Editing Harman Blennerhassett

{{Short description|Anglo-Irish lawyer and plantation owner (1764–1831)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Harman Blennerhassett
| image       = Harman Blennerhassett.jpeg
| alt         = 
| caption     = Harman Blennerhassett, from a 1796 [[Portrait miniature|miniature]] painted in [[London]]
| birth_name  = 
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1765|10|08|df=yes}} 
| birth_place = [[Hampshire]], [[England]], [[United Kingdom]]
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1831|02|02|1765|10|08|df=yes}} 
| death_place = [[Guernsey]]
| death_cause = 
| nationality = English
| other_names = 
| spouse=[[Margaret Agnew Blennerhassett]]
| children=6
| known_for   = Blennerhassett Island
| occupation  = Lawyer
| signature   = Harman Blennerhassett signature.jpg
}}
<!-- The birth year was edited by an IP with only one contribution to 1764 in Jan 2009 (vandal?). But EB1911 gives 1765, as does a biography written in 1901: http://blennerhassettfamilytree.com/pages/TheTrueStoryOfHarmanBH_1901.pdf. An Ohio history site gives ca 1767. Other sources tentatively suggest 1764. -->
'''Harman Blennerhassett''' (8 October 1764 – 2 February 1831) was an [[Anglo-Irish]] lawyer, a member of the [[Society of United Irishmen]] who emigrated in advance of their [[Irish Rebellion of 1798|rebellion in 1798]] to become a socially and politically distinguished plantation owner in [[West Virginia|then-western Virginia]]. Implicated in the [[Burr conspiracy]], an alleged military plot with Britain to separate the [[Louisiana Territory]] from the American Union, he was twice arrested and financially ruined. His last years were spent in England.

==Life==
Harman Blennerhassett was born in [[Hampshire]], [[England]], to Conway Blennerhassett and his wife, Elizabeth [[de Lacy|Lacy]]. He was the grandson of [[Conway Blennerhassett]] and the great-great-grandson of [[Robert Blennerhassett (MP for Tralee)|Captain Robert Blennerhassett]]. At the age of two, Harman returned to the family's home in [[County Kerry]], Ireland, a 7,000-acre estate called [[Castle Conway]]. As an adolescent, he was sent to [[Westminster School]] in London, and in 1784 entered the [[Middle Temple]] of London's famous [[Inns of Court]]. In 1790, he graduated from [[Trinity College, Dublin|Trinity College]], Dublin with a Bachelor of Laws,<ref>"Alumni Dublinenses: a register of the students, graduates, professors and provosts of [[Trinity College Dublin|Trinity College in the University of Dublin]] (1593–1860). [[George Dames Burtchaell]] / [[Thomas Ulick Sadleir]] p. 74: Dublin, Alex Thom and Co, 1935</ref> and started his practice at the Irish bar. Blennerhassett visited [[Paris]] in 1790; inherited the family estate in 1792; joined the secret [[Society of United Irishmen]] in 1793, which initially dedicated itself to reform, but later turned militantly radical; and in 1794 married [[Margaret Agnew Blennerhassett|Margaret Agnew]], daughter of his sister Catherine and Major Robert Agnew, a career officer in the British army.{{sfn|Henderson|1886}}

[[File:Appleton's Blennerhassett Harman Ohio estate.jpg|thumb|left|Blennerhassett's estate on a large island in the Ohio River, a few miles below Parkersburg, West Virginia]]
[[File:Blennerhassett Mansion.JPG|thumb|left|Blennerhassett's estate (reconstructed)]]
[[File:Coat of Arms of Harman de Blennerhasset.svg|thumb|upright=0.6|Blennerhassett Coat of Arms]]
Chiefly to escape involvement in the United Irishmen's planned rebellion against British rule, but also to conceal his incestuous marriage, Blennerhassett emigrated to the United States in 1796. There, on the western Virginia frontier, he bought the upper half of [[Blennerhasset Island|an Ohio River island]] lying {{convert|1.5|mile|km}} downstream from what is now [[Parkersburg, West Virginia]]. It became the site of a European-style estate whose centrepiece was an enormous mansion surrounded by extravagantly landscaped lawns and gardens. For a brief period, the Blennerhassetts' home became famous as the largest, most beautiful private residence in the American West.{{sfn|Henderson|1886}}

The most distinguished of the Blennerhassetts' many visitors was the former vice president of the United States, [[Aaron Burr]]. His three stays on the island resulted in its becoming headquarters for his mysterious 1806–1807 [[Burr conspiracy|military expedition to the Southwest]], an alleged scheme to separate the [[Louisiana Territory]] from the [[United States|American union]] with the assistance of the British.<ref>Melton, Buckner (2002), ''Aaron Burr, Conspiracy to Treason'',  {{ISBN|0-471-39209-X}}</ref>

As the result of the president's call for the arrest of Burr, Blennerhassett, and their ca. 70 followers, the mansion and island were occupied and plundered in December 1806 by the local Virginia militia. Blennerhassett fled, was twice arrested, and finally imprisoned in the Virginia state penitentiary. He was only released following Burr's acquittal at the end of a long 1807 treason trial at [[Richmond, Virginia]]. The Blennerhassetts never returned to their island home, which in 1811 was destroyed by fire.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kigans |first1=Fran  |date=2013 |title= Harman Blennerhassett, Washington County history |journal=The Tallow Light |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=86 }}</ref>

Now forced to earn a living for himself and family, Blennerhassett first settled on a cotton plantation near [[Port Gibson, Mississippi]], where he lost what was left of his once large fortune. According to Emily Van Dorn Miller, daughter of [[Peter Aaron Van Dorn|P. A. Van Dorn]], "Port Gibson is also noted as having been the home or hiding place ("La Cache") of Blennerhasset; not on the Mississippi River, as has been stated, but six or eight miles back of the town in the interior, surrounded by magnificent tall oaks and forest trees, a place once renowned for its beauty, comfort and hospitality."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Emily Van Dorn |url=https://archive.org/details/soldiershonorwit00milliala/page/11/mode/1up |title=A soldier's honor with reminiscences of Major-General Earl Van Dorn; |date=1902 |publisher=The Abbey press |others=University of California Libraries |pages=12}}</ref>

Thereafter he unsuccessfully attempted to practice law in [[Montreal]], [[Lower Canada]] (1819–1822), and eventually returned to Europe (1824).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}  Here he initially lived with his family at [[Bath, England]], but later relocated to the Channel Islands where he died in 1831.{{sfn|Henderson|1886}} He was buried in [[Candie Cemetery]], which had opened the same year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.priaulxlibrary.co.uk/articles/article/eternal-stranger-harman-blennerhasset|title=Priaulx Library: An Eternal Stranger – Harmen Blennerhassett|access-date=29 January 2024}}</ref>

The Blennerhassetts had six children: five biological, with three born on the island and two while in Mississippi, and one adopted. Of the biological children, three survived infancy, all sons.<ref>{{cite journal|title=A Chronicle of the Life of Harman Blennerhassett|journal=West Virginia Historical Society Quarterly|volume=13|issue=1|year=1999|url= https://archive.wvculture.org/history/wvhs/wvhs1312.html|last=Burke|first=Micheal|access-date=26 February 2023|via=West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History}}</ref>

The Blennerhassetts' island mansion was reconstructed 1984–1991 by the State of West Virginia, which now operates the site as a state park, [[Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park]].

==See also==
* [[Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park]]
* [[Margaret Agnew Blennerhassett]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
;Attribution
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Blennerhassett, Harman}}
*{{DNB |first=Thomas Finlayson |last=Henderson |wstitle=Dundas, James (d.1679) |volume=5 |page=213}} Endnotes: 
**Hickson's Selections from Old Kerry Records, 1872; 
**Reports of Trial of Colonel Aaron Burr, late President of the United States; 
**Safford's Life of Harman Blennerhasset, 1853; 
**Safford, The Blennerhasset Papers, embodying the Private Journal of Harman Blennerhasset. 1864.

==Sources==
* Burke, Micheal. "A Chronicle of the Life of Harman Blennerhassett." ''West Virginia Historical Society Quarterly'' Vol. XIII, No. 1, January 1999. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070902111700/http://www.wvculture.org/History/wvhs1312.html West Virginia Historical Society]
* Swick, Ray. "Harman Blennerhassett: Irish Aristocrat and Frontier Entrepreneur." ''Essays In History.'' Volume 14, (1968–1969) The History Club Corcoran Department of History, University of Virginia, pp.&nbsp;51–71.[http://www.blennerhassett.net/History/HarmanMargaret/Harman%20Blennerhassett.htm blennerhassett.net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928000600/http://www.blennerhassett.net/History/HarmanMargaret/Harman%20Blennerhassett.htm |date=28 September 2007 }} Accessed 6 September 2007
* Swick, Ray. "Aaron Burr's Visit to Blennerhassett Island", ''West Virginia History A Quarterly'' Vol. XXXV, No. 3, April 1974.
* Swick, Ray. ''An Island Called Eden: The Story of Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett'' (Parkersburg, West Virginia: Parkersburg Printing Company, 2000) Printed for Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park.

==External links==
*{{cite Appletons|wstitle = Blennerhassett, Harman}}
*[http://www.blennerhassettislandstatepark.com/ Official Blennerhassett Island and Museum Homepage]
*[http://www.wvculture.org/history/thisdayinwvhistory/0104.html Articles on the Blennerhassetts]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=qUtuGBTZloYC&dq=conway+blennerhassett+of+castle+conway&pg=PA25 Blennerhassett papers]
* {{cite book |last1=Hutchinson |first1=John |title=A catalogue of notable Middle Templars, with brief biographical notices |date=1902 |publisher=the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple |location=Canterbury |page= 23|edition=1  |chapter=[[s:A catalogue of notable Middle Templars, with brief biographical notices/Blennerhasset, Harman|Blennerhasset, Harman]]}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blennerhassett, Harman}}
[[Category:1764 births]]
[[Category:1831 deaths]]
[[Category:Irish emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Politicians from Parkersburg, West Virginia]]
[[Category:Lawyers from County Kerry]]
[[Category:18th-century American planters]]
[[Category:Blennerhassett Island]]
[[Category:Members of the Middle Temple]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College Dublin]]
[[Category:People educated at Westminster School, London]]
[[Category:United Irishmen]]
[[Category:18th-century Anglo-Irish people]]
[[Category:Blennerhassett family|Harman]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Parkersburg, West Virginia]]
[[Category:19th-century American planters]]
[[Category:Burr conspiracy]]