The Remarkable Lives of Ruth & Reuben Harmon

We begin with Ruth Harmon . . .

A woman of courage who did what she had to to survive. She was one of the early women in the our area. Just think of all the trials she endured during the Revolutionary War and her long trek from Vermont to Warren, Ohio. She and her husband settled nearby and eventually started a salt business in Salt Springs.

Ruth Rising was born on March 3rd, 1758 in Connecticut.   She married Reuben Harmon Jr in September of 1774 .   By August of 1775, Ruth and her daughter, also named Ruth, were staying at Rueben’s ancestral home as her husband had joined the Patriots in the Revolutionary War.  Baby Ruth was just three weeks old.

One day, the house was warm so Ruth perhaps decided to swaddle her baby and place her in a band of cloth to go and see if any remaining vegetables in the garden could be picked for the family lunch.   The trees were just starting to show a little of the beautiful autumn colors and they walked a little farther to the fruit trees.  Women frequently needed to work around the house and garden while carrying or nursing their babies this way.   This was fortunate for what came next!

She heard shots and screams from the house followed by seeing the house in flames,  Red coats and Indians swarmed around the house.

Ruth Rising Harmon’s Wild Ride

There was a colt that was gentle but had never been ridden. She offered him an apple and quickly jumped on bare back with her small baby.   The colt didn’t want a rider but more than that he wanted to run away from the flames.  Ruth held on with every ounce of her strength to save herself and baby Ruth. Riding an unbroken pony bareback was really hard.  Most of us wouldn’t have even tried.  

Ruth and Rueben went on to have ten more children.   In 1800, she carried one of these children all the way to Ohio where  Rueben purchased land in Weathersfield Twp. Ruth was one of the first women in the area and a strong and capable partner in their new home in the wilderness.   She and Rueben ran a salt business at Salt Springs.  When he was away and after his death, Ruth ran the salt business.

Read more of their inspirational story with the industrious Rueben Harmon. Stay tuned.

Painting of the burning of Connecticut during the Revolutionary War

This was not the Harmon home, but a good representation of the burning by the British during the Revolutionary War.