Harmon Snyder

The Snyder name is expected to be of German heritage, and to appear as Schneider in early US and German records. Our initial knowledge of Harmon Snyder comes from his gravestone and the records of the Salem Lutheran cemetery association, Clarion County, PA. From Harmon's age at death, his birth date is calculated to be about 28 February 1791. He died in 1844. His wife Barbara survived him until 1851, residing next door to their son Christopher Snyder in Richland township, Clarion County.

A biography of his grandson, D. A. Snyder of Lamartine, Clarion County, indicates that his parents came from Clinton County in about 1841. Thus it is possible that Harmon Snyder and wife Barbara may have resided in Clinton County, and may also have come west to Clarion in about 1841.

The Snyders were Lutherans in Clarion County. A search of Lutheran church records in Clinton County for the marriage of Harmon and Barbara, and the births of their children, is indicated.

This biography is prepared from the records here presented, with no further basis in direct family knowledge or tradition

	Date	Location	Notes	Sources
Birth	~ 28 Feb 1791		calc. from gravestone
Marriage	expect 1818-1819 (inferred from birth of Christopher)	possibly Lamar Twp, Clinton Co. PA	To Barbara Ann Hartman (~1796? - 1851)
Death	24 Dec 1844
Burial		Salem Lutheran Cemetery, Clarion County, PA

Ancestry chart segment

 Generation 5          Generation 6            Generation 7
 
                                           +-- [unknown]
                                           |   (????-????)  
                   +-- Harmon Snyder ------+
                   |   (1791-1844)         |
 Caroline Snyder --+                       +-- [unknown]
 (1831-1905)       |                           (????-????)
                   +-- Barbara Ann Hartman
                       (~1796-1851)

Sources:

Children

Children with Barbara unknown:

Name	Gender	Date of Birth	Birthplace	Spouse	Notes	Sources
Christopher Snyder	M	(>30 Jul) 1819	PA, possibly Lamar Twp, Clinton Co.	Sarah L. Alsbach
Harmon S. Snyder	M	~1820	Clinton Co. PA, possibly Lamar Twp	Mary E. Knight
Matilda Snyder	F	~1822	PA, possibly Lamar Twp, Clinton Co.	Samuel Knause
Barbara Snyder	F	~1824	possibly Lamar Twp, Clinton Co. PA	Solomon Knight
Rachel Snyder	F	~1827	possibly Lamar Twp, Clinton Co. PA	1) Joseph Cromer 2) George Troutner
Sarah Snyder	F	betweem 30 Jul 1829 - 30 Jul 1830	possibly Lamar Twp, Clinton Co. PA		"idiot", 1850 census
Caroline S. Snyder	F	(> 30 Jul) 1831	PA, possibly Lamar Twp, Clinton Co.	David Bower	Direct line

Places of Residence

Location	Dates	Notes	Sources
possibly Lamar Twp, Center (became Clinton 1839) Co. PA	by 1820-1841
Clarion Co. PA	by 1841
Richland Twp. or Salem Twp., Clarion Co. PA	by 1850	Harmon buried in Salem Twp., 1844; wife Barbara resided Richland Twp. 1850

Present day location of old Snyder farm is on the south side of Rt. 208, west of the intersection with Turkey City Road, Salem Twp., Clarion Co. PA.

1865 Pomeroy Map, portion of Salem Twp., showing H. Snyder farm.

1877 Caldwell's Atlas, portion of Salem Twp. showing farms of C. Snyder and D. A. Snyder.

Photo Gallery

Snyder plot as it appeared in 1996, Salem Lutheran Cemetery, Clarion Co. PA

Harmon Snyder stone in 2007

Barbara, wife of Harmon Snyder; broken stone embedded in ground by 2007

Barn on the Snyder farm, Rt. 108, Salem Twp

House on Snyder farm

Sources

Ref. Num.	Description	Image of original
1	1820 United States Federal Census , Lamar Twp, Centre Co, PA, pg 3. Census not dated. Lists family of Harmon Snyder: 1 male 0-5, 1 male 16-18, 1 male 26-44, 1 female 16-26. This may correspond to Harmon Snyder age 29, wife Barbara age about 24; an unidentified male age 16-18, possibly a brother of Harmon; Harmon's son Christopher Snyder, age 1. A John Snyder family is next door; John is age 26-45, so possibly a brother of Harmon Snyder.
2	1830 United States Federal Census, Lamar Twp, Centre Co, PA, pg 9. Census is not dated. Family of Herman Snyder: 1 male 10-15, 1 male 30-40, 2 females 2-5, 2 females 5-10, 1 female 30-40. This may correspond to the family of Harmon Snyder, age ~39, and wife Barbara A., age ~ 34. Children: (either Harmon S. Snyder, age ~10, or Christopher Snyder, age ~11; in either case, the other brother is then not listed); Sarah Snyder (~1), Rachel Snyder (~3), Barbara Snyder (~6), Matilda Snyder (~8). A Benjamin Snyder and wife, both 20-30 yrs, are two residences away. Benjamin is possibly a brother of Harmon Snyder.
3	1840 United States Federal Census, Lamar Twp, Clinton Co, PA, pg 15. Census is not dated. Family of Harman Snyder: 1 male 15-20, 1 male 20-30, 1 male 40-50, 1 male 70-80, 1 female 5-10, 1 female 10-15, 1 female 15-20, 1 female 20-30, 1 female 40-50. This may correspond to the family of Harman Snyder, age ~49, and wife Barbara, age ~44. The elderly male age 70-80 could be the father of either Harman or Barbara. Their children: Harmon S. Snyder (~20), Christopher Snyder (~21), Caroline Snyder (~9), Sarah Snyder (~11); for 3 daughters Matilda (~18), Barbara (~16) and Rachel (~13), there are only two females listed, age 15-20 and 20-30. The missing daughter is probably Matilda, possibly working in another home. She is probably not married, as she appears in her mother's home in 1850. Note: Clinton County was created in 1839 from old Center County, and lies north of present day Center County. The Snyder family probably remained in the same location, the Center to Clinton Co. change reflecting only the county name change.
4	1850 United States Federal Census, Richland Township, Clarion County, PA, page 175; Date of census 30 July 1850. Dwelling 17:Barbary Snyder age 53 F, Real estate value 4000, born PA; Matilda, age 27 F; Sarah age 20 F; Caroline age 18 F. All born in PA, Caroline attended school; Sarah listed as "idiot". Dwelling 18: Christopher Snyder age 32, M, farmer; Sarah age 25, F; Nameless age 1mo. M.
5	Gravestones for Harmon and Barbara Snyder, Salem Lutheran Cemetery, transcribed Oct 2006 by Elizabeth Wilson Williams. "Harman Snyder died Dec 24, 1844, Aged 53 yr 9 m 24 d Gone but not Forgotten" "Barbara, Wife of Harmon Snyder, Died (Nov) 10, 18(51)". This stone is broken, barely legible, beside (to north side) the stone of Harman Snyder. In 1995 the top portion of the stone was propped against its base; only "Barbara" was legible. By 2006, it had been laid flat in ground; cream was used to enhance legibility.
6	History of Clarion Co. Pennsylvania with Illustrations 1887, ed. A. J. DavisRecord Press, Rimersburg, PA c1968. Snyder, D.A., Lamartine P.O., Salem, was born where he now resides on February 9, 1850; is a farmer and owns 100 acres. His parents were Marmon(sic) and Mary E. (Knight) Snyder. Mr. Snyder came from Clinton county about 1841, and died in 1871. Mrs. Snyder was born in this county. Clara Laughner was a daughter of Barney and Catharine (McCalmont) Laughner. D. A. and Clara have had a family of five children - Edna M., Laura K., Inez M., Arthur B., and Perm E.
7	History of Clarion County, 1887,by A.J. Davis, p. 608 "Mr. David Beels settled on the farm now called the Herman Snyder place, in 1806. Mr. Beels ... and his family, for they now had two children, emigrated to these parts on a wagon. The family stopped at Sligo, while Mr. Beels sought a location. Finding a fine lay of land, and finding no deed or article to cover it, he soon landed his family upon it, and began improving it. He afterwards was forced to abandon it. He then commenced improving the northwestern corner of the tract now comprising Salem township." For complete entry, see David Beels .
8	E W Williams Interview with D. Beels Best, descendant of David Beels, in June 2007. Her g-g-g-grandfather David Beels unwittingly settled on land owned by Harmon Snyder, now located on the south side of Rt. 208, west of the intersection with Turkey City Road, Salem Twp., Clarion Co. PA. Being forced from this location, David Beels relocated to the "Beels Hill" location which remains in the family. Note: This Snyder property is marked "H. Snyder" on Pomeroy's 1865 map of Clarion County, and as "D. A. Snyder" on the 1877 Caldwell's Atlas of Clarion County. It lies a quarter mile west of where Harmon & Barbara Snyder are buried, at Salem Lutheran Church, Community Road at Rt. 208.
9	Salem Lutheran Cemetery Association Records transcribed by E. Williams & N. Walls, Feb. 1995. Harmon Snyder married Barbara A.____. Their children: 1)Harmon S. Snyder m. Mary E. Knight; 2) Christopher Snyder (1819 - 1899) m. Sarah L. Alsbach (1825 - 1902); 3) Caroline S. Snyder(exhumed) m. David Bower; 4) Barbara Snyder m. Solomon Knight; 5) Rachael Snyder m.(1) Joseph Cromer, (2) George Troutner; 6) Matilda Snyder m. Samuel Knause.	Snyder Descendants
10	Death Certificate, Sara Ann Landis, Commonwealth of Penna., Dept, of Health, File No. 62224. Upper Leacock Twp., Lancaster, PA. Sara Ann Landis, Lancaster, RD 5, widow age 82 yr. 6 mos. 19da.. Born 6 Dec. 1848. died 25 June 1931, causes: senile dementia; chronic nephritis. Occupation housewife. Father: Harmon Snyder, b. PA. Mother: Barbara Ann Hartman, b. PA. Informant-Mrs. Granville McCarty, Lancaster RD 5. Burial: Bareville Cemetery 28 June, 1931. Undertaker: L. Clayton Overly, Bird-in Hand, RD 1. Signed John M. Ranik, M.D., Leola, PA.
11	Personal correspondence ongoing, Elizabeth Wilson Williams, contributed this page.	N/A

Source Notes

• Harmon Snyder's wife, Barbara, died in 1851, per her gravestone. It is possible that her age at death was 55 years; see the link to Salem Lutheran Cemetery Association notes.
• The 1820 census does not include a son corresponding to Harmon S. Snyder, probably born 1820. If 1820 is correct birth year, he would therefore have been born after the (unlisted) date of the 1820 census.
• Clinton County, PA was formed in 1839 from land that was formerly part of Centre County. We suspect that Lamar Township, Centre County (1830) and Lamar Township, Clinton County (1840) are actually the same place and that the Snyder family did not move between their 1830 and 1840 census entries.

Research Notes

The material in this section is for research leads only. We do not wish to imply any connection to our family at present, nor suggest its use without additional confirmation.

• We should follow the census data for the children and spouses to get better ideas of their birthdays so that we can fill in the age range correspondences better in the early census data on this page. -RBW

Possible census results:

Ref. Num.	Description	Image of original
R1	In the 1840 census for Jackson Twp, Cambria County Pa pg 3 is a family headed by Harmon Snider. The family includes the following: 1 male <5, 2 males 5-10, 1 male 10-15, 1 male 15-20, 1 male 20-30, 1 male 50-60, 1 female 5-10, 1 female 30-40. The ages here are a little off and the children do not match with later data completely. There is, however a daughter of about the right age to be Caroline. Cambria County is a couple of counties southeast of Clarion.
R2	1830 United States Federal Census, Greenwood Twp, Mifflin Co, PA, pg 11. Census is not dated. Family of Harman Snyder: 1 male 10-15, 1 male 60-70, 1 female 10-15, 2 females 15-20, 2 females 20-30, 1 female 60-70. Based on name and location, this may be the parents of Harmon Snyder (age 30-40) (see above).
R3	1820 United States Federal Census . A Harman Sanders is in Northampton Co, PA, Upper Mount Bethel Twp (pg 11). 3 males <10, 1 male 10-15, 1 male 16-18, 1 male 16-25, 1 male 26-44, 2 females <10, 1 female 26-44. This fits for the older Harman Snyder found in the 1830 and 1840 census, but the relationship is unclear. The census sheet has a Snyder family (some lines below); "Sanders" might represents a misspelling.