The Remarkable Lives of Ruth & Reuben Harmon
And now . . .
More about Rueben Harmon
Reuben Harmon Jr, was born in 1750 in Connecticut, the son of Reuben and Eunice Parsons Harmon. In 1776 his father purchased 170 acres in Vermont. His father became a Selectman and Justice of the Peace in Vermont in 1780.
Reuben Jr followed in his father’s footsteps, acquiring land and serving in the Vermont Legislature. He represented Rupert, Vermont, in the Dorset Convention creating the Republic of Vermont and held other official positions. As we learned in the thrilling story of Ruth Rising Harmon, he joined the Patriots to fight in the American Revolution. At the close of the war, he and his family moved back to their home in Vermont.
Reuben established the Harmon Mint when he was given the responsibility to design and exclusively produce copper coins for the Republic of Vermont from 1785 to 1788. The two coins that he made are shown here. The Federal government eventually took over the minting.
Reuben was always looking for opportunities. In 1796, he purchased 500 acres of land in Weathersfield Township, Trumbull County, Ohio which included the Salt Springs. In the fall of 1797, he went there and began the manufacturing of salt, returning home each spring. He knew having access to salt was important to the early settlers. (Stay tuned for an upcoming post on the importance of salt.) This travel to Vermont continued each year until he built a cabin to prepare for his family. When he returned to Vermont to settle his business interests there, the agent he left in charge at the salt springs stole $2,000 and hurt his business. Reuben returned to Weathersfield with Ruth and their children. They worked hard to regain the loss.
Rueben died in 1806 and is buried in the Old Mahoning Cemetery in Warren Twp.
SPECIAL NOTE:
Did you think that Vermont was one of the original 13 states? The Vermont Republic was formed in 1777.
The British and French settled in what is now Vermont. The land was given to the British as a result of the French and Indian War, but there were disputes as to what area it belonged: New Hampshire, New York or Quebec. In 1777, delegates from 28 towns in Vermont declared independence from England as the Vermont Republic. This remained for 14 years until Vermont was admitted into the United States as the 14th state in 1791.
Early Vermonters did have an unofficial flag of sorts. At the Battle of Bennington in 1777, roughly 300 Green Mountain Boys fought under a “star spangled green banner” dubbed the “Stark Flag,” in honor of their commander, Gen. John Stark. The flag was sage green with a blue canton (that rectangle in the top left corner of many flags) emblazoned with 13 white stars, one for each of the rebelling colonies.