When Edwin Harmer was born on 31 March 1838, his father, Elias Harmer, was 26 and his mother, Maria McMenemy, was 31. He died on 26 October 1844, in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States, at the age of 6, and was buried in Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds, Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States.
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By 1829 Venus, Illinois had grown sufficiently and in 1832 was one of the contenders for the new county seat. However, the honor was awarded to a nearby city, Carthage. In 1834 the name Venus was changed to Commerce because the settlers felt that the new name better suited their plans. But during late 1839, arriving members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bought the small town of Commerce and in April 1840 it was renamed Nauvoo by Joseph Smith Jr., who led the Latter-Day Saints to Nauvoo to escape persecution in Missouri. The name Nauvoo is derived from the traditional Hebrew language. It is notable that by 1844 Nauvoo's population had swollen to around 12,000 residents, rivaling the size of Chicago at the time. After the Latter-Day Saints left the population settled down toward 2,000 people.
After the Saints had been chased out of Missouri they moved to a swampy area located next to the Mississippi River. Here they settled and named the place Nauvoo which translates into the city beautiful.
In 1841, the Nauvoo Legion was organized. It was a group of men formed to protect the people of Nauvoo but also fought in different wars. Joseph Smith was the Lieutenant General of this group. Other leaders included Brigham Young, John C. Bennett, and others. They were part of the Illinois Mormon War (1844-1846), Mexican-American War (March of California, Capture of Tucson), Indian Wars (Battle Creek Massacre, Battle of Fort Utah, Walker War, Ute Black Hawk War, Mountain Meadows Massacre), American Civil War, and Morrisite War. The Legion was disbanded in 1887.
from the Middle English personal name Hermer, a borrowing of Old French Her(e)mer, an ancient Germanic name composed of hari, heri ‘army’ + māri, mēri ‘famous’.
habitational name from Haremere Hall in Etchingham (Sussex), which may derive from Old English hār ‘gray; boundary’ + mere ‘pool’.
English:
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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