higgins House (for Lot No. 33) was the tenth to be recorded for the town of Moorefield after Hardy Co was formed. In 1792, Robert Higgin sold his house to GEORGE HARNESS. pg 21/22-Rosedale--GEORGE CASEY HARNESS had 3 children-two daughters, ANN REBECCA HARNESS who married James Kuykendall (for whom George Harness built the house known as Rosedale in 1845 as a wedding present), and MARY KATHERINE HARNESS who fell in love with John Francis Williams. Mr. Harness disapproved so the couple eloped. After George's death, Mrs. Harness had the house now used as the Methodist parsonage built for them so the two sisters could live side by side. pg 24-Water Edge, Yokum House, and the Stephen West House all sit within 3/4 mile of one another on original HARNESS land on the South Branch of the Potomac River. Water Edge, home of Mrs. John Fisher, was built onto the HARNESS Fort of 1792. pg 26-Michael HARNESS home was a log hut, a far cry from the log homes built in 1991. pg 39-HARNESS FAMILY-Family historians believe that Elizabeth HARNESS was the first white woman to set foot in what is now West Virginia. The Harnesses came from Holland about 1675 at the urging of William Penn. MICHAEL HARNESS was born in Pennsylvania in 1700. He married Elizabeth Zephebe, a relative of Penn. Daughter Elizabeth was 13 when she and her parents came by wagon train to settle the fertile land explored by Penn's scouts. There were no roads, so they literally chopped their way along Indian trails. At times the wagons were taken apart, carried across mountains and reassembled. Michael built one of the first forts in our valley (about 1756) several miles south of Moorefield. He settled on the Potomac on a portion of his 9,000 acre Fairfax Grant. One of the original Harness homesteads is now the residence of Mrs. John W. Fisher, "Wateredge". Until floods loosened and removed it, the date 1739 could be seen on the bark of a log in the basement. Michael's eldest son, John, 1725-1810, is described in Kerchival's History of the Valley of Virginia as a great scout and Indian fighter because he was fleet of foot and a crack shot. At the Battle of the Trough, 1756, he was one of only three men who escaped ambush by Killbuck's savages. He served as Captain during the Revolutionary War and was among the first of the Southern troops to defend Boston after the Battle of Bunker Hill. He marched with a Frederick County rifle company for 550 miles in 22 days to arrive there. During the Revolutionary War, John Champe was sent on a secret mission to trick Benedict Arnold in order to prove treason. It failed and Champe went into hiding several years in our area. Enroute home to Loudon County from Pendleton according to George Washinton's journals, "John and Elizabeth Champe were accorded the hearty welcome of strangers at the Harness Homestead, the modest mansion of my personal friend, a mile and a half north of Moorefield." The house is now owned by Renick Williams and was formerly known as Pownall Farm. Elizabeth H. Sinclair, daughter of Harry I. Harness, is the only descendant living in Hardy County. Her daughter, Martha, lives in Grant County and son, Edwin, in Harper's Ferry. submitted by Elizabeth H. Sinclair pg.40-David Miles Parsons married Jemimah HARNESS, daughter of Adam and Elizabeth BAker HARNESS. Their 3 sons, William, David and Adam all fought in the War Between the States, all were wounded. (It then lists descendants of Adam Harness Parsons) I will continue on through the book tomorrow. Hope some of this helps. Barbara Weese