"Andrew Harman was born at the homestead in Donegal about the year 1763 (suspected typo, original text states 1768 but this does not fit other historical data). At the age of fourteen years he was seized by the Indians and held in captivity for a period of six years, at the expiration of which time he was sold to the British, from whom he made his escape and returned to his home. Adopting the occupation of a farmer, he continued to reside in his native township until about the year 1830, when he removed his family of seven children [Andrew A. and Barbara Harman Stahl remained in Westmoreland County] to Indiana county, and his death occurred in Mahoning township, same county, in 1838. He took an active part in religious affairs and was a charter member of the first Lutheran church (Mount Zion) organized in Donegal. The maiden name of his wife was Catherine Sondles, and they were married about the year 1790." - History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Volume 2 By John Newton Boucher, John Woolf Jordan
The Harmans had such influence in Indiana County that on the 1861 County map the section of the township where they lived was named the "Harman District." In 1829 Andrew was in his twenties (while Peter still a teenager) and it was noted that he and his father Andrew were instrumental in forming the Evangelical Lutheran church of Plum Creek. The nucleus of this church consisted, in the summer of 1829, of eight Lutheran families, namely, those families of Andrew and Philip Harmon and six others. The church was later named St. John's Evangelical Lutheran church which today is adjacent to the cemetery where Andrew and his sons are buried.
See History of Westmoreland County: printed 1906 and 1880 that fully details Andrew's capture by Indians and later service as a prisoner during the Revolutionary War:
"When spring [1778] came, Elizabeth Harmon and her children went back to their farm. The ground was fertile, and the farm was a credit to them, with a field of wheat, a stream of pure water, and a log cabin. One morning, seeing some neighbors' horses loose in the grainfield, the widow Harmon sent her two oldest boys, Andrew and John, to drive them off. There were Indians lying hidden near the field, and they captured the two boys. They asked Andrew if there were men at the cabin, and he said there were - a lie which probably saved the lives of Andrew's mother, brother and sister. Andrew and John soon learned they had been captured by the Senecas - the same tribe who had killed their father. One of the Indians even showed them the wallet they had taken from their father six months before this. John Harmon died the first winter after they were captured, of a sickness which killed many of the Senecas. Andrew lived and was adopted by the Chief, Cornplanter, to live with them almost six years.
When General Broadhead took an expedition of the Eighth Regiment up the Allegheny River, he left the Senecas, and Andrew with them, in a state of famine. In desperation, the Indians took Andrew on a hunting trip, and left him to die of cold and exposure, telling him to guard two of the deer, until they returned. He skinned the deer, wrapped himself in the hides and burrowed in the snow. When the Indians returned, expecting him to be dead, he was alive and well. They never tried to kill him again.
After the old chief's death, they sold him to an English officer for a bottle of rum. Andrew lived two years in England and then was exchanged at the end of the Revolutionary War, and sent to New York. From there, he made his way home, and walked into his mother's home six years after his capture. He was twenty years old and she had given him up for dead. The word of his safe return spread, and settlers came from miles around to see him. Andrew never lost his love for the woods and wilderness, and although he married Catherine Sandles in 1790, and had seven children, he spent much of his free time hunting and fishing until he died at the age of 74, in 1838."
Note: There is no apparent explanation for the misspelling of Andrew's name as Androw on his headstone. However, his identity is not in doubt as it is well documented.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In addition to the children below there were three others: Frederick (born 1807), Jacob (born 1793), and Elizabeth (born 1799 - married a Huffman).
*******
It seems probable Andrew was still alive and included in the 1840 census (Washington Twp, Indiana Co, PA). as the third name from the bottom on the page (see attached photo of census with comment).
The Harmans had such influence in Indiana County that on the 1861 County map the section of the township where they lived was named the "Harman District." In 1829 Andrew was in his twenties (while Peter still a teenager) and it was noted that he and his father Andrew were instrumental in forming the Evangelical Lutheran church of Plum Creek. The nucleus of this church consisted, in the summer of 1829, of eight Lutheran families, namely, those families of Andrew and Philip Harmon and six others. The church was later named St. John's Evangelical Lutheran church which today is adjacent to the cemetery where Andrew and his sons are buried.
See History of Westmoreland County: printed 1906 and 1880 that fully details Andrew's capture by Indians and later service as a prisoner during the Revolutionary War:
"When spring [1778] came, Elizabeth Harmon and her children went back to their farm. The ground was fertile, and the farm was a credit to them, with a field of wheat, a stream of pure water, and a log cabin. One morning, seeing some neighbors' horses loose in the grainfield, the widow Harmon sent her two oldest boys, Andrew and John, to drive them off. There were Indians lying hidden near the field, and they captured the two boys. They asked Andrew if there were men at the cabin, and he said there were - a lie which probably saved the lives of Andrew's mother, brother and sister. Andrew and John soon learned they had been captured by the Senecas - the same tribe who had killed their father. One of the Indians even showed them the wallet they had taken from their father six months before this. John Harmon died the first winter after they were captured, of a sickness which killed many of the Senecas. Andrew lived and was adopted by the Chief, Cornplanter, to live with them almost six years.
When General Broadhead took an expedition of the Eighth Regiment up the Allegheny River, he left the Senecas, and Andrew with them, in a state of famine. In desperation, the Indians took Andrew on a hunting trip, and left him to die of cold and exposure, telling him to guard two of the deer, until they returned. He skinned the deer, wrapped himself in the hides and burrowed in the snow. When the Indians returned, expecting him to be dead, he was alive and well. They never tried to kill him again.
After the old chief's death, they sold him to an English officer for a bottle of rum. Andrew lived two years in England and then was exchanged at the end of the Revolutionary War, and sent to New York. From there, he made his way home, and walked into his mother's home six years after his capture. He was twenty years old and she had given him up for dead. The word of his safe return spread, and settlers came from miles around to see him. Andrew never lost his love for the woods and wilderness, and although he married Catherine Sandles in 1790, and had seven children, he spent much of his free time hunting and fishing until he died at the age of 74, in 1838."
Note: There is no apparent explanation for the misspelling of Andrew's name as Androw on his headstone. However, his identity is not in doubt as it is well documented.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In addition to the children below there were three others: Frederick (born 1807), Jacob (born 1793), and Elizabeth (born 1799 - married a Huffman).
*******
It seems probable Andrew was still alive and included in the 1840 census (Washington Twp, Indiana Co, PA). as the third name from the bottom on the page (see attached photo of census with comment).
"Andrew Harman was born at the homestead in Donegal about the year 1763 (suspected typo, original text states 1768 but this does not fit other historical data). At the age of fourteen years he was seized by the Indians and held in captivity for a period of six years, at the expiration of which time he was sold to the British, from whom he made his escape and returned to his home. Adopting the occupation of a farmer, he continued to reside in his native township until about the year 1830, when he removed his family of seven children [Andrew A. and Barbara Harman Stahl remained in Westmoreland County] to Indiana county, and his death occurred in Mahoning township, same county, in 1838. He took an active part in religious affairs and was a charter member of the first Lutheran church (Mount Zion) organized in Donegal. The maiden name of his wife was Catherine Sondles, and they were married about the year 1790." - History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Volume 2 By John Newton Boucher, John Woolf Jordan
The Harmans had such influence in Indiana County that on the 1861 County map the section of the township where they lived was named the "Harman District." In 1829 Andrew was in his twenties (while Peter still a teenager) and it was noted that he and his father Andrew were instrumental in forming the Evangelical Lutheran church of Plum Creek. The nucleus of this church consisted, in the summer of 1829, of eight Lutheran families, namely, those families of Andrew and Philip Harmon and six others. The church was later named St. John's Evangelical Lutheran church which today is adjacent to the cemetery where Andrew and his sons are buried.
See History of Westmoreland County: printed 1906 and 1880 that fully details Andrew's capture by Indians and later service as a prisoner during the Revolutionary War:
"When spring [1778] came, Elizabeth Harmon and her children went back to their farm. The ground was fertile, and the farm was a credit to them, with a field of wheat, a stream of pure water, and a log cabin. One morning, seeing some neighbors' horses loose in the grainfield, the widow Harmon sent her two oldest boys, Andrew and John, to drive them off. There were Indians lying hidden near the field, and they captured the two boys. They asked Andrew if there were men at the cabin, and he said there were - a lie which probably saved the lives of Andrew's mother, brother and sister. Andrew and John soon learned they had been captured by the Senecas - the same tribe who had killed their father. One of the Indians even showed them the wallet they had taken from their father six months before this. John Harmon died the first winter after they were captured, of a sickness which killed many of the Senecas. Andrew lived and was adopted by the Chief, Cornplanter, to live with them almost six years.
When General Broadhead took an expedition of the Eighth Regiment up the Allegheny River, he left the Senecas, and Andrew with them, in a state of famine. In desperation, the Indians took Andrew on a hunting trip, and left him to die of cold and exposure, telling him to guard two of the deer, until they returned. He skinned the deer, wrapped himself in the hides and burrowed in the snow. When the Indians returned, expecting him to be dead, he was alive and well. They never tried to kill him again.
After the old chief's death, they sold him to an English officer for a bottle of rum. Andrew lived two years in England and then was exchanged at the end of the Revolutionary War, and sent to New York. From there, he made his way home, and walked into his mother's home six years after his capture. He was twenty years old and she had given him up for dead. The word of his safe return spread, and settlers came from miles around to see him. Andrew never lost his love for the woods and wilderness, and although he married Catherine Sandles in 1790, and had seven children, he spent much of his free time hunting and fishing until he died at the age of 74, in 1838."
Note: There is no apparent explanation for the misspelling of Andrew's name as Androw on his headstone. However, his identity is not in doubt as it is well documented.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In addition to the children below there were three others: Frederick (born 1807), Jacob (born 1793), and Elizabeth (born 1799 - married a Huffman).
*******
It seems probable Andrew was still alive and included in the 1840 census (Washington Twp, Indiana Co, PA). as the third name from the bottom on the page (see attached photo of census with comment).
The Harmans had such influence in Indiana County that on the 1861 County map the section of the township where they lived was named the "Harman District." In 1829 Andrew was in his twenties (while Peter still a teenager) and it was noted that he and his father Andrew were instrumental in forming the Evangelical Lutheran church of Plum Creek. The nucleus of this church consisted, in the summer of 1829, of eight Lutheran families, namely, those families of Andrew and Philip Harmon and six others. The church was later named St. John's Evangelical Lutheran church which today is adjacent to the cemetery where Andrew and his sons are buried.
See History of Westmoreland County: printed 1906 and 1880 that fully details Andrew's capture by Indians and later service as a prisoner during the Revolutionary War:
"When spring [1778] came, Elizabeth Harmon and her children went back to their farm. The ground was fertile, and the farm was a credit to them, with a field of wheat, a stream of pure water, and a log cabin. One morning, seeing some neighbors' horses loose in the grainfield, the widow Harmon sent her two oldest boys, Andrew and John, to drive them off. There were Indians lying hidden near the field, and they captured the two boys. They asked Andrew if there were men at the cabin, and he said there were - a lie which probably saved the lives of Andrew's mother, brother and sister. Andrew and John soon learned they had been captured by the Senecas - the same tribe who had killed their father. One of the Indians even showed them the wallet they had taken from their father six months before this. John Harmon died the first winter after they were captured, of a sickness which killed many of the Senecas. Andrew lived and was adopted by the Chief, Cornplanter, to live with them almost six years.
When General Broadhead took an expedition of the Eighth Regiment up the Allegheny River, he left the Senecas, and Andrew with them, in a state of famine. In desperation, the Indians took Andrew on a hunting trip, and left him to die of cold and exposure, telling him to guard two of the deer, until they returned. He skinned the deer, wrapped himself in the hides and burrowed in the snow. When the Indians returned, expecting him to be dead, he was alive and well. They never tried to kill him again.
After the old chief's death, they sold him to an English officer for a bottle of rum. Andrew lived two years in England and then was exchanged at the end of the Revolutionary War, and sent to New York. From there, he made his way home, and walked into his mother's home six years after his capture. He was twenty years old and she had given him up for dead. The word of his safe return spread, and settlers came from miles around to see him. Andrew never lost his love for the woods and wilderness, and although he married Catherine Sandles in 1790, and had seven children, he spent much of his free time hunting and fishing until he died at the age of 74, in 1838."
Note: There is no apparent explanation for the misspelling of Andrew's name as Androw on his headstone. However, his identity is not in doubt as it is well documented.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In addition to the children below there were three others: Frederick (born 1807), Jacob (born 1793), and Elizabeth (born 1799 - married a Huffman).
*******
It seems probable Andrew was still alive and included in the 1840 census (Washington Twp, Indiana Co, PA). as the third name from the bottom on the page (see attached photo of census with comment).
Inscription
PA. TROOPS REV. WAR 1838
Family Members
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
