Guild Greathouse Forum - Greathouse Family Genealogy, History, Surname Research
Guild Community (posting requires registration) => Most Wanted Greathouse => : Rick April 21, 2010, 05:37:41 PM
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A Harman Greathouse first appeared in Wharton Township, Fayette County, PA, when he was named on the tax list of said county in 1785.
1785 – Tax Lists: Wharton Township
Greathouse, Harman; amount of tax: 1.10 1/2
Source: http://www.footnote.com/image/#3078503
Determining A Time Period of Birth for Harman Greathouse
Based upon the 1785 tax list, an upper limit for the time period of Harman's birth can be determined.
If Harman Greathouse was age 21 or over, when he was named on this tax list, then he would have been born about 1764 or before, which suggests an upper limit for the time period of his birth.
Based upon another event which occurred in 1777, prior to Harman Greathouse being named on the 1785 tax list, a lower limit for the time period of Harman's birth can be determined.
The Pennsylvania Militia was organized under an Act of the Assembly of March 17, 1777 that required compulsory enrollment by constables of all able-bodied white males between the ages of 18 and 53 to repel invaders.
If Harman Greathouse served in the militia, then he would have been born about 1759 or before.
If Harman Greathouse did not serve in the militia, then he would have been born about 1760 or later.
At this time, no records have been discovered which would suggest that this Harman Greathouse served in the militia, therefore a reasonable time period for his birth would be between 1760 and 1764.
Determining Where Harman Greathouse Came From
An article from Penn in Hand, Vol. 21, no. 2 - - June 2000, Tax Records and their Cousins: The PA Septennial Census, online: http://www.genpa.org/research_taxrecords.html, states:
Tax lists can be very helpful in establishing the comings and goings of individuals. When someone “disappears” from a particular township’s list, it ordinarily means the person either died or moved elsewhere.
Conversely, when someone first appears on a particular township's list, it ordinarily means the person either moved in to the township from elsewhere or that a son of a resident of the township, came of age to move out on his own, either as a resident of said township or perhaps as a resident of a township in an adjacent county.
The appearance of Harman Greathouse in said township and county in 1785 suggests that he either moved in to the township from elsewhere or that as a son of either a resident of the township or a nearby township, perhaps even in an adjacent county, he had come of age to move out on his own.
There appears to be no records for a Harman Greathouse, which suggest that he would have been residing elsewhere, prior to 1785, so until records are found which would suggest that was the case, it would be more reasonable to investigate whether or not Harman could have been a son of either a resident of the township or a nearby township, perhaps even in an adjacent county.
Determining Which Greathouse Residents Of The Area Could Have Been The Father Of Harman Greathouse
The following Greathouse ancestors were known to have been living in the stated township or in a township in an adjacent county by 1785:
1) Mary Morris Greathouse, who had married Andrew McCreary in 1780, after the death of her husband, Daniel Greathouse in late 1777 or early 1778, appears to have been residing with her husband, Andrew McCreary, who was taxed as resident of Wharton Township in 1785. Source: http://www.footnote.com/image/#3078505
The court case recorded in Bourbon County, KY, Gabriel Greathouse vs Andrew McCreary, Mary McCreary, Richard Morris and others, strongly suggests that Gabriel Greathouse was the son and soul heir of the estate of Daniel Greathouse, deceased. So Daniel Greathouse would not have been a plausible candidate to have been the father of Harman Greathouse.
2) Elizabeth Greathouse, born about 1741, probably in Philadelphia. She had married Jonathan Hill about 1779?. She appears to have been residing with her husband, Jonathan Hill, who was taxed as a resident of Wharton Township, on the same page as Harman Greathouse in 1785. Source: http://www.footnote.com/image/#3078503
Additional questions regarding Elizabeth: Was she the sister of William Greathouse Senior of Turkeyfoot Township, Bedford County, PA? Or was she perhaps his niece, the daughter of William's brother, John Greathouse, who died in Philadelphia, about 1750?
3) William Greathouse Senior was taxed as a resident of Turkeyfoot Township, Bedford County, PA in 1785, where he had been taxed as a resident of Brothersvalley from 1771-1773; as a resident of Turkeyfoot Township from 1774-1776, 1779, 1783 and 1785. William Greathouse Senior's will which was probated in Harrison County, VA in 1792, did not name Harman Greathouse as a son, so he would probably not be a candidate for Harman Greathouse's father.
4) William Greathouse Junior was taxed as a resident of Turkeyfoot Township, Bedford County, PA in 1785, owning 400 acres of land, while in 1783 he was taxed as a non-resident of the township owning 150 acres of land. So between 1783 and 1785, William Greathouse Junior appears to have moved to said township and county from elsewhere. He was named as a son in the will of his father, William Greathouse Senior, which was probated in Harrison County, VA in 1792.
Considering that five individuals who were named in the will of William Greathouse Senior of Harrison County, VA, were also named in the records of St. Michael's Lutheran Church at Germantown, Philadelphia County, PA; it would be reasonable and plausible to conclude that William Greathouse Junior would have been the son who was born to William Grothaus, an unmarried young man with Anna Maria Puppin on 2 Aug 1748, whose birth and baptism was recorded at St. Michael's Lutheran Church, Germantown, PA.
William Greathouse Junior, born 2 Aug 1748, would have been age 12-16 between 1760 and 1764, when Harman Greathouse would have been born. William Junior's step-mother married his father between the age of 15 and 16. If William Greathouse Junior married at the age of 15 or 16, then he would have married between 1763 and 1764.
He would have been age 17 in 1765, about when Michael Greathouse was born. [Micheal was not named as a son in the will of William Greathouse Senior of Harrison County, VA]
He would have been age 27 in 1775, when John Leonard Greathouse was born to a William & Maria Grothaus of Plainfield Township, Northampton County, PA. John Leonard Greathouse appears to have been name saked after Leonhardt Beyer who along with his wife sponsored the baptism of John Leonard Greathouse. A Leonard Greathouse married Sarah Parsons on 8 Nov 1801, in Harrison County, VA.
The paths of the Beyers, Greathouses, Pauls and Schutz may have first crossed in Philadelphia. Leonhardt Beyer witnessed the marriage of Friedrich Paul in Philadelphia. From Hannah Benner Roach's work, Jonathan Paul was the trustee of a school, which may have been built by Michael Schutz. Michael Schutz, after recovering from an illness and lamenting about Jonathan Paul's death, was compelled to write his own last will and testament, shortly before the marriage of his daugther, Barbara to William Greathouse Senior.
He would have been age 30-33 between 1780 and 1783, when his daughter Rohanah Greathouse was born. Rohanah Greathouse married John Stackhouse on 11 Oct 1798, in Harrison County, VA. Also between 1780 and 1783, a William Greathouse was serving as a Corporal in Captain Lewis Stacher's Company of Plainfield Township, Northampton County, PA Militia.
Therefore, William Greathouse Junior would be a plausible candidate to have been the father of Harman Greathouse, born about 1764 and Michael Greathouse, born about 1765.
This scenario becomes even more plausible when the 1799 court case from Harrison County, VA, Nathaniel Adam vs Harman Greathouse, is considered... where John McCollough, who married Barbara Akert, a grand-daughter of William Greathouse Senior, was summoned in court to prove that he was not holding land or other assets from the estate of William and Barbara Greathouse deceased, which had been promised to the plaintiff in the case. John McCollough then had the court issue a summons for Michael Greathouse to appear in court to prove the same. The court case does not mention why Harman Greathouse was sued as the lead defendant in the case, but it would be reasonable to conclude that he was sued for similar cause, where the plaintiff believed that Harman Greathouse was holding land or other assets from the estate of William and Barbara Greathouse, deceased, which had been promised to the plaintiff, Nathaniel Adams.
Neither Harman Greathouse, born about 1764, nor Michael Greathouse, born about 1765, were named as sons in the will of William Greathouse Senior which was probated in Harrison County, VA in 1792, so perhaps, in this case, Nathaniel Adams caused three grandchildren of William and Barbara Greathouse, deceased, to appear in court, to prove they were not holding land or other assets, which Nathaniel Adams believed had been promised to him, by either William or Barbara Greathouse, deceased or the executors of their estate.
If Harman Greathouse, born about 1764 and Michael Greathouse, born about 1765, were grandsons of William and Barbara Greathouse, deceased, of Harrison County, VA, then which of their sons could have been the father of Harman Greathouse and Michael Greathouse?
a) William Greathouse Junior, born 2 Aug 1748, was perhaps married by 1763 or 1764 and was named as son in the will of William Greathouse Senior, which was probated in Harrison County, VA in 1792. -- Plausible.
b) John Greathouse, born 1756, was named on tax lists of Bedford County, PA as a "single freemen" for the years 1783 and 1785. He married Milly Gillaspy on 8 Apr 1793, in Harrison County, VA. -- Not plausible.
c) Gabriel Greathouse, born about 1769. He married Nancy Hustead about 1789 in Harrison County, VA. -- Not Plausible.
5) John Greathouse was taxed as single freemen in Turkeyfoot Township, Bedford County, PA in 1783 and 1785. A “single freemen” list was composed of unmarried men (usually age 21 and above). He would not be a plausible candidate to have been the father of Harman Greathouse.
Determining The Migration Path of Harman Greathouse of Wharton Township, Fayette County, PA
In 1787, a Harman Greathouse was taxed in Washington County, Fayette County, which would be near present day Belle Vernon, PA.