Nathaniel Edward Harris, Sr.

1755, Granville Co, NC Tax List

Will dated June 11, 1773. Proved May 1774. Executor son Edward. Owned Harris' Mill. Lived in St. Matthews Parish. Land was located near present day Lake Michie and the small community of Bahama (named for the Ball-Harris and Mangum families that lived in the area). This is in the northeastern part of present day Durham County, near both Person and Granville Counties. Nathaniel lived in Prince Edward, Halifax and Amelia Cos., VA before coming to NC.

Rockingham N. C. Will Abstracts Vol 1 1785-1865

Nathaniel Harris; 13 Apr 1800. No probate date. Wife Nancy. Six sons: Jesse Harris, Thomas Harris, Webb Harris, Charles Harris, Edward Harris, Archer Harris. Daughters: Elizabeth Murphey, Elsey Cox, Polly Murphey, Elender Harris, Celah Harris. Exrs: Jesse Harris, Thomas Harris, Webb Harris. Wts: Edward Calahan, Darby Hopper, Jerey Hopper.

GEDCOM Note

Nathaniel Harris was born in 1712, in Amelia County, Virginia, USA; he passed away in 11 June, 1773 in Orange County, North Carolina, USA

Nathaniel Harris married Ellender Sullivan in 1740, in Amelia County, Virginia, USA

Nathaniel and Ellender Sullivan-Harris's children were: Archer Harris (1744-1821) Unity Harris-Callahan (1772-1811)

Nathaniel's father was Edward Harris, and his mother was Unity Callahan.

Nathaniel Harris was one of the pioneers of the Durham area of North Carolina. He lived in St Matthews Parish. Land was located near present day Lake Michie and the small community of Bahama (named for the Ball-Harris and Mangum families that lived in the area at that time). This is the northeastern part of present day Durham Co, near both person and Granville Counties.

Nathaniel Harris in the mid-eighteenth century acquired a tract of 6000 acres in what is now the community of Bahama in northern Durham County. Thereon his son Archer built a meeting house around 1784 which operated for the benefit of all denominations until 1808 when it affiliated with the Methodist Church. The first building was a log structure and was used by all who desired to worship, white and black. The meeting house, originally known as Crossroads, is mentioned in a deposition filed against Archer Harris in 1784 as part of a boundary dispute.

In 1812 a two-acre tract was conveyed to church trustees. The church was placed within the Granville Circuit of the Virginia Conference. On December 20, 1820.

Washington Duke, patriarch of the Dukes of Durham, was converted to Methodism at the church. His parents, Taylor and Dicey Jones Durham, were members at Mount Bethel. The gifts of the Duke family to Methodist causes, not the least of them the establishment of Duke University, are many. Duke is said to have claimed that "whatever I am, I accredit to the Methodist circuit riders". The present church building was completed in 1949 and is the congregation's sixth. The raising was the culmination of a prolonged fundraising effort.

In 1828, the church received the name of Mount Bethel and was placed on the Hillsborough Circuit. In 1926 the Bahama Circuit was created, and Mount Bethel became the focal point of it. The church has continued to grow and to reach out to those in the community and in Durham County.

The fellowship hall of Mount Bethel was built in 1982 and 14 years later, Mt. Bethel completed the educational wing.

Owned Harris' Mill. Lived in St. Matthews Parish. Land was located near present day Lake Michie and the small community of Bahama (named for the Ball-Harris and Mangum families that lived in the area). This is in the northeastern part of present day Durham County, near both Person and Granville Counties. Nathaniel lived in Prince Edward, Halifax and Amelia Cos., VA before coming to NC

Nathaniel lived in St Matthews Parish. Land was located near present day Lake Michie and the small community of Bahama (named for the Ball-Harris and Mangum families theat lived in the area at that time. This is the northeastern part of present day Durham Co, near both person and Granville Counties.

Nathaniel lived in Prince Edward, Halifax and Amelia Co's Va before coming to N.C.