Harbert Family Stories
Thomas Harbert Jr. married Hannah Jacobs in 1790 in Virginia and purchased his first land, a 112-acre tract on Jones Run, on March 21, 1791. This property was deeded to him by his brother, Samuel Harbert, for 10 pounds Virginia currency. Hannah's father, Jacob Jacobs, was a descendant of the Dutch who established a presence in New York. Jacob was married to Hannah Johnson in 1761 and settled at Deckers Creek in 1776. Native Americans continued to be a problem for the settlers in this region. The isolation increased the threat. Transportation was by foot, horse, and wagon; with neighbors a distance away, visiting was difficult without roads.
Thomas and Hannah had nine children and established a successful farm. Life on the farm was hard. The buildings in this time were constructed of hand-hewn logs and lumber. The logs were secured together with wooden pegs made in the carpentry shop and boards were fastened with nails forged in the blacksmith shop. These buildings were roofed with shingles split from white oak logs. The bears in the area were so numerous and so fond of pork that hogs could not be raised. Thomas was one of the few slave holders in this region. Each farm was a self-sufficient entity. Meats, fruits, and vegetables were preserved by drying or by salting. These foodstuffs hung along the walls of the cabins. Thomas was also a surveyor and surveyed many properties and roads in the adjoining Territory of Ohio. He laid land warrants (or claims) on considerable land. Their eldest child, born in 1791, was also named Thomas. Along with the names of the other children we conclude that Thomas and Hannah were very familiar with the Bible: Joseph, Elias, Rebecca, William, Elisha, Mary, Vianna, and Elijah.
Thomas Harbert Jr. died in 1818. Family legend suggests that he met with foul play. According to a Harbert descendent, Thomas "was persuaded by a friend? to make a trip down the Ohio River to Arkansas to look over the country, which then was new and unsettled, with a view to buying land and moving there to live. The friend? returned alone saying my Great Grandfather [Thomas] had died on the trip in the wilderness. He persuaded the widow to let him settle the estate and cheated her out of nearly everything she had. This was easily done because in those days the wives of slave owners had slaves to do all the house work and also had no business experience whatever. It was always thought that the friend? planned the whole matter beforehand and murdered my Great Grandfather to get the property." Half of Thomas's children had moved away from Harrison County by the time of his death. In about 1820, Hannah (Jacobs) Harbert remarried to Isaac Hagle. There was a major disagreement between Hannah and her children which resulted in the children filing a law suit in Chancery Court against Hannah and Isaac to divide Thomas Jr.'s estate. "Thomas Harbert departed from life sometime in 1818 in the county of Harrison intestate and left an estate of $2019.99 in slaves cattle horses, etc." This issue took years to resolve.
