Henry Harmon, born February 4, 1823, in East Tennessee, was a retired farmer residing in Auburn, Nebraska. Moving to Illinois in 1828, he assisted his gunsmith father, Nathan Harmon, before marrying Margaret Handley in 1849. The couple initially farmed in Missouri, then relocated to Nemaha County, Nebraska, in 1855. There, they established a homestead and eventually owned extensive farmland. Harmon faced health challenges in later years, including the loss of his leg, yet remained active and devoted to his family and community. A Democrat, he held various township offices and was a member of the Christian church.
Henry Harmon, this venerable citizen now living retired in Auburn, Nebraska, has entered the octogenarian ranks. Henry Harmon was born in East Tennessee, February 4, 1823, the son of Virginia parents. Nathan Harmon, his father, was a gunsmith by trade, at which he worked in Tennessee and Illinois, having removed to the last named state in 1828 and settled in Hillsboro, Montgomery County. He married Rebecca Myers, about 1813, when both were young, the bride in her sixteenth year. Their children were: Elizabeth, who died in young womanhood; Polly, who also died in early life; George, who became the owner of large tracts of land in Missouri and Nebraska, was twice married and the father of four children, died in 1899; Lottie, deceased; Henry, whose name introduces this review; Reuben, deceased; Davidson, a resident of Kansas City, has a wife and five children; and Mrs. Nancy Jane Beebe, who has her third husband and is the mother of five children. The father of this family died in the prime of life, and the mother married again, a Mr. Fraisher, in Missouri, by whom she had one son, Washington Fraisher, now a resident of California. She died in 1873, at the age of seventy-seven years.
Henry Harmon in his youth had only limited advantages for obtaining an education. He remained at home until he reached his majority, assisting his father in the shop, and then he took to himself a wife. With small means, the young couple settled down to married life in Atchison County, Missouri, where they bought eighty acres of land, on which they farmed for four years. From 1853 to 1855, they lived on another farm in that county. Then, selling out, they came to Nemaha County, Nebraska, pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of land in Douglas precinct, where they established their home in a log cabin, sixteen by twenty feet in dimensions. Since then, Mr. Harmon has owned two other farms and had as much as four hundred acres at one time. He has carried on general farming and stock-raising, selling some of his cattle to the Chicago market. He sold his last farm a year ago. His pleasant home, a two-story residence, on the corner of First and High streets, in Auburn, Mr. Harmon built in 1891.
Mr. Harmon was married March 1, 1849, to Miss Margaret Handley, who was born in Missouri, November 11, 1833, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Hall) Handley, both natives of Kentucky. In the Handley family were eight sons and four daughters, all of whom married and had children, and four of the number are now living. The father died at the age of eighty-eight years, in Atchison County, Missouri, and the mother followed him in death three days later, her age being seventy-six years. Mr. and Mrs. Harmon reared thirteen of their fourteen children, eight sons and six daughters, namely: William, of Auburn, Nebraska, has a wife and three sons; John, also of Auburn, is married and has one daughter; Mary Ann, who died at the age of nineteen years; Rebecca, wife of Jacob Snyder, of Nance County, Nebraska, has five children; George, of Auburn, is married and has one son and three daughters; Frank, of Oklahoma Territory, has a wife, one son and two daughters; Sophrona, wife of Hugh Lockard, of Nance County, has a son and one daughter; Lavina, wife of William McKinney, of Nemaha County; Sarah, wife of William Ball, of Nemaha County, has one daughter and one son; Charles is married and lives in Auburn; Andrew, of St. Paul, Minnesota, is married and has one son and two daughters; Nettie, wife of John McCarty, of Auburn; Harvey, of Columbus, Indiana, is married and has one son and one daughter; and Nathan, of David City, Nebraska, has a wife and one daughter. Three of the sons, Andrew, Harvey and Nathan, are ministers in the Christian church, and all are occupying honored and useful positions in life.
Some years ago, as the result of blood poisoning, Mr. Harmon suffered the loss of his left leg, and he now goes about with the aid of an artificial limb. He has also been afflicted with partial paralysis. Notwithstanding these afflictions, however, he retains his strength and faculties to a remarkable degree in his old age, and the weight of his eighty years rests lightly upon him. Both he and his good wife are devoted members of the Christian church. Politically, Mr. Harmon is a Democrat and has filled various township offices.
Source: Lewis Publishing Company, A Biographical and Genealogical History of Southeastern Nebraska, 2 volumes, Lewis Publishing Company, 1904.