1725 - 1790

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• Title	Reverend
  Birth	29 Sep 1725	Hopewell Township, Salem, New Jersey
  Gender	Male
  _UID	9848F3CF5462D5119887CB8894AA793FA6F0
  Died	Bef 5 Apr 1790	Abbeville District, South Carolina
  Person ID	I61	Ancestors of Catherine Yvonne King | The Ancestors and Descendants of Johan Jakob Brown/Braun the "Waggonmaker".
  Last Modified	13 Jul 2006 00:00:00
  Father	HARRIS Wm. Nathaniel (? ), b. 8 Oct 1693, Connecticut or Long Island, possibly at East Hampton
  Mother	UNKNOWN Elizabeth, b. Abt 1697, Ewing Farm, Jerome Township, Union, Ohio
  Family ID	F761	Group Sheet
  Family	HANDY *Mary Dashiell, b. 8 Nov 1733, Salisbury, Somerset Co., MA
  Married	Abt 1758	Somerset County, Maryland
  Children	1. HARRIS Handy, b. 7 Jan 1760, Worcester Co., Maryland > 2. HARRIS John II, b. 6 Dec 1762, Snow Hill, Eastern Shore, MD > 3. HARRIS *Anne Handy, b. 1764/1765, Snow Hill, Eastern Shore, MD   4. HARRIS Thomas, b. 11 May 1768, Snow Hill, Worcester Co, MD   5. HARRIS Elizabeth Gillis, b. 1769, Snow Hill, Eastern Shore, MD   6. HARRIS Nathaniel, b. Aft 1769, Snow Hill, Eastern Shore, MD
  Family ID	F27	Group Sheet

• Documents	Six Patiots of the American Revolution Six Patriots of the American Revolution and One Probable Loyalist with Descendants in Jackson and DeKalb Counties, Alabama NSDAR#631571 by Frances Lyles Gay Varnell ( 1986)

• Notes

  SOURCE NOTES: The Reverend John Harris was a Presbyterian minister and a Revolutionary War Patriot. He served in the Second Provincial Congress for the Ninety-sixth District which became Abbeville District, South Carolina. NOTE: From Kay Hines ( Suzalee @ aol.com) I still believe that Reverend John was the son of Nathaniel Harris. I haven't been able to track down the original source for Reverend John's birthdate. If we can get that, I think we can absolutely say that he's Nathaniels son. I believe I told you that the Nathaniel Harris Bible has a son named John listed with the birthdate September 29, 1725, the same that we have for our Reverend John. SOURCE NOTES: Lessley & Clark Families ( Betty Jo Ellis ) Reverend John Harris was born September 29, 1725 in Hopewell Township, Salem, NJ., the son of Nathaniel Harris and Elizabeth___?__ ( see letter from Kay Hines, dated July 17, 2001 ). There are conflicting reports as to the place of his birth, some reports say that he was born in Maryland, but this is possibly because his wife was from Maryland and he lived in Maryland before moving to South Carolina. He earned an AB degree at Nassau Hall ( now Princeton University ) in 1753. He served as a Presbyterian Minister to several churches in Delaware, Virginia and Maryland. While in Maryland, he met and married Mary Dashiell Handy, the daught of Colonel Isaac Handy and Ann Dashiell of Somerset County, Maryland. He also served in the Second Provincial Congress for the Ninety-Six District, which became Abbeville District, South Carolina. Reverend John Harris was a Revolutionary War Patriot. During the Revolutionary War, Reverend Harris and his family were targeted by the Tories because of his influential position and his championing of the American cause. Nathaniel, the youngest son of the family was ill at their home when it was invaded by the Tories. They took all the family's valuables and stripped Nathaniel of his clothing, leaving him to die in his youth. ( See page 50, ANNALS AND MEMORIALS OF THE HANDYS AND THEIR KINDRED, by Isaac W.K. Handy, D.D. ) The family's two oldest sons, John II and Handy, served in the Revolutionary War. John II served under General Andrew Pickens and eventually married his daughter, Mary Pickens. In person, Reverend John was not above medium stature, but his sturdy frame and erect carriage commanded respect and the severe but honest determination of his countenance tempered the pleasanteis which often sparkled from his dark eyes. But having ( to use his own words ) a hesitancy in his speech, his delivery was not of the popular kind, yet his solid sense and convincing argument gave him influence in the pulpit and in judicatories of the church. In his missionary labors he was zealous, indefatigable and ready to dispense the word whenever practicable under a spreading tree or in the log cabin and he had a word of encouragement and rebuke for all. An aged lady, born in 1769 remembered hearing him preach under a large chestnut tree near the residence of General Pickens, which was then the " Block House", on the site now occupied by Abbeville Village. As early as 1773, he had formed a settlement in the " Flat Woods ", on the waters of McKinley's Creek and the Little River. As a land owner and planter, he bore no small share of the losses and suffering inflicted by the Indians and the Tories. At one time nearly all of his slaves were driven off to Florida, where the British had established a depot for them. Reverend Harris often preached with his gun in the pulpit beside him and his ammunition suspended from his neck, after the fashion of the old times. Although very genial and tolerant, he was uncomprimising champion of the faith. It was even thought that he would not hesitate to demonstrate the belief by physical as well as rational arguments. At the close of the War, he was the only Presbyterian minister in what was afterwards known as the Abbeville District. SOURCE: History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina, by George Howe, DD 1870. In 1772 Reverend Harris was sent by the Orange Presbytery to Ninety Six District of South Carolina to establish Presbyterian churches. At the Greenvale Church near Hodges, South Carolina there is a monument to the Reverend John Harris. This tablet was presented to the church by the pastor, in memory of the first settled minister of the congregation. It is a square monument of blue marble and contains as emblems, two continental flags with the following inscription in while letters. " Sacred to the memory of the Reverend John Harris, M.D. First pastor of this church in 1773. A patriot of the American Revolution. " DAR Application # 631571 by Frances Lyles Gay Varnell @ 1986 Six Patriots of the American Revolution and One Probable Loyalist with Descendants in Jackson and DeKalb Counties, Alabama.