Biographical Sketch of Bradford Harmon, Holden, Johnson County, Missouri >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** Bradford Harmon, widely-known druggist of Holden, Missouri, is descen- ded from one of the oldest pioneer families of Johnson county, the coming of which family to Missouri dates back to the year 1837, when Mr. Harmon's father and grandfather drove across country from Cooper county and made a settlement in the vicinity of Holden. Bradford Harmon was born on a farm just two miles north of Holden, December 1, 1869. He is a son of James and Margaret (Roberts) Harmon, natives of Virginia and Tennessee, respectively. James Harmon was born on a farm near Richmond, Virginia, a son of William and Mary (Hill) Harmon, both natives of Virginia and members of noted American colonial families. Mary (Hill) Harmon was a second cousin of Thomas Jefferson and a cousin of General A. P. Hill, of Virginia. James Harmon accompanied his par- ents to Cooper county, Missouri in 1833 and four years later, 1837, the family came farther west to Johnson county and made a permanent settle- ment on a pioneer farm near the present city of Holden. They drove from their former home to the new location in Johnson county via the ox team route and upon his arrival here William Harmon pre-empted govern- ment land. On this pioneer farm the grandfather of Bradford Harmon spent the remainder of his days, dying in 1866 at the age of 70 years. James Harmon died on the home farm in 1872. During the Civil War he served with the Confederate army under General Price and fought at the battles of Lonejack, Pea Ridge, Mine Run and Wilson Creek. He was never wounded nor taken prisoner during his arduous years of service. After the close of the war, he returned to Johnson county and followed farming in connection with plying his trade of carpentering and build- ing. He erected a number of houses located on the countryside north of Holden. Mrs. Margaret Harmon died in 1901. James and Margaret Harmon were the parents of two children: Bradford, the subject of this review; and Rena, wife of William Surber, residing near Pittsville, Johnson county. Bradford Harmon is "self-made" and self-educated, having work- ed and made his own way from his boyhood days. He was reared on the farm amid pioneer hardships when there were few luxuries. In those days there was not a great deal of money with which to educate the children of the pioneer families. Early in life he decided that a good education was a necessity and he worked his way through the Holden Seminary and the Warrensburg State Normal. He worked as a farm hand until 18 years of age and then entered Holden Seminary, where he worked his way through in preparation for the normal course. His next step was to enter the drug store of Dr. Day, where he learned the art of compounding prescriptions and became thoroughly versed in the mysteries of the drug business. In 1894, he located at Sweet Springs and was there employed and also married. Following a brief residence at Sweet Springs, he bought the J. V. Murray Drug Store in partnership with Mr. Hibbs and the firm has since been known as the Hibbs & Harmon Drug Store. Since the death of Mr. Hibbs, Mr. Harmon has assumed full charge of the business but the old firm name has been retained. Mr. Harmon was married in 1894 to Florence Hibbs at Sweet Springs, Missouri. Florence (Hibbs) Harmon is a daughter of J. W. Hibbs, a native of Penn- sylvania, who came to Johnson county in 1895 from Saline county, Mo., where he had settled as early as 1867. He was engaged as a stock buyer in this county until his death. His wife, Henrietta (Greggs) Hibbs, was born and reared near St. Joseph, Missouri and is now living with Mr. and Mrs. Harmon. Mr. Harmon is a Democrat in politics and has taken an active and influential part in political affairs in Johnson county. He has served as a member of the Democratic County Central Committee and as its treasurer. He is fraternally affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. ==================================================================== 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: <> Penny Harrell ====================================================================