Welcome to Their Journey Southward!

Every family consists of a multitude of families, and each one has their own story. The following pages are stories of four such families that make up mine.
Beginning in the middle 1600's three of these families emigrated from Europe to America. These families saw the birth of a new nation. They were a part of history that we only read about. Later they migrated from these purple mountains south to the land of cotton.
You will find that this site contains individuals, research documentation, and some photographs. My name is Phillip Burrow, if you have any questions, or notice an individual that you can supply additional documentation on, please contact me.

Phillip Burrow #1 was born in England in 1641 during the reign of Charles I. It is unknown why Phillip immigrated to America. However it is known that this was a time of great unrest for England. This may have been a factor which influenced him to leave England for America. By 1670 Phillip was living in Surry County, Virginia.
Probably after his the death of Phillip #2 in 1738, his son, John Burrow relocated his family to Orange County, North Carolina.
Heinrich Kimbro was born in Prussia in 1733. He arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, aboard the ship Edinburg in 1753. Heinrich later moved his family to Orange County, North Carolina.
It was here that the two families met, and began a friendship that would last for two centuries. Their names appeared together in marriages, deeds, wills, and other legal documents. They fought the in wars together, and rejoiced in their victories as well as they suffered in their defeat.
The two families later moved to Bedford County, Tennessee. In 1812, George Kimbro and Phillip Burrow joined the Tennessee Volunteers. Led by Andrew Jackson, they defeated the "Red Sticks" at Horseshoe Bend.
In the mid 1800s, some members of these two families joined their neighbors to fight for the Confederate cause. However, James Riley Burrow and J. J. Kimbro both joined the Union forces, and gave their lives for the cause that they believed in. The Civil War truly pitted fathers against sons, brothers against brothers and neighbors against neighbors.
By the end of the century, Eugene Burrow married Minnie Bell Kimbro, and they both moved to Alabama. In 1918, he died prematurely in a work-related accident. When Minnie Bell died in 1952, it ended (as far as I know) a close relationship between these two families, which had spanned over two hundred years.

Johan Phillip Harless was born in 1716, the son of Ferdinand and Anna Christina Harless. He married Anna Margaretha Preiss in Offenbach, Germany on 17th of February 1738. During this time there was still great political and religious unrest in Germany. Many people known as Palatinates were fleeing for the "New World".
At the age of 22, Philip and his new wife left Germany for America with several of her brothers. They arrived in Philadelphia on a ship named the "Winter Galley". Phillip is listed in the Rolls under the spelling of Philip Harlash. He took the Oath of Allegiance on the 5th of September 1738.
Philip and Anna, built their first home in the Shenandoah Valley located in Orange County, Virginia. They later moved to a tract of land located next to the Cow Pasture River near Lexington, four miles from Natural Bridge. It is likely that all of their children were born here. Philip moved again to the German New River Settlement, southwest of what is now Roanoke, probably because it was thought to be safe from Indians attacks. This is where Philip acquired land, and raised his family. He was also among those who in 1750 built the first Lutheran Church west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Living with the Indians in the area had been peaceful, until 1749 when some Indians attacked the home of Adam Harmon, who lived on New River. The Indians did considerable damage to his property, in addition to stealing some valuable skins. This is thought to be the first such act west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. From this time until after the Revolutionary War, the settlers in this area were never safe from such attacks.
In 1755 Vause's Fort, located on the James River, was attacked and destroyed by Indians. Twenty-four people were either killed or captured. Most of the livestock at the fort was slaughtered. These attacks hit closer to home when Phillip's son, Martin, was mentioned in a letter dated June 6, 1778, from Col. Preston's to Capt. William Robinson, concerning the Indians problems.
Prior to this time, Philip and his sons', main occupation had been farming and raising stock. However, because of these attacks, forts, stockades, and military roads became a necessity. Several records of those years show that Philip and his sons were appointed overseers for the construction of such military roads.
In 1780, in an effort to gain more support against the colonial government a letter was sent to the Loyalist leaders. In this letter dated July 20, 1780, from Col. William Preston asked that Mr. Harless among others, to attend a meeting "to consult in a neighborly way, the proper steps for you to take for your own peace, safety & security". This may have been a harder decision than one might expect.
The people of this area depended on some type of protection against these Indian attacks. Some believed that the British were better equipped to provide this than the colonial forces. This was reinforced by the failure of the colonial government to send aid when they were threatened. Also the hope for British protection ran counter to the political movement to oust them from their control.
According to the Wisconsin Historical Collection "One of the Harless families was involved in the Loyalist Plot of 1780." Also, "The Prices and Shulls were likewise ... but upon agreeing to enlist in the Continental army their temporary error was pardoned."
If Martin was one of the Harless involved, he must have had a change of heart. According to Dr. Pritchard, Martin served in the Virginia Militia in Captain Looney's Company during the Revolution.
Philip and Anna had seven children. When Philip and Anna died they were buried in the Harless Cemetery at Long Shop, Virginia. A monument for their grave site was unveiled on Memorial Day, 30th June 1948, to honor them.