Sample Lineal Proof Report: Disentangling the Three Contemporary Virginia Men Named Nathaniel Harris (1756–1854)

A. Boyd Nielsen, AG®, Principal Genealogist

PedigreeProof.com • Primary-Source Lineal Proof Report

Report Date: 28 October 2026  |  Client File: Linda Peterson — Harris Line

PART I: DISPROVING THE '26 AUGUST 1759' GOOCHLAND BIRTH MYTH & SEPARATING THE THREE CONTEMPORARY VIRGINIA MEN NAMED NATHANIEL HARRIS

1. Exhaustive Audit of The Douglas Register (Goochland County, Virginia, 1750–1797): Proof of the 1782 Marriage of Lt. Nathaniel Harris & Mary ('Molly') Howard

For decades, online trees and compiled secondary lineages have merged your ancestor, Lieutenant Nathaniel Harris (b. ca. 1756–1758, Goochland County, Virginia; d. intestate bef. 17 April 1817, Woodford County, Kentucky), husband of Mary ('Molly') Howard and son of Harrison Harris (d. 1795) and Martha ('Patty'), with two other contemporary Virginia Revolutionary War veterans of the identical name. Specifically, online trees frequently assert that your ancestor Nathaniel Harris was born on 26 August 1759 in St. James Northam Parish, Goochland County, Virginia, and cite Rev. William Douglas's parish register (The Douglas Register) as the supposed source of that birth date.

An exhaustive, line-by-line inspection of every Harris and Howard birth, baptism, marriage, and funeral entry in The Douglas Register (covering 1750–1797)—as well as a complete chronological audit of every entry recorded for the year 1759 (printed pages 54–58)—proves that no birth or baptism entry for any Nathaniel Harris on 26 August 1759 exists in The Douglas Register. Because Harrison Harris (d. 1795) and his wife Martha were active Baptists affiliated with Dover Baptist Church in Goochland County, none of their six children were presented for infant baptism in the Anglican parish register. Instead, The Douglas Register records two vital primary-source events for your direct ancestral family—and one contrasting marriage for a neighboring Louisa County contemporary: (1) on 18 March 1782 (original register p. 22; printed p. 26), Rev. William Douglas married 'Nat: Harris & Mary Howard, both of Goochland' (backed by the original Goochland County marriage bond dated 17 March 1782, signed by Nathaniel Harris and his brother-in-law Wm. Hix [William Randolph Hicks, husband of Nathaniel's sister Mary Elizabeth Harris]); (2) on 17 February 1769 (baptized 20 April 1769, original p. 84; printed p. 216), Rev. Douglas recorded the birth and baptism of the bride, 'Molly' Howard, daughter of John Howard and Elizabeth Stanley (married 20 April 1755, p. 1); and (3) six years after your ancestor's 1782 marriage, on 29 May 1788 (original p. 25; printed p. 26), Rev. Douglas married a completely separate man, 'Nathaniel Harris & Martha Byers, both of Louisa' (whose child Polly Harris was born 1 April 1788 and baptized 29 May 1788, p. 121).¹

Document 1: Verbatim entries from Rev. William Douglas's St. James Northam Parish Register (The Douglas Register, Goochland Co., VA, 1750–1797, pp. 1, 25, 26, 121, 207–210, 216), establishing the 18 March 1782 marriage of Lt. Nathaniel Harris and Mary ('Molly') Howard (b. 17 Feb 1769), contrasting the 29 May 1788 marriage of Nathaniel Harris and Martha Byers ('both of Louisa'), and confirming the complete absence of any 26 August 1759 birth entry.

2. Origin of the '26 August 1759' Birth Date: NARA Revolutionary War Pension File S. 37,971 (Rev. Nathaniel Harris of Powhatan & Bedford Cos., VA, and Jessamine & Woodford Cos., KY)

Where, then, did the exact birth date of 26 August 1759 originate? Primary-source examination of all surviving Revolutionary War pension files at the National Archives (NARA Record Group 15, Microfilm Publication M804) reveals that the 26 August 1759 birth date comes exclusively from Revolutionary War Pension Application File S. 37,971, filed in Kentucky in May 1834 by a separate contemporary of the same name—Rev. Nathaniel Harris, Senr. (b. 26 August 1759, Powhatan [then Cumberland] County, Virginia; d. bef. 12 August 1849, Versailles, Woodford County, Kentucky).

Because this pensioner also settled in central Kentucky (residing for over thirty years in Jessamine County before spending his final years in adjacent Woodford County) and actually appeared before the Woodford County Court on 5 May 1834 to execute his pension declaration, 20th-century researchers assumed that Pension File S. 37,971 belonged to your ancestor, Lt. Nathaniel Harris of Goochland County, Virginia, and Woodford County, Kentucky. As proven below by the original NARA jacket and Kentucky Pension Roll Certificate No. 26,770 (inscribed 23 May 1834 at $20 per annum for service as a Virginia Militia private under Col. Charles Lynch), this pension file belongs to the Powhatan and Bedford County, Virginia soldier who was still living in 1834—whereas your ancestor Lt. Nathaniel Harris had already died intestate in Woodford County seventeen years earlier, in April 1817.²

Document 2: Original NARA Jacket and Kentucky Pension Roll Certificate No. 26,770 (23 May 1834) from Revolutionary War Pension File S. 37,971 (NARA M804, Roll 1199, frames 0666–0667), inscribing Nathaniel Harris of Jessamine/Woodford County, Kentucky, for Virginia militia service under Col. Charles Lynch.

3. The Original 5 May 1834 Handwritten Pension Declaration (File S. 37,971, Frame 0668): First-Person Proof of Powhatan & Bedford County Origin

In his original handwritten declaration sworn in Woodford County Court, Kentucky, on 5 May 1834 before Justice of the Peace John M.Connell (frame 0668), pensioner Nathaniel Harris, Senr. (S. 37,971) testified under oath to every detail of his birth, parentage, residences, and military service. He declared that he was a resident of Jessamine County, Kentucky (appearing before a Woodford County magistrate out of convenience), and stated that he was 'aged seventy four on the 26 day of August last'—calculating to an exact birth date of 26 August 1759.

Crucially, he never lived in Goochland County and never served as an officer in the Goochland County Militia. Instead, he swore that he was living south of the James River in Powhatan County, Virginia, in 1778 when he volunteered at age 18 as a Private in Captain William Mayo's company of Powhatan militia, and that 'from there he removed with his father to Bedford County Virginia' in 1780, where he volunteered in Captain Charles Gwatkins's company under Colonel Charles Lynch and fought at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina on 15 March 1781.³

Document 3: Original handwritten sworn declaration of Nathaniel Harris, Senr., dated 5 May 1834 in Woodford County, Kentucky (NARA File S. 37,971, M804, Roll 1199, frame 0668), stating he was 'aged seventy four on the 26 day of August last' [b. 26 Aug 1759], resided in Jessamine County, KY, enlisted in Powhatan County, VA (1778), and 'removed with his father to Bedford County Virginia' (1780) before fighting at Guilford Courthouse (March 1781).

4. Full Verbatim Transcript & Original Autograph Signature ('Nathl. Harris Senr') in Pension File S. 37,971

To ensure complete paleographic clarity alongside the original 1834 manuscript scan above, the complete verbatim transcription of NARA File S. 37,971 prepared by C. Leon Harris (Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statements & Rosters), including the embedded facsimile of the pensioner's original autograph signature—'Nathl. Harris Senr'—is reproduced inline below. Notice his specific statement in the second paragraph explaining his father's migration from Powhatan County to Bedford County, Virginia, as well as the supporting character certificate of Rev. Edmund Waller and Robert B.ios/Mosby in Woodford County.⁴

Document 4: Complete verbatim transcription of NARA Pension File S. 37,971 (5 May 1834) with inset reproduction of the declarant's original handwritten signature, 'Nathl. Harris Senr' (NARA M804, Roll 1199, frames 0668–0669).

5. Bureau of Pensions Official Case Summary (Frame 0670) & Powhatan County Marriage Record (16 December 1779)

Frame 0670 of NARA File S. 37,971 preserves the U.S. Bureau of Pensions' official case summary sheet for 'Nathaniel Harris Senior', which explicitly abstracts the exact birth date from his file on its final line: 'b. Aug. 26, 1759', alongside his residences at enlistment ('Powhatan Co., Va. & 2nd enl. Bedford Co. Va'), his battle service ('Guilford'), and his residence at application ('Jessamine Co., Ky.').

Furthermore, Powhatan County, Virginia marriage records prove that this pensioner married in Powhatan County—prior to his father's 1780 removal to Bedford County—on 16 December 1779 (Powhatan Co. Marriage Register, p. 5, FHL Film 33,067) to Prudence More Mann (also read as Prudence Moore Nunn), with Miller Woodson (Clerk of Powhatan County) as surety. Thus, on 18 March 1782, when your ancestor Lt. Nathaniel Harris married 13-year-old Mary ('Molly') Howard in Goochland County, Virginia, the 26 August 1759 Nathaniel Harris was already married to Prudence and living with his father in Bedford County, Virginia.⁵

Document 5: Official U.S. Bureau of Pensions Case Summary Sheet in NARA File S. 37,971 (frame 0670), explicitly recording 'b. Aug. 26, 1759', enlistment in Powhatan and Bedford Counties, Virginia, battle service at Guilford Courthouse, and 1834 residence in Jessamine County, Kentucky.

PART II: PROVING THE PARENTAGE OF THE 1759 PENSIONER (SON OF CHARLES HARRIS OF POWHATAN & BEDFORD COS., VA) & ELIMINATING THE LOUISA/SMYTH CO. CONTEMPORARY

6. Direct Eyewitness Proof of the Father of the 26 August 1759 Pensioner: Widow's Pension File W. 6,678 (Micajah & Keziah [Harris] Clark)

In his 5 May 1834 declaration (Document 3), Rev. Nathaniel Harris (b. 26 August 1759) stated that he 'removed with his father to Bedford County Virginia' from Powhatan County in 1780, without naming his father in the sentence. However, his sister Keziah (Harris) Clark (b. ca. 1761, Powhatan Co., VA; d. aft. 1843, Amherst Co., VA), widow of Revolutionary War Corporal and Ensign Micajah Clark (1758–1832), filed Widow's Pension Application W. 6,678 in Amherst and Bedford Counties, Virginia, in 1838–1839. Her file contains two independent, sworn eyewitness depositions by lifelong Bedford County neighbors that name the father of Keziah and Nathaniel Harris explicitly:

On 28 March 1839, Mrs. Frances Leftwich (aged 77) testified under oath in Bedford County that she was 17 or 18 years old when Micajah Clark and his family moved to Bedford County from Powhatan County, and that 'said clarke she understood married Kiziah Harris, daughter of Chas. Harris [Charles Harris], of Powhattan county.' The very next day, on 29 March 1839, Mrs. Sally P. Sale (aged 68) testified under oath in Bedford County that she recollected Micajah Clark perfectly well at the time of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in March 1781, and that 'said clarke was married in Powhattan County as she understood and to Miss Kiziah Harris daughter of Chas. Harris who also moved to said county of Bedford when clarke and wife did.'⁶

Document 6: Sworn eyewitness depositions of Mrs. Frances Leftwich (28 March 1839) and Mrs. Sally P. Sale (29 March 1839) in Bedford County, Virginia, from Widow's Pension File W. 6,678 (Micajah & Keziah [Harris] Clark, NARA M804, Roll 565), proving that Keziah Harris was the 'daughter of Chas. Harris [Charles Harris] of Powhattan County who also moved to said county of Bedford.'

7. Direct Eyewitness & Family Bible Proof Linking Brother-in-Law Nathaniel Harris (S. 37,971) to Sister Keziah (Harris) Clark & Father Charles Harris (Will Proved 1793)

Continuing her sworn deposition on 29 March 1839 (page 3 of the transcript), Mrs. Sally P. Sale clinched the sibling relationship between Keziah (Harris) Clark and Rev. Nathaniel Harris (S. 37,971) by testifying that while Micajah Clark was away serving in the militia in 1780–1781, she 'stayed seven weeks at clarkes Brother in law Harris, (Nath'l.) while he was gone.' Furthermore, the original Micajah and Keziah (Harris) Clark Family Bible Register (copied ca. 1809–1810 and submitted with Keziah's 11 June 1838 declaration in File W. 6,678) records that Keziah named her eldest son Charles Harris Clark (born 16 March 1782) after her father Charles Harris, and her third son Nathaniel Harris Clark (born 20 June 1790) after her only brother, Nathaniel Harris.

This pension testimony is fully corroborated by the Last Will and Testament of Charles Harris of Bedford County, Virginia (dated 9 July 1787; proved 22 April 1793, Bedford County Will Book 2, p. 108, FHL Film 30,592). In his will, Charles Harris named his daughter Keziah Clarke, his daughter Sarah Harris, his grandson Charles Harris Clarke, his granddaughter Elizabeth Clarke, and his son Nathaniel Harris, appointing his son Nathaniel Harris and son-in-law Micajah Clarke as his executors. After Charles Harris's estate was proved in Bedford County in April 1793, his son Rev. Nathaniel Harris migrated to Fayette/Jessamine County, Kentucky. This proves beyond all doubt that the Nathaniel Harris born 26 August 1759 (Pension S. 37,971) was the son of Charles Harris of Powhatan and Bedford Counties, Virginia—and not the son of Harrison Harris of Goochland County.⁷

Document 7: Continuation of Sally P. Sale's deposition ('stayed seven weeks at clarkes Brother in law Harris, (Nath'l.) while he was gone') and the Micajah & Keziah (Harris) Clark Family Bible Register in NARA File W. 6,678, recording grandsons 'Charles Harris Clark was born the 16th of March 1782' and 'Nathaniel Harris Clark was born the 20th of June 1790'.

8. Eliminating the Third Contemporary: Pvt. Nathaniel ('Nathan') Harris of Hanover, Louisa & Smyth Counties, Virginia (Pension File S. 5,456; d. 25 April 1854)

Before turning to the positive primary-source proof for your own ancestor, we must also account for the third contemporary Virginian of the same name: Private Nathaniel ('Nathan') Harris (b. ca. 1760–1763, Hanover County, Virginia; d. 25 April 1854, Smyth County, Virginia), who filed Revolutionary War Pension Application S. 5,456 in Smyth County, Virginia, on 1 October 1832 (and whose file is frequently confused with Goochland/Louisa Harris lines).

In his sworn declaration in Smyth County Court on 1 October 1832, this Nathaniel Harris stated that he was aged 69 years (born ca. 1763), enlisted in Louisa County, Virginia in 1780 as a Private under Captain Robert Barrett in Colonel Francis Taylor's Convention Guards (guarding General Burgoyne's Saratoga prisoners at Albemarle Barracks), signed his declaration by mark ('Nathaniel his X mark Harris'—unlike both your ancestor Lt. Nathaniel Harris and Rev. Nathaniel Harris [S. 37,971], both of whom were literate and signed their names in full), declared that he had 'constantly been a Citizen of Virginia since the Revolutionary War,' and died in Smyth County, Virginia, on 25 April 1854. He is the 'Nathaniel Harris & Martha Byers, both of Louisa' who married on 29 May 1788 in The Douglas Register (p. 25; bond dated 27 May 1788 in Louisa County with consent of bride's parents Capt. John Byars Sr. and Elizabeth Thomason, whom he later accompanied to Washington/Smyth County in southwestern Virginia). (A fourth file, Rejected Pension R. 4,678, belongs to a North Carolina Cherokee War soldier named Nathaniel Harrison / Nat Harris of Surry and Stokes Counties, NC, who died 10 March 1842.)⁸

Document 8: Sworn Revolutionary War Pension Declaration of Pvt. Nathaniel Harris of Louisa and Smyth Counties, Virginia (NARA File S. 5,456, 1 October 1832), proving he enlisted in Louisa Co., VA in 1780, signed by 'X' mark, remained 'constantly a Citizen of Virginia,' and died 25 April 1854 in Smyth Co., VA.

PART III: DIRECT PRIMARY-SOURCE PROOF OF LINDA PETERSON'S ANCESTRAL LINE (DAVID HARRIS → HARRISON HARRIS → LT. NATHANIEL HARRIS → LEWIS HARRIS → THOMAS W. HARRIS)

9. Direct Probate & Deed Proof of Father Harrison Harris (d. Jul/Aug 1795): Woodford Co., KY Will Book A, p. 141 & Goochland Co., VA Deed Book 16, p. 464 (19 August 1795)

Having stripped away the conflated records of Rev. Nathaniel Harris (1759–1849, son of Charles Harris of Powhatan and Bedford Counties) and Pvt. Nathaniel Harris (ca. 1763–1854, of Louisa and Smyth Counties), the authentic primary-source record trail for your direct ancestor, Lieutenant Nathaniel Harris (b. ca. 1756–1758, Goochland County, Virginia; d. bef. 17 April 1817, Woodford County, Kentucky), stands out with crystal clarity. Because he qualified as an Ensign in the Goochland County Militia on 18 August 1777 (Goochland Co. Order Book 12, p. 512) and as a Second Lieutenant on 20 April 1778 (Order Book 13, p. 49; DAR Patriot #A051738), he was at least 19–21 years of age in August 1777, placing his birth in Goochland County between 1756 and 1758.

His parentage as the son of Harrison Harris (b. ca. 1725–1730, Hanover Co., VA; d. Jul/Aug 1795, Woodford Co., KY) and his wife Martha ('Patty') is proven by two ironclad, independent primary sources recorded in August 1795: (1) the Last Will and Testament of Harrison Harris (dated 14 December 1790 in Goochland Co., VA; proved August Court 1795 in Woodford County, Kentucky, Will Book A, p. 141), which provides for his wife Martha, specifically devises to his son Nathaniel Harris 200 acres of land on South Elkhorn Creek in Woodford County, Kentucky, and names all six of his children as equal legatees (Susanna Hicks, Mary Elizabeth Hicks, Caleb Harris, Mourning Adams, David Harris, and Nathaniel Harris); and (2) the Goochland County Co-Heirs' Deed of Partition dated 19 August 1795 (Goochland Co., VA Deed Book 16, p. 464), executed jointly by 'John Hicks, William R. Hicks, Caleb Harris, Willson Adams, David Harris and Nathaniel Harris, Co-heirs of Harrison Harris, decd.' conveying part of their father's Goochland home plantation to John Richards.⁹

Document 9: Primary-source abstract plate of the Last Will and Testament of Harrison Harris (Woodford Co., KY Will Book A, p. 141, proved Aug 1795) and the Goochland County Co-Heirs' Deed of Partition (Goochland Co., VA Deed Book 16, p. 464, dated 19 Aug 1795), jointly proving all six children of Harrison Harris and wife Martha, including son Lt. Nathaniel Harris.

10. Reconstructing the Earlier Virginia Lineage Across Burned Hanover County Records: The 1745–1765 Land Chain Linking Harrison Harris to Father David Harris & Grandparents Capt. Thomas Harris & Mary Giles

How do we trace Harrison Harris (d. 1795) back one generation further to his father David Harris (b. ca. 1695–1700, Henrico/Hanover Co., VA; d. ca. 1765–1775, Hanover Co., VA) and paternal grandparents Capt. Thomas Harris (ca. 1669–1730) and Mary Giles when the colonial court, deed, and probate books of Hanover County, Virginia (formed 1720 from New Kent County) were destroyed in the burning of Richmond in April 1865? In burned-county Virginia genealogy, proof of parentage is established by tracing land patents, inter-sibling deeds in surviving adjacent counties (Amelia, Prince Edward, Goochland, and Louisa), and the surviving Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish, Hanover County, Virginia (1706–1786).

Specifically, on 1 August 1745 (VA Patent Book 22, p. 350), Major Robert Harris (1696–1765) of Hanover and Louisa Counties (proven son of Capt. Thomas Harris and Mary Giles) patented 400 acres on the upper fork of Little Briery Creek in Amelia (later Prince Edward) County. Robert Harris sold that 400-acre tract in 1751 to Richard Woodson (Amelia DB 4:245), who conveyed the exact same 400-acre tract ('granted to Robert Harris by patent bearing date August 1, 1745') to Harrison Harris on 10 February 1761 (Prince Edward DB 2:53). Then, on 19 August 1765, in two consecutive deeds recorded in Prince Edward County Deed Book 3, pp. 18–19 and 19–20, 'Harrison Harris and Martha his wife of Goochland County' divided and conveyed that 400-acre Little Briery Creek tract in equal 200-acre halves to his brothers Lewis Harris and Giles Harris (who carried the exact maiden surname of their grandmother Mary Giles). In the surviving St. Paul's Parish Vestry Book land processioning returns for Precinct 10 in Hanover County (1731–1779), David Harris's land adjoining his brothers Robert, John, and William Harris is processioned directly by his sons Giles Harris ('for David Harris'), Lewis Harris, and Nathan Harris—while Harrison Harris named his own second son David Harris after his father and his son Lt. Nathaniel Harris named a son Lewis Harris.¹⁰

Document 10: Primary-source land chain (1745–1765) in Virginia Patent Book 22:350, Amelia DB 4:245, Prince Edward DB 2:53 and DB 3:18–20 (19 Aug 1765), and the St. Paul's Parish Vestry Book (Hanover Co., VA), linking 'Harrison Harris and Martha his wife of Goochland County' to brothers Giles Harris and Lewis Harris and father David Harris of Hanover County.

11. Kentucky Census, Marriage & Probate Proof (1799–1849): Separating the Estates of Lt. Nathaniel Harris (d. 1817) & Widow Mary Howard (d. 1837) from Rev. Nathaniel Harris (d. 1849)

Finally, Kentucky census, marriage, and probate records in Woodford and Jessamine Counties confirm that your ancestor Lt. Nathaniel Harris and the pensioner Rev. Nathaniel Harris (S. 37,971) lived simultaneously in adjacent counties as two completely distinct heads of household with non-overlapping wives and children, and died thirty-two years apart:

• 1810 U.S. Federal Census: Both men are enumerated simultaneously—your ancestor Nathaniel Harris in Woodford County, KY (p. 392) (1 male 45+ [b. ca. 1756–58], 1 female 26–44 [wife Mary 'Molly' Howard, b. 1769, age 41], and 8 children in the home), and the pensioner Nathaniel Harris in adjacent Jessamine County, KY (p. 53) (1 male 45+ [b. 1759], 1 female 45+ [wife Prudence More Mann], 3 younger persons, and 11 slaves).
• 1817 Intestate Estate of Lt. Nathaniel Harris & 1837 Estate of Widow Mary ('Molly' Howard) Harris: Your ancestor died intestate in Woodford County before 17 April 1817 (Woodford Co. Will Book E, p. 235; settlement in Will Book F, p. 69, Nov 1819), seventeen years before Rev. Nathaniel Harris applied for Pension S. 37,971 in May 1834. His eldest son John Howard Harris (1785–1859) served as administrator, and guardianship/estate records name his younger sons, including your ancestor Lewis Harris (b. ca. 1805; d. ca. 1842). When widow Mary ('Molly' Howard) Harris died in Woodford County in June 1837, her estate distribution on 29 June 1837 (Woodford Co. Will Book K, p. 408) explicitly named her surviving children: John H. Harris, Nancy W. Cole, Jackson Harris, Lewis Harris, and William S. Harris (alongside deceased children Elizabeth Givens, Polly Mitchell, and Richard C. Harris).
• Link to Linda Peterson's Line (Lewis Harris → Thomas W. Harris of Montana): On 10 August 1826 in Woodford County (FHL Film 252,332), your ancestor Lewis Harris married Lucinda Berry (daughter of Samuel Berry). Their eldest son was Thomas W. Harris (born 4 August 1827, Woodford Co., KY; died 27 May 1897, Stevensville, Ravalli Co., MT). After Lewis Harris died young ca. 1842, widow Lucinda (Berry) Harris married second John W. Sallinger on 19 January 1843 in Woodford County.
• Contrasting Family & 1844/1849 Will of Rev. Nathaniel Harris (S. 37,971): By contrast, Rev. Nathaniel Harris signed a personal marriage consent in Jessamine County on 4 November 1799 for his daughter Ginnet Harris to marry William Wright (witnessed by Handy Handley, who married Rev. Nathaniel's daughter Polly Harris on 16 June 1800), and left a Last Will and Testament dated 28 September 1844 (codicil 7 Nov 1846; proved 12 August 1849, Woodford Co. Will Book N, p. 385) naming only his grandsons Nathan, Thomas, and John Wright and his daughter Martha Ratcliff.¹¹

Document 11: Primary-source comparison of the 1810 Woodford Co. (p. 392) and Jessamine Co. (p. 53) Censuses, the 17 April 1817 Intestate Inventory of Lt. Nathaniel Harris (Woodford Will Book E:235), the 29 June 1837 Estate Distribution of Widow Mary ('Molly' Howard) Harris (Woodford Will Book K:408), the 10 August 1826 marriage of son Lewis Harris to Lucinda Berry, and the contrasting 1799/1800 Jessamine Co. marriages and 1844/1849 Will of Rev. Nathaniel Harris (Woodford Will Book N:385).

PART IV: COMPLETE NUMBERED SOURCE CITATIONS (LEGACY 9.0 / CHICAGO OVERRIDE FORMAT)

1. 1. W. Mac. Jones, trans. and ed., The Douglas Register: Being a Detailed Record of Births, Marriages and Deaths Together with Other Interesting Notes, as Kept by the Rev. William Douglas, from 1750 to 1797 (Richmond, VA: J. W. Fergusson & Sons, 1928), p. 26 (marriage of "Nat: Harris & Mary Howard, both of Goochland, 1782, Mar: 18, p. 22"), p. 216 (birth and baptism of "Molly," daughter of John Howard & Eliz: Stanley, born 17 Feb 1769, baptized 20 Apr 1769, original p. 84), pp. 25 & 121 (marriage of "Nathaniel Harris & Martha Byers, both of Louisa, 1788, May 29, p. 25" and baptism of daughter Polly, born 1 Apr 1788), and pp. 54–58, 207–210 (complete audit of all Harris births and 1759 entries); coupled with Goochland County, Virginia, Marriage Bonds and Ministers' Returns, 1730–1853, marriage bond of Nathaniel Harris and Mary Howard, dated 17 March 1782, signed by Nathaniel Harris and security/bondsman Wm. Hix [William Randolph Hicks], FamilySearch Digital Film 007578982 (FHL Microfilm 31,650). [Online reference: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/372047] 📋 Copy Citation #1
2. 2. United States Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Record Group 15, Microfilm Publication M804, Roll 1199, Application File S. 37,971, Nathaniel Harris (Virginia Line; Powhatan and Bedford Counties, Virginia; Jessamine and Woodford Counties, Kentucky), Jacket and Kentucky Pension Roll Certificate No. 26,770 (inscribed at $20 per annum commencing 4 March 1831; Certificate issued 23 May 1834, recorded Book E, Vol. 7, p. 55). [Online reference: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/300022] 📋 Copy Citation #2
3. 3. Sworn Declaration of Nathaniel Harris, Senr., Woodford County Court, Kentucky, dated 5 May 1834, before Justice of the Peace John M.Connell, in Revolutionary War Pension Application File S. 37,971, NARA Microfilm M804, Roll 1199, frame 0668 (stating under oath that he was "aged seventy four on the 26 day of August last" [born 26 August 1759], resided in Powhatan County, Virginia, when he volunteered in 1778 under Capt. William Mayo, "removed with his father to Bedford County Virginia" in 1780, marched under Capt. Charles Gwatkins and Col. Charles Lynch to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse on 15 March 1781, and resided in Jessamine County, Kentucky, in May 1834). [Online reference: https://revwarapps.org/s37971.pdf] 📋 Copy Citation #3
4. 4. Verbatim Transcription and Original Handwritten Signature Reproduction of "Nathl. Harris Senr" (5 May 1834), transcribed by C. Leon Harris, Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statements & Rosters, File S37971, pp. 1–2; citing NARA Microfilm M804, Roll 1199, frames 0668–0669. [Online reference: https://revwarapps.org/s37971.pdf] 📋 Copy Citation #4
5. 5. United States Bureau of Pensions, Official Case Summary Sheet ("Brief in the Case of Nathaniel Harris Senior"), Revolutionary War Pension Application File S. 37,971, NARA Microfilm M804, Roll 1199, frame 0670 (confirming date of birth "Aug. 26, 1759", residences at enlistment in Powhatan Co., Va. and Bedford Co., Va., battle service at Guilford, and 1834 residence in Jessamine Co., Ky.); together with Powhatan County, Virginia, Marriage Register (1777–1830), p. 5, marriage of Nathaniel Harris and Prudence More Mann [Nunn], dated 16 December 1779, surety Miller Woodson (FHL Microfilm 33,067). [Online reference: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/376749] 📋 Copy Citation #5
6. 6. United States Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA Microfilm M804, Roll 565, Widow's Pension Application File W. 6,678, Micajah Clark and Widow Keziah (Harris) Clark (Virginia Line; Powhatan, Bedford, and Amherst Counties, Virginia), Sworn Eyewitness Depositions of Mrs. Frances Leftwich (dated 28 March 1839, Bedford Co., VA, before Justice Lodowick McDaniel) and Mrs. Sally P. Sale (dated 29 March 1839, Bedford Co., VA, before Justice Thomas Sale), testifying independently that Micajah Clark married in Powhatan County "to Miss Kiziah Harris daughter of Chas. Harris [Charles Harris] who also moved to said county of Bedford". [Online reference: https://revwarapps.org/w6678.pdf] 📋 Copy Citation #6
7. 7. Continuation of Sworn Deposition of Mrs. Sally P. Sale (29 March 1839) and Original Micajah & Keziah (Harris) Clark Family Bible Register (copied ca. 1809–1810, annexed to Widow's Declaration of 11 June 1838), in Revolutionary War Pension File W. 6,678, NARA Microfilm M804, Roll 565 (proving that Sally P. Sale "stayed seven weeks at clarkes Brother in law Harris, (Nath'l.) while he was gone" to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in March 1781, and recording the births of Keziah's sons Charles Harris Clark on 16 March 1782 and Nathaniel Harris Clark on 20 June 1790); corroborated by the Last Will and Testament of Charles Harris, Bedford County, Virginia, Will Book 2, p. 108 (dated 9 July 1787; proved 22 April 1793; FHL Microfilm 30,592). [Online reference: https://revwarapps.org/w6678.pdf] 📋 Copy Citation #7
8. 8. United States Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA Microfilm M804, Roll 1199, Application File S. 5,456, Nathaniel ("Nathan") Harris (Virginia Line; Hanover, Louisa, and Smyth Counties, Virginia), Sworn Declaration in Smyth County Court, Virginia, dated 1 October 1832 before Judge Benjamin Estill (stating he was aged 69 years, enlisted in Louisa County, Virginia in 1780 under Capt. Robert Barrett and Col. Francis Taylor guarding Burgoyne's prisoners in Albemarle County, signed by mark "Nathaniel his X mark Harris," had "constantly been a Citizen of Virginia since the Revolutionary War," and died 25 April 1854 in Smyth County, Virginia); together with Rejected Pension File R. 4,678, Nathaniel Harrison / Nat Harris of Surry and Stokes Counties, North Carolina. [Online reference: https://revwarapps.org/s5456.pdf] 📋 Copy Citation #8
9. 9. Woodford County, Kentucky, Will Book A, p. 141, Last Will and Testament of Harrison Harris (dated 14 December 1790 in Goochland County, Virginia; proved August Court 1795 in Woodford County, Kentucky; FHL Microfilm 252,321), naming wife Martha, devising 200 acres on South Elkhorn Creek in Woodford County to son Nathaniel Harris, and naming all six children: Susanna Hicks, Mary Elizabeth Hicks, Caleb Harris, Mourning Adams, David Harris, and Nathaniel Harris; corroborated by Goochland County, Virginia, Deed Book 16, p. 464, Co-Heirs' Deed of Partition dated 19 August 1795 executed by "John Hicks, William R. Hicks, Caleb Harris, Willson Adams, David Harris and Nathaniel Harris, Co-heirs of Harrison Harris, decd." to John Richards (FHL Microfilm 31,658); and Goochland County Order Book 12, p. 512 (18 Aug 1777, Ensign commission) and Order Book 13, p. 49 (20 Apr 1778, Second Lieutenant commission), DAR Patriot Index #A051738. [Online reference: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/257828] 📋 Copy Citation #9
10. 10. Virginia Colonial Land Office Patents, Patent Book 22, p. 350, Crown Grant to Robert Harris for 400 acres in Amelia County on the upper fork of Little Briery Creek, dated 1 August 1745 (Library of Virginia, Richmond); Amelia County, Virginia, Deed Book 4, p. 245 (25 Sep 1751, Robert Harris to Richard Woodson); Prince Edward County, Virginia, Deed Book 2, p. 53 (10 Feb 1761, Richard Woodson to Harrison Harris for the same 400-acre 1745 Robert Harris patent); Prince Edward County, Virginia, Deed Book 3, pp. 18–19 and 19–20 (two deeds dated 19 August 1765 from "Harrison Harris and Martha his wife of Goochland County" conveying 200 acres each of the 1745 Robert Harris patent to brothers Lewis Harris and Giles Harris; FHL Microfilm 33,199); and C. G. Chamberlayne, ed., The Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish, Hanover County, Virginia, 1706–1786 (Richmond: Library Board, 1940), Processioning Returns for Precinct 10 (1731–1779, recording David Harris adjoining brothers Robert, John, and William Harris, succeeded by sons Giles Harris ["for David Harris"], Lewis Harris, and Nathan Harris). [Online reference: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/365008] 📋 Copy Citation #10
11. 11. 1810 United States Federal Census, Woodford County, Kentucky, p. 392, line 14, household of Nathaniel Harris [Lt. Nathaniel Harris, d. 1817] vs. Jessamine County, Kentucky, p. 53, household of Nathaniel Harris [Rev. Nathaniel Harris, S37971] (NARA Microfilm M252, Roll 8); Woodford County, Kentucky, Will Book E, p. 235 (17 April 1817 Inventory & Appraisal of the Estate of Nathaniel Harris, decd., administered by eldest son John H. Harris) and Will Book F, p. 69 (November 1819 Settlement); Woodford County, Kentucky, Will Book K, p. 408 (29 June 1837 Probate & Estate Distribution of widow Mary ["Molly" Howard] Harris, naming children John H. Harris, Nancy W. Cole, Jackson Harris, Lewis Harris, and William S. Harris; FHL Microfilm 252,324); Woodford County Marriage Register (10 August 1826 marriage of son Lewis Harris to Lucinda Berry, parents of Thomas W. Harris [1827–1897] of Stevensville, Ravalli Co., MT; FHL Microfilm 252,332); contrasted with Jessamine County Marriage Bonds (4 Nov 1799 signed consent of Nathaniel Harris for daughter Ginnet Harris to marry William Wright, and 16 Jun 1800 marriage of daughter Polly Harris to Handy Handley; FHL Microfilm 183,390) and Woodford County Will Book N, p. 385 (Last Will & Testament of Rev. Nathaniel Harris, dated 28 Sep 1844, codicil 7 Nov 1846, proved 12 Aug 1849). [Online reference: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/257828] 📋 Copy Citation #11

PART V: RESEARCH CALENDAR & LOG OF ENCLOSED PRIMARY-SOURCE DOCUMENTS