| Notes |
- Peter's birth date and christening are in discrepancy. He could have been born in 1767 or 1770. He was christened on Oct. 21 in 1767 or 1770. His question of parentage is discussed later. The 1767 date comes from his gravestone. The 1770 dates come from Church records at Oley Hill, District Twp., Berks Co., Pennsylvania. Peter and his family came to Montgomery Co., Ohio from Berks Co., Pennsylvania supposedly between 1816-1818. All of his children claim to have been born in Pennsylvania on their census records. His youngest children seem to have been Jonas b. circa 1814 and Rheuben, b. abt. 1816. If Rheuben's birth date can be ascertained factually, then their migration to Ohio would be more certain. They first settled in Washington Twp., Montgomery Co., Ohio and lived there in the 1820 census. (C-1025) In 1827, they lived in Bethel Twp., Miami County. By the 1830 census, they had moved to Monroe Twp., Miami Co., Ohio. (C-134b) They sold land in this township in 1831 and moved North to Dublin Twp.., Mercer Co., near Rockford, Ohio where he was a farmer. It was land in the Godfrey Reserve. (C-135, 261, 357) He is listed in Mercer Co., in the 1840 census. Peter Harp's grave was still visible in 1982 in the Old Frysinger Cemetery, on the Shindeldecker (Shingledecker) farm at the end of Godfrey Reserve Rd., Northeast of Rockford, Ohio off Godfrey Reserve Rd., Mercer Co., Ohio. When it was visited by Betty R. Snyder of Foster City, California, it was flat on the ground and covered with weeds. It's dates were still readable. (C-181,387) One of Peter Harp's son, Amos, is likely to have been the Amos Harp that purchased land, section 30, in Noble Twp.., Auglaize Co., Ohio in 1849. (C-254) Peter Harp's wife is listed as Catherine and his mother as Maria Catherine in some sources. (C-181) Tom Harp of Sidney, Ohio believes his wife's name was Elizabeth Engel. As Tom has researched in Berks County on multiple occasions, I am inclined to believe this source most. There is also a possibility that he had a previous marriage which was recorded on 22 June 1796 to Elizabeth Hillegass. No proof exists that this is a marriage to our Peter Harb. (C-357) As to Peter's heritage, family tradition as presented in a Harb family reunion book dated July 31, 1909, hands the oral tradition down this way from the older members of the family: Great, great grandfather came in 71 or 72 from Germany and located in Berks Co., Pennsylvania. He cleared a few acres and went back to the Hesses after his family: a wife and 13 sons. (This written tradition believes they were Hessens. A great-great granddaughter of Peter calls them "High Dutch" from Pennsylvania.) They were hired as mercenary soldiers for King George III. However, when they got here, they deserted to the American cause. (C-43) General Washington made the great grandfather and his 6 oldest sons commissioned officers. All 14 men fought in the Revolution. (C-309, 539) After peace returned, these Harp's scattered moving to New Jersey, the lakes of Erie, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Some of the younger generation came to Ohio in the 1820's from Pennsylvania and settled between Miamisburg and Germantown in Montgomery Co., in Miamisburg, Farmersville, Germantown and Dayton. Peter moved to Ohio between 1814-1816, 3 to 4 miles south of Dayton, then to Tippecanoe City and lastly to Mercer Co. All these Harp's came from the original immigrant who lived and died in Berks Co., Pennsylvania. (C-309) My father was told as a child by these older Harp family members that the Harp's were originally French Huguenots that went to Germany to live during troubled times and then later immigrated to America. The parents of Peter Harp, although listed here as Jacob Harp and Maria Catherine, are really still uncertain. The branch that is carried in family group sheets is the most likely line due to timing. It has not clearly meshed with the "traditional oral" history as passed down in our branch at this time. The biggest problem is that 13 sons can not be found in one family or in the American Revolution from one place. Pennsylvania, even as early as 1790, only has one Harb family living in it. In the 1790 census there were 25 Harp or Harpe families living in the U.S. with an average family size of 4.3, with 108 total members. Besides the one family in Pennsylvania, six families lived in New York, six in Maryland, one in Virginia, ten in North Carolina and one in South Carolina. (C-314) Revolutionary War Records have revealed this pattern. The most Harp's in the war enlisted in Virginia: Abner, Arthur, Henry, Joseph, Mathew, Mills, Nehemiah, Samuel, and William (all being born in the 1740's). Several were from North Carolina: Two Josephs, Richard (b. 175?), Sgt. Mjr. Matthew, and William (b. 175?). Connecticut had two: Ahaz (b.175?) and Elias (b.174?). A William Harp signed the oath of allegiance to Maryland during the Revolution in Montgomery Co., Maryland and Michael Harps, in Frederick Co., MD. (C-316) A Peter Harp, Abraham, John Harp and Henry (b.1735, PA) Harp served in the third Ulster Co., N.Y. Militia, under Colonel Levi Pawling in the Revolutionary War. Lastly, a John Harp (b.175?) is in the Delaware War Records. (C-310, 315-318, 714, 2458) There are other Harp's that might eventually connect to our Peter instead. A Peter E. Herb and Peter Herb came to America in 1749 from Rotterdam. A Johannes Herb came to America from Rotterdam in 1734. An Abraham Harp immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1765 (C-313). A Petrus Harp (who married Antje De Pue in 1749) and Henry Harp, from Rochester, N.Y., served in the Indian War of 1757. A John Harp was living in Philadelphia in 1746. An Abraham Harp (1816-?) who lived in Farmersville, Montgomery Co., Ohio was the son of Jacob & Elizabeth Bowman Harp and grandson of Frederick Harp of Berks Co., Pennsylvania. Virginia Harp's probably got their start from two immigrants in the second half of the 1600's named Richard and Henry. (C-313) Most of this information is from miscellaneous records from Lyndon Harp, 9110 Carrari Ct., Alta Loma, Calif. 91701 (C-306), THE BOSTON TRANSCRIPT, Nov. 24, 1919, #7370. (C-310) and Beers' "History of Montgomery Co., Ohio", p.342-343. (C-311) Also see (C-394 & 395) for additional information.
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1770 - 1842 (72 years)
[1, 13] 
