HARNESS BIOGRAPHIES, Henry County, Missouri ==================================================================== HARNESS, Adam - b: 1808 Hardiville, VA source: 1883 History of Henry Missouri , National Historical Co. - page: 722 residence: Walker Twp Adam Harness, one of the pioneers of Henry County, was born in Hardiville, Virginia, on the 8th of March, 1808. He was the ninth in a family of three girls and seven boys, children of Adam and Elizabeth (Baker) Harness. In 1836 Adam Harness, Jr., was married in St. Charles County, Missouri, to Miss Nancy Murdock. Before he had attained his majority he came to Missouri on business for his father, and subsequently engaged in teaching school, and taught in St. Charles and Gasconade Counties. He afterwards located in Jefferson County, where he lived for some time, then moving to St. Louis County, where he remained until the year of 1854, when he came to Western Missouri, settling on the place which he now occupies. He at first bought a preemption claim and then entered his farm, entering and purchasing about 1,000 acres. He commenced growing stock, which he has since continued. Mr. Harness' neighbors when he settled here, were Dr. Gates, Judge Stewart, Stephen and Henry Vickars, and a Mr. Sevier. He has reared a family of nine children, of whom five are living: William, Joseph, Alexander, Mary Ann and Nancy. Jack, Elvira, Adam and an infant, are deceased. ==================================================================== HARNESS, Joseph H. - b: 1871 Walker Twp, Henry Co, MO source: 1919 History of Henry Co MO, Uel W. Lamkin, Historical Publishing Co - page: 395 residence: Walker Twp Joseph H. Harness. Along a stretch of well-kept highway in the Southeastern part of Walker township are a number of very attractive farm homes. The surroundings are ideal for a progressive farming community, with a flowing stream and beautiful timber tracts in the vicinity. This corner of the township is undoubtedly one of the most fertile and progressive in Henry County. The home of Joseph H. Harness and wife is one of the pretty places of the county, and shows in its appearance that the dwellers therein have a taste for the better things of life and believe in beautifying their surroundings. The Harness residence is a very pretty cottage, standing on a rise of ground on the west side of the highway and the other buildings and fencing are in keeping with the house. The Harness farm consists of 210 acres of well-improved farm lands, eighty acres of which are in the home place. J. H. Harness was born October 6, 1871, on the Harness homestead within one-half mile of his present home. He is the son of William Harness (born April 30, 1844; died July 3, 1914), a native of West Virginia and a son of Adam Harness, who was one of the first pioneers to make a settlement in what is now Walker township. Mr. Harness preempted or entered Government land at a time when there was but one house between his cabin and the old settlement of Germantown in the early forties. There were no homes on the way to Clinton which was then but a frontier settlement; William Harness enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1863 and served for one year with the Confederate forces during the Civil War. He became very ill with measles and it was necessary for his father to make the long journey to St. Louis and bring him home in order that he might receive proper care. Adam Harness made the long trip to St. Louis and returned by ox-team, the only available method of transportation in those days. William Harness received a tract of land from his father and married Mary Ann Mullen, who was born in Henry County, a daughter of William Mullen, a pioneer from Kentucky who gave the land for what is now known as the Mullen Cemetery. Mary Ann Harness was born in 1848 and died November 15, 1896. To William and Mary Ann Harness were born fourteen children, twelve of whom were reared to maturity: William A., a farmer in Bear Creek township; A. L., Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Mary Hackney, Urich, Missouri; Mrs. Martha Long, White Oak township; Sterling V. and Mrs. Stella McCoy, twins, the former of whom resides in Bates County, Missouri, and the latter is deceased; Harvey, White Oak township; John S., deceased; Edgar died at the age of nineteen years; Mrs. Sarah Wort, living in Kansas; Mrs. Frances Jennings, Maxville, Kansas. J. H. Harness was educated in the common schools and has spent his whole life in the vicinity of his birthplace with the exception of one and a half years' residence in Eldorado Springs, Missouri. Mr. Harness was married, October 18, 1893, to Miss Gertrude Colson, who was born in Walker township, the daughter of Archibald and Hannah (Sevier) Colson, the former of whom came to Henry County and made a settlement in the early fifties, dying here in 1906. He was a Union veteran, one of the best- known of the old settlers of Henry County, and reared a splendid family. His widow now resides in Urich. She is a direct descendant of the famous Sevier family of Tennessee, One of the members of which family was Governor Sevier of Tennessee. She was born in Osage County, Missouri, in September, 1846 and is the mother of seven children: Dr. J. R. Colson, Schell City, Missouri; Mattie, wife of Richard Angle, Clinton, Missouri; Mrs. Laura Chrisman, Bonham, Texas; Mrs. Mollie Clyzer, a widow living at Montrose; Mrs. Gertrude Harness; B. S. Colson, Appleton City, Mo; R. P. a live stock buyer, Montrose, Missouri. To J. H. and Gertrude Harness have been born two children: Glen W.; and Richard P. C., both of whom are at home with their parents. Politically, Mr. Harness is a Democrat. He and Mrs. Harness are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. They are intelligent, well informed, sociable people, who while industrious and enterprising, believe in enjoying the good things of life while they may. The history of the Harness family in America begins with Peter Michael Harness, a native of Holland, who accompanied one of the expeditions of William Penn to the colony of Pennsylvania in search of a home and religious freedom. He settled later in Virginia. A descendant of this Peter Michael Harness was Capt. Jack Harness, who served as a captain of a company in Gen. George Washington's Army, during the War of the American Revolution. He is mentioned in the History of the Valley of Virginia as one of the noted characters in the Revolutionary epoch of American history. He was an inveterate Indian fighter and killed many Indians during his eventful career; three of his brothers lost their lives at the hands of hostile Indians. His son, Lee Adam Harness, was the father of Adam Harness, who was married to Nancy Ellen Murdock and came to St. Louis County, Missouri, as early as 1830. In 1855 he came to Henry County, and settled on Granddaddy Creek, near Stone's Chapel. His son, William Harness, enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1863 and fought at the battle of Wilson's Creek. He served under General Price and was in Price's Raid through Missouri and Kansas, his commander being Captain Spangler of the cavalry. At St. Louis, he became ill with measles and his father made the long trip to bring him home, as before stated. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by the Henry County MOGenWeb http://www.rootsweb.com/~mohenry/henryco.html Contact the Henry County Coordinator for comments or corrections. ====================================================================