Descendants of Nathaniel Harriman (Herriman) Ontario, Canada:Information about Diadamia Harriman
Diadamia Harriman (b. 1792, d. date unknown)
Notes for Diadamia Harriman:
The Story of Old Cobourg
The Little Hamlet's First Tragedy (From the Cobourg World, Thursday, December 11, 1924)
In our issue of November 27, we referred to the early settlement of the Harriman family here.Mr. Harriman having been given a government grant of two hundred acres of land, where the town of Cobourg now stands, the north hundred of which he sold for a yoke of oxen.A sad tragedy happened in this family soon after their arrival which is best told in Doctor Harriman's own words.His letter to the Cobourg Historical Society said:
"My father, when a youth, emigrated from the State of Vermont, and with his parents, and three brothers and I think three sisters, settled upon the land now occupied by the Town of Cobourg.What I shall hereafter state must be accepted as my memory preserves the traditions of the past. I recollect reading some copy of original poetry written by my father's mother, referring in what then seemed to me very good poetry of a pathetic strain to her 'Lost Child."I regret that is was not preserved.The last recollection I have of it is, when it was removed from the usual resting in a crack beside the old brick chimney in the living room of a very plain and unpretentious dwelling.It was read to some interested friends and then replaced.It seems to me it was written in verse of four lines with a rolling low sounding rhythm, in metre or what not.It covered about a page of foolscap paper that was somewhat smoky and dingy.From these remembrances and frequent repetitions of the story of my father and others during much of my adult life, I am quite satisfied the incident of the stolen child is authentic.
Started for Mill at Kingston
"When my grandfather received a grant of two hundred acres of land, now the site of the Town of Cobourg, it was covered with forest trees, and the family occupied a small house of some kind at some distance from the lake, where they made a small clearing.In those days there was no grist mill nearer than Kingston, and settlers who were so far advanced as to have grain to be ground, were obliged to take it to that far-off place.They did not go by land but always took a boat, sometimes of rude construction - no line boats with palace saloons to travel by then.
Wood Gay with Flowers
"On a pleasant morning the family set out for a trip to Kingston.It appears to me all were to go; at least they all left the home together to go to the boat.It was natural that children would loiter along, or wander a little way off in the bush, as that time the woods were gay with spring flowers.When the family arrived at the beach one child, a little girl was missed.The anxiety of the parents may well be imagined, better than described.At all events there was a rally and immediate search was made.Not seeing her readily they supposed she had wandered away picking flowers here and there and perhaps had got lost in the thicket.It must be remembered there was quite a thick cedar swamp near by.Any persons who had ever attempted to make a short cut out of or through one of these tangled and densely wooded jungles will have no difficulty in realizing how easy it is to go astray and come out at the wrong place, as I have often experienced to my great discomfort."
Found Tracks in the Sand
"But even this fond hope was soon dispelled when some of the searchers came upon a plot of cleared sandy soil, and observed immediately the prints of little bare feet, painfully plain, in the sand, as if on a running gait, and immediately associated with them, the impression of moccasined feet of a grown-up Indian.No other sight ever greeted their anguished eyes, or sound was ever heard to tell what had become of the lost child.There was nothing to solve the mystery but those footprints in the sand.It flashed uponthe mother's mind without long reasoning that an Indian has surprised the little girl as she became separated from the rest of the company, and muffled in his blanket, was fleeted through the dense forest and out of sight and hearing, with that cunning agility known only to the first inhabitants of our forests.I forget the child's name, but it was some quaint, old fashioned name, not however obsolete like Martha, Margaret or Matilda or Samantha"
********************
An Email from Connie Chism nee Harriman, comments of the potential of
finding Diadamia"
Though I returned from my Ontario venture two weeks ago, highly excited with
lots of findings regarding our Herriman history, I wanted to give myself
some time to pull my thoughts together.I believe I am on the right track,
have brought home as much supporting documents possible, asked a lot of
questions and received a lot of advise.Yet, I am not satisfied to the
extent of the hard proof, but I have obtained enough circumstantial evidence
to proclaim the following theory.I welcome your comments and should you
need verification on my findings, please request clarification.This theory
may never have been formulated without being personally involved at the
various Ontario locations and conversing with historians.
The picture of James Herriman b.1838 has been described as revealing strong
Indian features.After several such comments, I started wondering if this
was true and hence started researching the possibility.Craig Herriman is
the father of James.
There are two marriage recordings for Craig, one from the Ontario Marriage
Bonds that stated:Herriman, Craig, of the Indian Lands, Wentworth County,
yeoman, & Jane Pettit of Ancaster Tp., spr. b:James Westbrook, of the
Indian Lands, yeoman, and Matthew Crooks Esq. Of Ancaster Tp.8 Dec. 1834
at Ancaster, w:Robert Anderson.
The other is from Ancaster Parish Records:December 9th, 1834.Married (by
license) Craig Heriman, of the Indian Lands, County of Wentworth, and Jane
Petit, of the Township of Ancaster, County of Wentworth, both of Gore
District, U.C., by me, John Miller.Witnesses - Francis Irwin and Ezekiel
Chutterson.
The Indian Lands refer to the Six Nations in the Grand River Valley.I have
a document from the Ontario Historical Society outlining the common
Indian/White intermarriages and ancestry.These lands were primarily 6
miles out on both sides of the Grand River.Ancaster joins the boundary of
Six Nations.
"Loyalist Families of the Grand River Branch" was very informative on the
history behind the Grand River settlements, as well as the Westbrook family.
I was investigating James Westbrook at this point, as he was a
sponsor/witness to Craig's marriage.John Westbrook (father of James
Westbrook) was a Mohawk kidnapping victim as a young boy, taken to Canada
and learned the language, customs of the Indians.Several other documents
were found indicating similar circumstances about children being "taken
prisoner by the Mohawks during one of their numerous forays against the
whites, adopted by them, and grew up amongst them".A Superintendent of the
Six Nations wrote about one female white captive:This prisoner was adopted
by the Six Nations and in due time married an Indian and her children
retained their mother's name as was frequently done at the time.
I was in Ontario a total of eleven days, but with each day the discoveries
and coincidences were compounding, one right after the other.The
Westbrook's were prominent citizens of Ancaster.Cyrus VanSickle of
Ancaster, a cousin of Miriam VanSickle (James Herriman's wife) bought Indian
land in the Twp. Onondaga.And, I find that a James Herriman family was
tenants of James Westbrook in 1851.The various tidbits suggesting this
theory are too numerous to mention in this initial writing.
One evening I spoke extensively with a Westbrook researcher, Vicki Hartley,
who was very knowledgeable regarding the Indian society.She encouraged me
to consider the fact that it was very possible of our family to have Indian
blood, especially when I stated that there was no evidence to be found of
Craig's land ownership, no burial records, no good documentation other than
the marriage records.I have a set of books called Ancaster Heritage which
details family histories yet it refuses to associate with the name of
Herriman, yet there is verbage regarding the other names mentioned in
Craig's marriage records.Craig and James Westbrook were the same age, both
living on Indian lands.Most Indian registrations have been burned,
primarily because the people of the white communities shunned the Indian
people - and still are to this day.Once a member of an Indian/white family
left the reservations, usually they changed the spelling of the names.
Should an Indian member leave the reservation, there would be no status left
for the remaining white member.So is the case when Craig was convicted in
1851 to the Kingston Penitentiary with his brother James Herriman.
Craig's wife, Jane (Pettit) Herryman, is listed in the 1851 Ancaster census
at age 36, with children:Thomas 17, Elizabeth 13, James 11, Caroline 9,
George 8, Jeptha 6, Squire 4, Martha 2, and Jane's brother Ozias Pettit 42.
In 1851 Census County of Brant, Twp of Brantford:James Herriman, carpenter
in Kingston Penitentiary age 26 with wife, Jemima (Cook) age 32, Hannah A.
7, Levina J. 5, Mary E. 3, Maria 1.
I spent a day with Eva Herriman Davey in Paris, from the Squire Herriman
family.Her brother Lloyd Herriman (1925-1995) had done extensive Herriman
research and I am quite impressed with his materials, which Eva has given
me.It seems as he was on the same course as I, has researched Nathaniel
extensively, and was on the edge of this same discovery.From The Story of
Old Cobourg, a lengthy article written on the Nathaniel Herriman family:
describes a day the family set out for the beach to take a boat to Kingston.
A little girl may have wandered off in the thick cedar swamp.Searchers
"came upon a plot of cleared sandy soil, and observed immediately the prints
of little bare feet, painfully plain, in the sand, as if on a running gait,
and immediately associated with them, the impression of moccasined feet of a
grown-up Indian."
Nathaniel Herriman took possession of his land in Cobourg in 1797, sold it
in 1808 (soon after this tragedy as Bethania "had a great grief upon her").
Craig was born about 1813.I believe this little girl, Diadama, was six
years old when she was taken by the Mississauga Indians, raised on the Six
Nations reservation, married an Indian, had son Craig, who took her last
name (as stated above).
Hopefully, I will receive feedback from all of you, and advise to our next
point of concentration.Hiring a professional with good Indian contacts
seems to be my first thought.My attempts at this were not well received,
whether it was this shunning impression, or my lack of experience in the
Indian arena.Another possibility I am considering is to contact BYU
regarding its genetic DNA testing in genealogy, which would prove my Craig
Herriman connection with your Nathaniel Herriman.
I was hoping to be able to relay all my findings, yet I have only skimmed
the surface.It looks like the only way to get all this information to you
is by making copies of all these notes and documents.Examining even the
slightest details may hold the key to our search and each time I go through
them, I find more.All your input is requested, however, I would like to
solicit the genealogical skills of Berk to receive copies, if he is willing.