People of Pennsylvania in Pontiac's Rebellion - James Harrod (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: James Harrod (c. 1746 unknown) was a pioneer, soldier, and hunter who helped explore and settle the area west of the Allegheny Mountains. Little is known about Harrod's early life, including the exact date of his birth. He was possibly underage when he served in the French and Indian War, and later participated in Lord Dunmore's War. He also rose to the rank of colonel in the local militia. A contemporary of better known explorers like Daniel Boone, George Rogers Clark, Benjamin Logan, and Simon Kenton, Harrod led many expeditions into the regions that now form Kentucky and Illinois. He and a band of almost forty men founded the first permanent settlement in Kentucky on June 16, 1774. The settlement was named Harrod's Town (present-day Harrodsburg, Kentucky) in his honor. In 1792, Harrod disappeared while on a hunting trip in the wilderness. While it is possible that he was killed by Indians or became ill and died of natural causes, some have suggested that he took a "wilderness divorce" from his wife, while his family maintained that he was murdered by one of his companions while secretly searching for the fabled silver mine of Jonathan Swift. James Harrod was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, one of twelve children born to John and Sarah Moore Harrod. His actual year of birth is disputed. When he volunteered as one of "Captain Cochran's Recruits" in June 1760, he listed his age at sixteen, but historian James C. Klotter notes that his listed height of 5 feet, 2 inches differed greatly from his adult height of over six feet and may suggest that he lied about his age in order to serve. Various sources list his birth year anywhere from 1742 to 1746, and the latter is most often considered correct. He grew up a frontiersman, and became pa... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=12346081