Harshbarger line: Johan George Harter 1755-1843

 I need to give credit where credit is due.  Almost this entire post is based on information provided by Robert Harter.  He is the person who determined that George's parents were Johan George and Eva Bracker Harter, and he has done a wonderful job of documenting George's life.  I will add a few details, perhaps, and my own thoughts, but this post would not be possible without all of his hard work.  If you want to read more than I am going to include here, you can go to the WikiTree entry for Johan George Harter II, 1755-1843. 

George was born about 1755, most likely in Pennsylvania although Maryland is a possibility.  He was one of at least 11 children, and he was raised as a Lutheran.  So far as is known now, his father was the immigrant for this family, and it is likely that German was spoken in the home, if not everywhere his first family lived.  By 1769 the family had moved to Rocky Hill, Frederick County, Maryland, where there are church records at St. Peter's Lutheran Church.  

George married Maria Magdalena Kitterman, daughter of Christopher and Anna Margaret Lawall Kitterman, in Frederick County in 1776.  The couple had five children born in Frederick County, and in 1791 the young family packed up and moved to Franklin County, Virginia.  This was a distance of about 250 miles, so it is good that George had at least one brother living near him as the family made their new home.  George is on tax rolls there from 1793 to 1800.  

Soon enough, the lure of the "west" called and the family, by now including 10 children, some of whom were old enough to have their own households, moved on.  George was in "miscellaneous township", Preble County, Ohio in time to be on the 1810 tax list there.  There are also records for a George Harter in Montgomery County at the same time.  Preble County was formed partly from Montgomery County, so this may or may not be our George, or he may have been taxed in two counties. 

Just about everywhere the family lived-Frederick County, Maryland; on Mill Creek in Franklin County, Virginia; and Preble County, Ohio-the area was just beginning to settle after the native Americans had been forced out by war or treaty.  There are several listings for George Harter on the Bureau of Land Management site in Ohio, west of the Miami River, but some may have been his son George.  Being listed on the BLM General Land Office site meant that he was the first white man to own that land, so he would have had to clear it, plant it, build his home and outbuildings, and start from scratch, although he likely brought household goods and tools with him.  The most likely route for him to have traveled would have been to the Ohio River and then north on the Miami River, and the trip would have taken probably weeks. 

I've had little luck in tracing George through the US census, although I did locate him in 1830 in Twin Township, Preble County, Ohio.  By 1840 he is missing again.    His wife Mary had died in 1826, so he may have lived alone for some time.  There is some thought that in his later years he may have left the Lutheran church and become a German Baptist (Dunkard).  It may be as simple as there were no Lutheran churches where he lived, and he was devout enough to want to continue worshiping God in some manner.  

George died March 23, 1843 in Lanier Township, Preble County, Ohio. In his will, he left everything to two sons, to care for a third son, Abraham, who was disabled in some way; "his misfortune over which he could have no control" were his father's words.  When the misfortune occurred, and who cared for him up to this time, we don't know.

George had lived a long life, and seen many changes, not just in his personal circumstances but in the growth of our nation.  I have been unable to locate his name on any military records, but there is a possibility he was in the Revolutionary War, and a strong possibility that he was in the War of 1812 in Ohio, even if only on garrison duty close to home.   America was made from pioneer farmers like George, and we are blessed by the work they did and the lives they lived.

The line of descent is:

Johan George Harter-Mary Kitterman

Johan George Harter-Mary Miller

George Harter Jr.-Elizabeth Geiger

John Harter-Mary Bennett

Clara Ellen Harter-Emmanuel Harshbarger

Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers

Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Beeks

Their descendants

Update 7/31/2021  Disregard this post.  This is not our line.  Our line here starts with George Harter-Elizabeth Geiger.  The earlier ancestry is not correct.