Submitted by Descendants: Ireland Kate, Justin Lee, Lee Henry, Orbra Warthen, and Orbra Warthen HARRELL, Jr.; Caleb Nicholas, Jared Wade and Lydia Karen HATCHER; Karen Harrell Logan LEWIS; David Scott LOGAN; Cindy Logan Hatcher REYNOLDS
Henry Haywood William Harrell was born in 1821 in Bullock County to John J. A. Harrell Sr. and Lucy Lewis. John moved his family to Jefferson County, Territory of Florida, about 1828 when land patents and grants were available.
Since farming was the way of life for that area, Henry was probably working on the family farm when his father died in 1834 and continued to live with his mother, helping with the farm until April 1820 when he joined Captain Allbriton’s Company, Florida Mounted Militia (Bailey’s) as a private during the Florida Indian Wars. When Henry’s mother died in 1844, the property was divided among Henry and his three brothers.
A strong and conscientious young man, serving state and country by protecting his land, Henry voted in Jefferson County in Florida’s first state election in 1845.
Between 1845 and 1850, Henry moved west to Holmes County, near Bonifay and married Elizabeth Eva Gavin. Elizabeth was born in 1831 in South Carolina and had also moved to Florida with her family. Twelve children were born to Henry and Elizabeth. The census records from 1860 through 1900 for Holmes County continue to show Henry as a farmer.
Henry headed off to war again on 15 September 1863, enlisting at John’s Landing as a member of the Confederate Second Florida Cavalry, Company A. Thoughts of home and family must surely have pulled at his heartstrings, but duty and honor were high ideals for him.
On 23 February 1904, at the age of 83, henry died and was buried in Mt. Zion Methodist Church Cemetery near Bonifay. Twelve years later in 1916, his widow, Elizabeth Eva, was laid to rest beside him. This same cemetery is also the final resting place for some of Henry’s sons, brothers and their families. It is believed that Henry was probably an active member of the Mt. Zion Methodist Church which had been established in 1825.
Henry Haywood William Harrell was first established as a Florida Pioneer in 2010