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Archiver > PA-QUAKERS > 2006-04 > 1143880389
From: Richard <>
Subject: RE: [PA-QUAKERS] Harmer brothers,Quakers from Wiltshire to Pennsylvania in 1682
Date: Sat, 01 Apr 2006 00:33:09 -0800
In-Reply-To: <Pine.OSF.4.33.0603312350360.21320-100000@worf.netins.net>
Thank you for this information Dan. I wonder, though, if there are any
details about George Harmer, Sr, and his wife, Edith (maiden name unknown),
or their ancestors and other children in that book or elsewhere that you are
aware of?
Many thanks,
Richard
-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel Treadway [mailto:]
Sent: March 31, 2006 10:04 PM
To:
Subject: RE: [PA-QUAKERS] Harmer brothers, Quakers from Wiltshire to
Pennsylvania in 1682
I have a copy of /Jason & Martha Harmer Penrose, Their Ancestors,
Descendants & Related Families, 1200 to 1982/, by Evelyn Thompson Penrose.
She gives an account of the Harmer family beginning on page 90. She states
a George Harmer of Wiltshire was last mentioned in the records of Purton
Monthly Meeting (Quaker) in May 1697, and that the George and William you
mention were his sons. They came to America in 1682 and settled in Upper
Dublin Township, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.
William married in 1685 to Ruth, daughter of John Skeatt. John Skeatt also
appears in Purton MM records.
I am a descendant of George Harmer, Jr., and his second wife Honour Oxley.
If you are interested in his descendants, some of them appear here
<http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=DESC&db=treadway&id=I3810>;
---
Dan Treadway
P. O. Box 72, Gilbert IA 50105
http://showcase.netins.net/web/treadway
On Fri, 31 Mar 2006, Richard wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> I am trying to establish contact with any Harmer descendants with
> knowledge of their origins. In doing my own Wiltshire research, I have
> come across the family of a likely Quaker, George Harmer, senior,
> tailor, of Rodbourne Cheney, Wilts., described in the parish register
> there as "an heretick" by Nicholas Adee, the rector, when his son
> Samuel, "of ripe years", was brought to be baptised in 1678. Samuel's
> mother was Edith. During the Commonwealth, the births of two sons of
> George Harmer and Edith his wife were registered by the civil register
> (i.e. registrar) in 1654 and 1657, likely because Quakers were
> probably unoffended by the civil authority taking note of their
> births. Samuel, however, was probably born earlier, and only baptised
> so that he could be married in the Church of England after the
Restoration. His daughter is baptised the next year.
>
> Now, I find that two brothers, both Quaker, went out from Wiltshire to
> Pennsylvania after 5 June 1682 according to the following website,
> http://www.geocities.com/roudeng/Harmer.html (from which I take this
> snippet), viz.:
>
> "William & George Harmer were brothers who left England for
> Pennsylvania after June 5, 1682. William (born ca. 1660-1731/32,
> Chalwily, Wiltshire,
> England) was the elder of the two and was a tailor by occupation. His
> certificate of removal bears the previously cited date and was granted
> by the Purton Friends Monthly Meeting in Wiltshire, England. After his
> arrival in Pennsylvania, William joined the Abington Meeting but did
> not maintain active membership. He returned to his native England
> where he married sometime after September 7, 1685, Ruth Skeat (born
> in Chalwily, Wiltshire, England, daughter of John Skeat) at Foxham,
> Wiltshire. He and his bride returned to Pennsylvania. William Harmer
> requested reinstatement at the Abington Meeting on September 30, 1706.
> In 1720/21 he and Ruth and two sons removed to the Gwynedd Monthly
> Meeting. He died Nov. 26, 1731, in Upper Dublin Twp., Philadelphia,
> PA, and is buried at the Friends Burial Ground at Philadelphia. Ruth
> (Skeat) Harmer died Dec. 25, 1748 and is buried at the same location.
> William's will mentions 8 children but only Ruth and John by name.
> Other children of this couple have been identified as Elizabeth who
> married Joseph Townsend, Jane who married John Bradfield and William
> who married Eleanor Richardson. Our connection to this family is
> through Jane Harmer. I have seen this family pedigree extending back
> to 1537, but after checking it out, I found a couple of discrepancies
> to make me unsure of the accuracy of it. If anyone finds any proof of the
ancestors of William and George Harmer, please contact me."
>
> I have tried without success to contact the author of the website and
> wonder if there isn't someone connected with this family on this list?
>
> One of the two sons of George Harmer, senior, tailor, of Rodbourne
> Cheney, Wilts., and his wife Edith, civilly registered was George
> Harmer, born 8 Nov. 1657 (Old Style). He is likely to be one of the 2
> brothers who went to Pennsylvania in 1682. There is no such place as
> Chalwily in Wiltshire, and I believe that it is a garbling of the
> second element of Rodbourne Cheney, which was spelt in quite a variety
> of ways until settling on the modern "correct" form.
>
> I would be grateful for any assistance or contact.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Richard
>
> Richard Carruthers, M.A. (Oxon.)
> OPC for Purton and Rodbourne Cheney, Wilts.
> Conducting a one-place study of Purton, Wilts., with interest in
> adjacent or nearby parishes, such as Rodbourne Cheney.
>
>
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