Person:James Harroll (1)

Contents 1 Overview 2 Personal Data 3 Footnotes

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Overview

This article deals with the James Harroll^[1] who settled in this area in 1769. However, the only evidence they cite to support this are the land records that clearly state a settlement date of 1770. While its conceivable that he was in the area prior to 1770, and only settled on the Harrolls Creek site in 1770, there does not seem to be direct evidence to support an earlier entry into the area. There is a court record from Botetourt county, May 1770, in which a James Harroll is mentioned. (Source:Summers, 1929:80). It is possible that this refers to the same James Harroll who settled in 1770 on Harrolls Creek, as this area was then within the boundaries of Botetourt County. Botetourt County was a large area encompassing all of southwestern Virginia in 1770, and there seems to be nothing in the way of internal cues in this record that would particularly support or deny the idea that this is the James Harroll of Harroll's Creek.

The name of James' wife is unknown. His Washington County will of 1796 does not mention a wife, but three children are identified, including James, Robert, and Mary. Robert Herroll seems to have been an adult at the time of initial settlement, as he (or someone of the same name) was assigned to "view" the nearest and best way for a road from Harroll's Creek to the courthouse. We presume that Robert lived in this area, and therefore is probably related to James Harroll who settled at the mouth of Herroll's Creek, and in all probability was his son. ^[2] This suggests that Robert was at least 20 years of age in 1777, and was probably born before 1757. This implies that his parents wed no later than 1756, and that they were probably born no later than 1736.

Personal Data

Footnotes

1. ↑ Records of southwest Virginia include the following variants of the Harroll surname, that are believed to be used interchangeably.

   Harroll

   Harrold

   Harrell

   Harreld

   Herrald

   "Harroll" has been settled on as the core surname primarily because this spelling is utilized in local place names (e.g., "Haroll's Creek"). Such spellings probably reflect popular usage more closely than spelling variants used by court clerks. The "Herrald" spelling may be more common in the Washington County records. Some branches of the family seem to have adopted the "Herrell" variant as their preferred spelling. There are records in Southwest Virginia for a "James Herrod", and Herrod could be a surname variant; However, James Herrod appears to be a separate person, identifiable as the "Col James Herrod" founder of Herrodsburg Kentucky settled at Harroll's Creek, a north flowing tributary of the North Fork of the Holston River, roughly three miles north of Abingdon. Surveyor's records for this property indicate that he made his settlement in 1770. He would eventually come to own 400 acres of land in this area.
2. ↑ We would normally expect those assigned such a role to live in the neighborhood of the area, as finding the "nearest and best way" would then be in their personal interest.