Mason, Kathryn Harrod

"Kathryn Harrod Mason was born in Columbus, Ohio and is a descendant of early American pioneers, among them Levi Harrod, one of the original company who settled Harrodsburg. She has done graduate work at Claremont College and has studied at Stanford University. She is a contributor to historical journals and has done newspaper work. At present [circa 1951] Mrs. Mason lives in Germany where her husband is a State Department official." (Mason biography copied from the dust jacket of her monograph, "James Harrod of Kentucky" (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1951).)

James Harrod was a pioneer and one of the founders of the first permanent settlement in Kentucky. Born in Pennsylvania to John Harrod and his second wife, Sarah (Moore) Harrod, he served as a guard at Fort Littleton (Pennsylvania) and as a ranger as early as 1755. He participated in the French and Indian War. He began westward exploration in the 1760s, going to the Illinois lands and then present-day Kentucky and Tennessee. He was one of the establishers of the first permanent settlement in Kentucky, originally "Harrodstown" (now Harrodsburg) in June 1774. Harrodsburg became the county seat for Virginia's new "Kentucky County" in 1776. In 1779, Harrod represented the county in the Virginia General Assembly, and in the 1780s he was a trustee of Harrodsburg. In 1776 and 1777, he led two expeditions eastward to secure provisions for the fledgling forts of Kentucky. Harrod again served in the militia, and defended the settlement of Harrodstown from Indian attacks throughout the summer of 1777. Beginning as a captain, he attained the rank of colonel by 1779. By that time, James Harrod had become a wealthy farmer, owning more than 20,000 acres across Kentucky. In 1778, Harrod married Ann Coburn McDonald. McDonald had come to Harrodstown in 1776; her first husband was killed by Indians later that year. The Harrods had one daughter, Margaret, who was born in September 1785. In February 1792, Harrod and two other men entered the wilderness of Kentucky to hunt for beaver. Harrod never returned from the expedition.