General
Josiah Harmar Chapter
Our History
The General Josiah Harmar Chapter, NSDAR, was organized by twelve
women. The name was chosen to honor General Josiah Harmar who, following the
Treaty of Peace, September 7, 1783, was chosen by Congress in 1784 to carry the
ratification of the treaty of Paris
and deliver it to Benjamin Franklin. In 1785, Harmar was appointed Indian Agent
for the Northwest Territory. In 1787, he was
brevetted Adjutant General of the Pennsylvania
Militia. He resigned February 27, 1799.
A
gavel was turned from a piece of the dispatch chest that contained General
Josiah Harmar’s papers, which were purchased by the William Clements Library, University of Michigan
in Ann Arbor.
Josiah Harmar, IV, made possible an inscribed silver band on the head of the
gavel and presented it to the chapter.
General Josiah Harmar was
born November 10, 1753, at Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania and was educated in
a Quaker school. He married Sarah
Jenkins of Philadelphia
on October 19, 1784. He died August 20, 1813, at his estate, The Retreat,
near Philadelphia and was buried in the churchyard of Saint James Church of
Kingsessing, Protestant Episcopal, 6838 Woodland Avenue, Philadelphia, PA,
Section A, Lot 61. His grave is marked by a table type stone with a fourteen
line inscription on the flat surface. It is also marked with an SAR Insignia
Marker.
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