Gateway to Texas: History of Orange County.
edited by Dr. Howard C. Williams
Page 29

John Harmon

John Harmon was born in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, in 1970. In 1813, he married Elizabeth Comstock Clark (from the same Louisiana town). During this period the United States was at war with Britain, and John was mustered into the service in a company led by Captain Sharick Porter. After six months he was mustered out, but was subsequently redrafted and transferred to New Orleans. However, the war of 1812 ended before he arrived.

The couple?s first child, David, Was born in 1816. In the same year they sold their St. Martin Parish land for $600 and traveled farther west into Louisiana. A daughter, Susan, was born November 2, 1822,; a son, Joshua, was born March 6, 1826. It is thought that the Harmons were living in Opelousas, Louisiana, at that time. In 1826, John moved to the eastern Bank of the Sabine River for two years and prepared a giant raft. In early December of 1827, he loaded the raft with all his worldly goods, his wife, and their three children, and floated downstream in search of a new home. Early on New Year?s Day, they tied up to the bank at what would later be Orange, Texas.

In March 1828, another Daughter, Hester Harmon, was born. They lived in a little house at Green?s bluff until 1830, when john moved to the west side of Adams Bayou and claimed a league of land. It extended from Adams bayou to Cow Bayou and below what is now known as the southern pacific railroad tracks. Harmon, acquired a Mexican Deed to this property through the Empresario de Zavala in 1834.

It is not known if he participated in the Texas Revolution of 1836. In the 1860?s he sold his land to a man from New Orleans named Smith. Apparently he was paid in Confederate money which proved to be worthless.

The 1840 census showed that Harmon owned 670 acres of land, 6 slaves, 6 horses, 60 cattle and one clock. In the 1840?s he was on a citizen?s committee that supported the annexation of Texas by the United States. For the next several years he continued to figure prominently in the affairs of the little community. During the 1960?s he served on grand juries, was appointed road overseer for his precinct, and in 1867, was on of the first citizens to be franchised in orange county after the Civil War

The last official contract involving John Harmon is the will he signed in 1871. At that time he left all of his property to his son-in-law, Joshua Coale (Cole), and daughter, Elizabeth, on the condition that the Coales would take care of him and support him as long as he should live. In 1874, John Harmon died. The exact location of his grave is unknown, It is felt that it was possible the Dorman cemetery on Tulane Road and that the marker may have long since disappeared.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.rootsweb.com/~txorange/histmarkers.html

Marker Number: 11483
Marker Title: John Harmon Index Entry: Harmon, John City: OrangeCounty: Orange Year Marker Erected: 1986

Marker Text:
Born in 1790 in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, John Harmon lived at Poste de Attakapas, a Spanish fortification at the present site of St. Martinville. A veteran of the state's defensive actions during the War of 1812, he wed Elizabeth Compstock Clarks in 1813. Soon after the birth of their first child in 1816, the Harmons sold their St. Martin Parish land and moved west. Although not much is known about their activities over the following decade, it is known they had settled along the eastern bank of the Sabine River by 1826. The next year, Harmon decided to relocate in this area. He built a massive raft of cypress logs which transported a house, a wagon, a pair of oxen, a horse, a cow, farm tools and supplies, and his family, which numbered five. The Harmon family arrived here on January 1, 1828, and settled along the river until 1830, when they established a permanent home on Adams Bayou (2 mi. W). Their arrival at the present site of Orange marked the beginning of permanent settlement. Later, when the town developed, John Harmon was a saddler, a civic leader, and a prominent landowner. He died in 1874, but his contributions and pioneer spirit remain vital to the area's heritage. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marker Number: 11504
Marker Title: The City of Orange Index Entry: Orange Address: 803 W. Green Ave. City: Orange County: Orange Year Marker Erected: 1983
Marker Text:
The first known settlers in what is now the city of Orange were John and Elizabeth Harmon, who arrived in 1828 with their three children. Known first as Green's Bluff, the small farming community that developed along a bend in the Sabine River was selected as the seat of government when Orange County was created in 1852. The town was called Madison from 1852 until 1858, when the name Orange was adopted. The early Orange economy was based on the lumber and shipbuilding industries. Led by prominent pioneer area lumbermen and aided by the advent of the Texas and New Orleans Railroad in 1876, Orange was recognized as the leader in East Texas sawmill activity by the 1880s. The deep water port and the availability of lumber made the city an ideal location for the shipbuilding industry, which reached its highest production levels during World Wars I and II. For many years the city of Orange has maintained a full range of services for its citizens. Public schools have operated since the 1880s and electricity was instituted in 1890. Orange's shipbuilding and petrochemical


Personal Information

Grantee: John Harmon
Patent Date: 21 May 1835
Acres: 4428.40
District: Jefferson
County: Orange
Patent #: 495
Patent Volume: 22
Class: Title


Grantee: John Harmon
Certificate: 24
Patentee: John Harmon
Patent Date: 09 Feb 1846
Acres: 1049
District: Jefferson County:
Orange File: 23
Patent #: 407
Patent Volume: 3
Class: Jeff. 1st.

• Married: 26 Jan 1813 in St. Martin Ch., St. Martinville, Louisiana

1. David HARMON b: 13 Feb 1816 in La
2. Susannah "Susan" HARMON b: 2 Nov 1823 in , , Tx
3. Joshua HARMON b: 13 Mar 1826 in Louisiana
4. Hester A. HARMAN b: 26 Mar 1828 in Louisiana
5. Elizabeth HARMON b: 13 Oct 1829 in Hickory Flat, Allen Parish, la
6. John HARMAN b: 19 Oct 1836 in Orange, Orange County, Texas

1. Repository:
   
   Title: 1860 U.S. Census
   Note:
   1860 U.S. Census
   
   Source Media Type: Census
   Page: pg 322a pct2 Duncan Woods PO
   Text: 180 180 Harmon John Sen 70 m w Farmer LA
   Elisabeth 67 f w House Keeper LA
   Green Manda 20 f w Spinster TX
2. Repository:
   Name: Family History Library
   Salt Lake City, UT 84150 USA
   
   Title: Ancestral File (R)
   Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
   Publication: Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998