John Henry Harms Family

John Henry Harms was born in Soltau, Germany, on December 8, 1839. He died on January 10, 1916 in Florida, Ohio. John married Marie Lueders in 1872. Marie was born in 1844 and died in 1890.

The Herman Vorwerk family has a fancy love letter written by John's bride, Marie Lueders, in 1870 to her later husband, John Harms, Sr. They have a copy book of John's writing, all in German, from his early school years.

A few years after John and Marie were married, they settled down in Florida, Ohio, early in 1888. Mr. Harms had a shoe and harness shop there. He made wooden shoes and did harness repairs. People came from far and wide to have their shoe and harness work done and the list included names of many prominent area families. The Vorwerks still have his book of accounts with various charges ranging from ten cents to a dollar, with very few over a dollar. There is only one account that he had to turn over for collection. In those days people made it a point to pay their honest debts. If they did not have the money they brought in chickens or other farm products to John Harms.

The Harms family had water in the house almost up to the ceiling on the lower floor of their house during the terrible flood of 1913.

John and Marie Lueders Harms had seven children. The two oldest died in infancy. Emma was born on June 23, 1878 and died on June 6, 1960. John was born in 1880 and died in 1954. Fred was born on December 22, 1882 and died on January 1, 1957. Sophy was an epileptic. She was born on November 21, 1886 and lived to the age of twenty years. Billie died at the age of eight years.

When Emma Harms was about twelve years old her mother passed away and Emma had to look after the household. It was a terrific chore for a girl of her age, but the neighbor ladies were very good to her and helped her very much. Her great-grandmother Maria Engle Lueders helped Emma during these years and stayed with Emma after Emma married. See the Herman Bostelman family history in this book. Maria Engle Lueders was born on June 23, 1818 and died in1903, at the age of eighty five years.

John Harms, Jr., at one time, drove a team of mules pulling a canal boat. There were three mules to a team and two teams to a boat. While one team rested on the boat, the other team kept the boat moving day and night.

John Harms, Jr. married Amelia Benien who was born in 1894 and died in 1962. They had a son, Walter, born in 1908 who died in 1919, and a daughter, Helen, who was born in 1912 and now lives at the Filling Home near Napoleon, Ohio.

Fred Harms worked at farming with friends and neighbors. He never married although he had many nice girl friends. The Vorwerks still have a very beautiful Valentine, in perfect condition, which he received from one of these girlfriends.

Submitted by: Herman I. Vorwerk