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Ties to England.

A. Inscriptions on Henry William Harrington's Grave Stone:

                        SACRED
                   To the Memory of
              General Henry W. Harrington
              Native of the City of London
     and distinguished Officer in the late American
                         ARMY
                who departed this life
                the 31st of March 1809,
              in the 62nd year of his age
         The whole circle of his acquaintances
         and especially his compatriots in Arms
            will drop the rear of sympathy
           over the grave of departed merit
                     and acclaim.

B. The Harrington Family in England.

General Henry William Harrington was a native of England, but nothing
is know of his ancestry beyond his parents, who according to information
in a family Bible now owned by Thomas H. Wetmore of Muncie, Ind.
(a descendant, on both sides of the family, from the General),
were William Harrington, and a successful merchant in London, and
Harriet Birch Harrington.  There is no extant record of a marriage
license being issued to General Harrington's parents in London,
which considering the comprehensivity of records extant from that
era is an indication that they were married elsewhere and later moved 
to London.  A further indication of this is the first page of a
letter (the second page, and the signature, have been lost) in
Wetmore's possession, which appears to have been addressed to
the General from a relative, resident in North Carolina but on an
extended visit to england.  Written from Lowther, England (about
35 miles from Kent) and dated Nov. 14, 1788, it refers to "our
Family leader the Earl of Lonsdale" and to a "Jubilee" given by
the Earl at his castle in Whitehaven, in the County of
Westnoreland (now a part of Cambria), "in commemoration of the
Cemtenary Revolution on the landing of King William who was 
supported by the Lowther family.?  There are valuable clues here
for the genealogist, but the necessary research in England was
beyond the scope of the research for this volume. 


The General

Henry William Harrington was born in London, England May 12, 1747,
a son of William Harrington, a merchant, and Harriet Birch
Harrington.  An introductory note to a collection of Harrington
letters (cited in the section of Col. Henry William Harrington)
call him the "younger son of a London gentlemen."  A Harrington
descendant refers in his writings to Gen. Harrington as the third
child.  J. Russel Cross believes that he was one of three sons and
two daughters.  Joe M. LcLaurin has suggested the possibilitity
that one of the other sons was Nathaniel Harrington, a wealthy
landowner between 1780 and 1800 in Montgomery County.

When Harrington left London to come to the American Colonies is
not documented.  He went first to Jamaica - according to some
reprots, after having a "falling out: with his father; but never
the less apparently with some financial help from his father, 
considering his rapid rise to a position of eminence in the 
colonies.

...

C. After leaving England, Henry William Harrington first appears to
   have go to Jamaica, reason for going there is unknown.  Some
   speculated he may have had military training in England and
   was in Jamaica with the British Army.  

   After leaving Jamaica he came into South Carolina and settled for
   a while in the St. David's area of South Carolina (present
   Society Hill area along the Pee Dee River in South Carolina.

...

The Harrington family has a long tradition of military service,
dating from the time of Etheired's war with the Danes - another
indication, if there is anything to tradition, that Gen. Harrington
was a member of this line.  The motto mean, roughtly.

"FIRM AS A KNOT."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Source:

General Henry William Harrington
and the Harrington Cemetary

by Clark Cox - $2.50
Richmond County Luncheon Lions Club
P.O. Box 1056
Rockingham, N.C. 28379