Porter J. Harmon and Rebecca Armstrong

Porter J. Harmon and Rebecca Armstrong are my third great-grandparents, through their son Walter Harmon. 

Porter J. Harmon was born 14 May 1819 in New Marlborough, Berkshire, Massachusetts, to Walter Harmon and Azubah Hyde.  He was the oldest of five known children of this couple.  Very little is known of Porter's early years, but recent research has led me to his first marriage to Jane S. Hubbard on 25 November 1840 in Monterey, Berkshire, Massachusetts.  To this union was born one known child, a daughter Emma Jane Harmon born about 1842.

By 1845, Porter, his daughter Emma Jane, his parents Walter and Azubah, his sister Mary and her husband Ira Heath, and another brother, had arrived in Whiteside Co, Illinois.  Porter and his father Walter homesteaded property in what would later become Hopkins Township in Whiteside Co.  More specifically they lived near a small community called Round Grove.

In 1849, Porter married Rebecca Armstrong, also of Round Grove.  Rebecca was born in Pennsylvania in about 1825. While little else is known of Rebecca, I strongly believe that she is the daughter of the Barbara Armstrong living nearby in the 1850 census in Whiteside Co, Illinois.  I have an unsourced date of death for Rebecca Armstrong Harmon as 31 March 1876. It may be likely she was buried in the nearby Round Grove Cemetery.  Porter and Rebecca had the following children:

1. Adaline born Sept 1853, married Almon Zimmer on 3 July 1871 in Whiteside Co, Illinois and died 24 Jan 1922 in Clark Co, South Dakota.
2. Evaline born in 1855, married Lemuel Moffat on 20 Aug 1878 in Whiteside Co, Illinois and died in 1904 in Clarkesville, Butler, Iowa as a victim of a fire.
3. Walter J. Harmon, my great-great-grandfather, born Feb 1857 and died 6 June 1921 in Clark Co, South Dakota.  He married Fannie Arnold on 16 Feb 1882 in Whiteside Co, Illinois.
4. Mary born May 1862, married Samuel F. Etter on 29 Dec 1881 in Whiteside Co, Illinois.  By 1900 the couple was living in Adams Co, Washington.
5. Barbara born 1867 in Whiteside Co, Illinois
6. Milo born 1869 in Whiteside Co, Illinois.  It is presumed he died before 1880 as he is not found in that census with the rest of the family.

Porter married for a third time on 24 Jun 1880 to Margaret Houston in Whiteside Co, Illinois.  I do not know what became of Margaret after this time.

In about 1883, Porter, his son Walter and family, his daughter Adaline and family travelled to Clark Co, South Dakota where they homesteaded near the town of Clark.  Porter died in Clark on 25 November 1897 after having gone out to do the chores.  According to his obituary, Porter was living with his son Walter.  Porter is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery north of Clark.  His children Walter and Adaline and their spouses are buried nearby.

Please contact me if you are researching this family.  I would be thrilled to share information.  Sources available upon request.

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Walter J. Harmon and Fanny Arnold

Walter Harmon and Fanny Arnold are my great-great-grandparents, through their son and eldest child, Edward Joseph Harmon.

Walter was born February 1857 in Whiteside Co, Illinois, likely in or near the community of Round Grove.  He was the son of Porter J. Harmon and Rebecca Armstrong, and one of six children.  When Walter was 19 his mother passed away, leaving some younger siblings without a mother in the house.

Fanny was born in Berkswell, Warwickshire, England on 7 November 1856, the daughter of Edward Arnold and Mary Arnold.  When Fanny was only about 4 years old, Mary died, leaving four young children.  Edward remarried to Emma Smith and had several more children.  At about the age of 10, Edward and Emma brought their children to Niagara, Ontario, Canada.  They settled in this area and as of current research, Fanny is the only child that I have found to have left Canada.  In about 1881, Fanny arrived in Whiteside Co, Illinois though by what route I do not know nor do I know the reason she came.

On the 16th of February 1882, Walter and Fanny were united in marriage.   Their first child, Edward, was born in 1883 and as a two-month-old infant the family relocated to Dakota Territory.   Walter and Fanny homesteaded property in Clark Co, Dakota Territory, in what is now Clark County, South Dakota.  It appears that Walter's sister, Adaline, and her husband Almon Zimmer, as well as their father, Porter Harmon all came together from Whiteside Co, Illinois.

Walter and Fanny had five children:

1. Edward Joseph, my great-grandfather, born 9 Jan 1883 in Whiteside Co, Illinois
2. Edna Barbara born 16 Feb 1885 in Clark, Clark Co, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota)
3. Ida Elizabeth born 13 Jul 1890 in Clark, Clark Co, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota)
4. Fannie Mary born 21 Mar 1892 in Clark, Clark Co, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota)
5. Morris Walter born 25 Apr 1896 in Clark, Clark Co, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota)

Their original homestead was in Mt. Pleasant township in Clark Co.  Research indicates that Walter's father, Porter, likely lived with Walter and Fanny on their farm until his death in 1897.  By 1910, the family had moved into the town of Clark and lived their until Walter's death on 6 Jun 1921.  According to Walter's obituary, he had suffered a stroke some years prior that left him unable to continue farming.  He died within days of my grandfather Fred's birth.  I always have wondered if Walter ever saw his grandson through which the family middle name of Joseph was passed along.


Fannie Arnold Harmon - July 1944

As a result of Walter's death, Fanny was a widow for over 20 years.  During her later years, she lived with her son Edward.  My grandfather Fred was the youngest of the children in the house, so he spent some of those years at home with his grandmother Fanny living with them.  Because she was only 4'10" tall, Fred had coined the term "Little Grandma" and I remember as a child hearing him refer lovingly to his "Little Grandma".  She died 12 Jun 1945, just mere months before my grandpa Fred returned from his military service in her home country of England.  I remember him speaking with regret that he didn't make it home in time to see her before her death.

Walter and Fanny are buried together in Rose Hill Cemetery, north of the city of Clark, Clark Co., South Dakota.  On my mother's recent trip to South Dakota, she photographed the headstones of her great-grandparents.


Photo taken June 2010


Please contact me for more information, especially if you descend from Walter and Fannie.  Please note that I have seen Fanny's name also spelled Fannie. 

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