Angie Harmon to be Featured this Sunday on TLC’s Who Do You Think You Are?

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One-time model, and now actress, Angie Harmon, is to be featured on The Learning Channel’s Who Do You Think You Are? this Sunday (March 22, 2015 at 10/9c). She may be best known for playing the character ADA Abbie Carmichael from 1998-2001 on NBC’s series Law & Order.

In the upcoming episode, which was filmed October 20 to 27, 2014, Angie travels from her home in Charlotte, North Carolina to the Charlotte Museum of History; then on to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and the Free Library of Philadelphia in the same city. She then goes to Valley Forge National Park in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg. Finally, she goes to the Harrodsburg Historical Society in Kentucky, which leads her to Michael Harmon’s farm, in Mercer County.

Angie knew quite a lot about her mother’s side of the family, but not so much about that of her father, with whom she grew up and is very close. Larry Harmon (her dad) sent her a package of material about the family to help her get started. Finding a Jim Harmon, her 2nd great-grandfather, she sent the information on to Joseph Shumway, who works for ProGenealogists, an Ancestry.com company. I had the privilege a few weeks ago to attend a class given by Joseph Shumway at the BYU Family History Tech Conference, “Life of the 21st Century Genealogist.” You may click on the link for a review of the class.

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Shumway did his research and met Angie at the genealogy library of the Charlotte Museum of History. Her line went back to a Michael Harmon, who came to America as an indentured servant in the early 1770s – and was contracted to work as a tanner for 5 years and 7 months. However, a year or so before the contract ran out, Harmon enlisted in the Revolutionary War. Angie met with Colonial historian Jim Horn at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, where she she got to see the immigration document, and an online record that shows that Michael enlisted in the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment on May 10, 1777 – maybe not the best time to be joining the revolution! According to Revolutionary War Historian Scott Stephenson, who met Angie at the Free Library of Philadelphia, the British had recently captured Philadelphia, and a paystub shows that Michel Harmon was one of those soldiers camped at Valley Forge during the bitter winter of 1777-78. Angie and Scott actually went to Valley Forge to learn more.

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Next, Angie went on the the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg. Here she met with Historian Major Sean Sculley. It was revealed that the soldiers got fed up with the lack of pay, food, and clothing and that a number of them mutinied – including Michael Harmon. They could have been shot! However the government backed off, met their terms, and allowed soldiers to leave if they wanted. It looks liked Michael “wanted” as his war record ends, and he shows up owning 130 acres in Mercer County, Kentucky in 1895.

Angie then traveled to the Harrodsburg Historical Society in Mercer County, Kentucky , where got got a look at Michael Harmon’s will. She found that Michael had entered the tanning business, owned several plantations, married and had seven children. Angie found her ancestor’s land on an old map, and with the help of local historian Amalie Preston, went for a visit. The land is still in the Harmon family today, and Angie had found her way home. Quite a story…

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Be sure and set your appointments devices – whatever they are – for Who Do You Think You Are? – March 22, 2015 at 10/9c on TLC.

About Leland Meitzler

Leland K. Meitzler founded Heritage Quest in 1985, and has worked as Managing Editor of both Heritage Quest Magazine and The Genealogical Helper. He currently operates Family Roots Publishing Company (www.FamilyRootsPublishing.com), writes daily at GenealogyBlog.com, writes the weekly Genealogy Newsline, conducts the annual Salt Lake Christmas Tour to the Family History Library, and speaks nationally, having given over 2000 lectures since 1983.

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