Blennerhasset

Harman, an Anglo-American adventurer (1764-1831). He belonged to a wealthy, well educated, English family. Having married his own niece, he was ostracized by English society and driven to sell his estates. He migrated to America, and established a home on an island in the Ohio River a few miles below Parkersburg, West Virginia. His palace, grounds, pictures, and statuary were the admiration of all travelers. He entertained with lavish hospitality. Aaron Burr drew him into schemes for the establishment of an independent empire in the west. He invested a great sum in arms, ammunition, boats, and provisions. He was arrested on a charge of treason, but was discharged finally. His home, however, had, by this time, been ruined. His grounds had been turned into a hemp field, and his mansion used for a granary. He bought a cotton plantation on the lower Mississippi, but failed in this, as well as other commercial enterprises and returned finally to England. He died on the island of Guernsey. See Burr