Comments on: Criminals In The Family: Joseph Harbour

By: Styln

Styln — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:29:41 +0000

Fascinating story! I’ve found some scandal and murder in my family. My ancestor George D. Gordon shot and killed his stepfather in 1911 and spent 28 years in prison. I’m going to need the police report/prison records to get more information.

By: kori

kori — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 23:49:41 +0000

I am doing some research on the Harbour family in Hardin County, Tenn and wondered if you had records of the parents of Joseph Harbour? Any info would be great.

By: Ancestors with a criminal past « Discovering Yesterday

Ancestors with a criminal past « Discovering Yesterday — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 03:26:53 +0000

[...] envy when she discussed her ancestor’s many accomplishments. Robyn recently wrote a great post on Joseph Harbour, one of her ancestors with a criminal past. Since I had written about the many accomplishments [...]

By: msualumni

msualumni — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 23:44:39 +0000

Terence, I’ve found almost everybody has a story like this about an ancestor. They might not willingly share it…LOL…but they’re there. Have you looked specifically at county court minutes & penitentiary records for him in that area? What a name…Bat. If he was murdered, perhaps there are coroner’s records?

By: msualumni

msualumni — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 23:39:22 +0000

Thanks ! When I do this lecture about him, the audience just howls in laughter. I think the actual things that were “crimes” then are also interesting. Profanity a crime? Lewdness? I think they are just making up crimes…LOL

By: msualumni

msualumni — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 23:39:18 +0000

Hi Kathy, Thanks so much for your kind comments, I truly appreciate it. I think that’s part of the draw to genealogy (at least for me) the fact that our ancestors were fully human–good, bad & ugly. I find it all endlessly fascinating! As for the table, I figured out how to create graphics in PowerPoint, then copy & paste them to Microsoft Paint, and save the image as a JPG. It’s a little cumbersome, but I love the results.

By: msualumni

msualumni — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 22:12:50 +0000

I suggest starting with the County Court Minutes, then try the Circuit Court Minutes. Many of those are indexed. But beware–depending on the state, those courts may have different names. Let me know if you find something.!

By: Terrence A. Garnett

Terrence A. Garnett — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 03:08:42 +0000

Sounds like my ancestor the late Bat Johnson who was quite a troublemaker in the Montgomery, Texas area. Older individuals still living recall their parents mentioning him. I’m not sure What happened to him after the 1900 Census he last appeared on the Tax records in 1905 so I assume he died during that time. A cousin stated she heard he died on the Church steps others mention some type of killing [either he was murdered or he killed someone]. Haven’t located anything criminal after 1900 for him. Most of his criminal activity occurred between 1873-1885. Thanks for sharing!

By: Liv (@claimingkin)

Liv (@claimingkin) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 02:07:43 +0000

Robyn, thank you for this excellent post and I must say that your Joseph Harbour was definitely a mischief maker – WHEW! Okay, I will admit that I don’t shy away from leaning about all the career criminals in my family tree — tehehe! Actually, I’m more drawn to them and want to know what makes them tick. But one thing I will say about them — their checkered pasts make family research very entertaining. Again, thank you for sharing gggg-grandpa Harbour with us!

By: Kathy Reed

Kathy Reed — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 14:42:55 +0000

Last night I had the pleasure of giving a talk to the Montgomery Co. Historical Society in Kentucky detailing the lives of some of my more “colorful” ancestors from that town. Reading your post made me realize just how much we have in common. I love your willingness to share the truth as you uncovered it and agree with your statement about having to revisit our assumptions. I’m working on a situation like that now. Finally, what software did you use to create your timeline? I love it (and want to steal it).