Daniel Harrar was the second son of German emigrant John Harrar (bet. 1725 and 1730-1799) and his unidentified first wife. Daniel served as the executor of his father’s will along with his brother-in-law Henry Maag. Daniel was left 60 pounds by his father, twice as much as any of the other children. He was a member of the Montgomery Baptist Church, having been baptized and taken in on December 8, 1799.

Daniel officiated as administrator of his son John’s estate in 1810.

From James Aitken Harrar’s research in 1945:

Aunt Mattie Anderson, his great-granddaughter, who was eight years old when he died, told me she could remember him as an old man who sat on the porch and would stick out his cane to trip her up, and then “laugh and laugh.”

Birth

Daniel was born on February 5, 1756, in Frankford, Philadelphia, PA, per his headstone and his pension papers.

Marriage

Daniel married Lydia Tomlinson (1755-1818) presumably sometime before 1777 as their first child was born in 1778.

Children

Daniel and Lydia had nine children, with eight identified.

  1. John Harrar. Born 1778. Died December 29, 1810.
  2. Nathan Harrar. Born February 27, 1781. Died February 5, 1858.
  3. William Harrar. Born September 28, 1782. Died October 12, 1865.
  4. Daniel Harrar. Born October 11, 1784. Died August 23, 1865.
  5. Joseph Harrar. Born December 11, 1786. Died June 24, 1851.
  6. Jesse Harrar. Born May 13, 1789. Died March 3, 1849.
  7. Septimus Harrar. Born April 28, 1791. Was the “seventh son”; little further record except that he was a private in 1814 in the Bucks County Riflemen, and was at Camp Snyder October 13, 1814, where he was “fined.” (PA Arch. 6 Ser. Vol. vii)
  8. Benjamin Harrar. Born January 15, 1792-4; no further record.

Residence

As a child, Daniel probably lived with his parents on the west side of Penrose Ferry Road near Point Breeze. Later residence in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

1790

A Daniel Harrow appears in the 1790 census for Lower Dublin Township, Philadelphia County, PA, with six males under 16 and two white free females. One of these must have been his wife Lyda and the other could have been a servant or a daughter representing the fabled ninth child.

Military Service

Daniel served in the Revolutionary War and his records are available at the National Archives. S 6974. The following information can be found:

Service

The veteran alleged that he enlisted in August 1776 and served two months as a private in Captain Jacob Leech’s Pennsylvania Company. He enlisted in April 1777, served two months as a Private in Captain Jacob Leech’s Company, Colonels Magaw’s and Daniel Hiester’s Pennsylvania Regiments and was in the Battle of Bound Brook; he enlisted in April 1778 and served two months as a Private in Captain Joseph Rhoads’ Pennsylvania Company; he enlisted and served on four tours of two months each, 1778 to 1780 as a Private in Captain Benjamin Dungan’s Pennsylvania Company.

Pension

Daniel Harrar was allowed pension on Certificate No. 26 276 which was issued April 28, 1834, Act of June 7, 1832, Pennsylvania Agency.

Family

His brother-in-law, Henry Maag, was a resident of Frankford, PA, in 1834.

Residences

In 1776 he lived in Cheltenham Township, Philadelphia County, PA. In 1777 he resided in Oxford Township, Philadelphia County, PA. After the Revolutionary War he lived in Philadelphia County. In 1834 he was living in Montgomery Township, Montgomery County, PA, in which county he has resided about 30 years.

Death

Daniel died on September 27, 1845-6, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Six months after his father’s death he had been baptized along with his wife Lydia and was taken into membership in the Montgomery Baptist Church at Colmar, PA. He lies buried in the churchyard alongside Lydia. Daniel died intestate and letters of administration were issued to his son William Harrar on December 22, 1846.

From James Aitken Harrar’s “Harrar Genealogy” of 1945, page 11:

Referring then to the Comptroller General of the U.S. General Accounting Office, Washington, D.C. The following is from their letter of December 12, 1940:

“The records of this office show that on April 16, 1847, satisfactory evidence was presented to the Court of Common Please held at Norristown, Montgomery County, PA, that the pensioner died on September 27, 1846, and left surviving no widow, but the following named children:

William Harrar, Nathan Harrar, Daniel Harrar, Joseph Harrar, Jesse Harrar, Benjamin Harrar.

William Harrar was appointed administrator of the estate. The areas of pension due the decedent, covering the period from March 4, 1846 to September 27, 1846, were paid on April 28, 1847, at the Pension Agency in Philadelphia, PA, to the administrator.”

Sources

“Harrar Genealogy: The John Harrar Family of Pennsylvania” by James Aitken Harrar, M.D., 1945. (Download pdf file.)