It is written in the Compendium of Biography (discovered by me on the library shelves in Henry Co., IN) in an article on James Harvey of Harvey Neighborhood, Prairie Township, Henry County, Indiana on pages 690-694 and from the late Mrs. Cora Harvey who previously lived on 17th St., New Castle, Henry County, Indiana about the Harvey Family's tragic loss of their youngest son, Evan Harvey. It has been reported that Evan was born in 1801, and if that report is true, then Evan would have been born in Randolph County, North Carolina like his older brothers and sisters.
His parents were William Harvey, a Quaker, born May 1754 and Jemima Page Harvey who lived to be about 100 years old when she passed. This Harvey family came "from North Carolina to Wayne County, Indiana in 1808" according to page 759 of The History of Henry County, Indiana written in 1884. The family entered from Center Monthly Meeting , OH into Whitewater Monthly Meeting 24 Feb 1810 when Evan would have been about 9 years old. Whitewater MM was in Wayne Co., Indiana I think. I know they were in Wayne County, In by 1814.
According to either Zola or Nellie Harvey who previously lived at 212 N. 17th St. New Castle, Henry Co., IN and who collected family history on the Harveys and Canadays, and Nellie and Zola lived to be about 100 like their ancestor Jemima Page Harvey. Nellie told me in her home while we were sharing research in the 1970s that there was a problem in Wayne Co., IN in the Quaker church which caused or encouraged the Harveys to move early into Henry County, Indiana. In 1815 the Harveys were in West Grove Monthly Meeting, still in Wayne County, Indiana.
Further in The History of Henry County, Indiana page 745 the history of this Harvey family to tied to the development of Prairie Towwnship in Henry County, Indiana. "Prairie Township was started by County Commisioners on the 11th of June 1822. At the same date it was ordered that an election of one Justice of the Peace for said township should be held at the house of Abraham Harvey on the 6th day of Jult 18(2)2 and that William Harvey be inspector. At this election William Harvey and Abijah Cain were chosen Overseers of the Poor; and Abraham Harvey, James Massey, and Robert Gordon, Fence Viewers." Later elections were eventually held at James Harvey's house (a brother to Evan Harvey.)
By 1822, Willaim Harvey, husband of Jemima Page Harvey had entered land in Henry County, Indiana. "This township (Prairie per History of Henry Co., IN 1884, page 745) derives its name from the low and level meadows which constitute a considerable portion of the land. It is a rich and wealthy farming district, and contains 4 villages (in 1884)."
"The Harvey neighborhood was among the first settlements in the county (Henry County, Indiana). William, Benjamin, James, and Absalom Harvey settled in 1819. Absalom Harvey owned land about New Castle and donated to the county 28 acres, including thaat on which the court-house now stands. Benjamin settled in the spring 1819, the other Harveys in the autumn. The family came from North Carolina, but had moved to Indiana while it was a Territory. They came to this county from Wayne." History of Henry County, Indiana, page 745.
Now to the "tragedy of the loss" of the youngest son, EVAN HARVEY: The History of Henry Co. IN 1884, page 745-746:
"Evan Harvey was accidentally shot while hunting deer." According to Nellie Harvey, Evan was mistaken for the deer, and killed by his brother-in-law, John Harris. John was married to Evan's sister, Nancy on 19 June 1817 in Wayne, Co., IN. John would have been 23 years old when he accidentally shot his brother-in-law, Evan Harvey age 18 while they were hunting. Nancy Harvey Harris would have been only 19 years old when she lost her next youngest brother, and had to help her husband, John Harris, try to overcome the grief of this accident.
Evan Harvey was buried in the Harvey Cemetery located on a hilltop overlooking a beautiful valley. The cemetery is located where the William and Jemima Page harvey family must have farmed. There is an old brick home that much later belonged to Representative Ralph Harvey and his family. It is just north of the crossroads of Indiana State Road 103 and U. S. 36. Mrs. Ralph Harvey was kind enough to allow me to go to the hilltop to take photographs. There is a headstone for the patriarch, William Harvey, and his son, James Harvey and James's wife, Margaret Canaday Harvey. I took those headstone photos because they are my direct line ancestors. At this time in 2009, I cannot recall if I photographed Evan's headstone, although I have seen a record that Evan Harvey was buried in this family cemetery in about 1820. There is a website link to www.hcgs.net/harveycemetery.html if someone would like to check there. Not every gravesite is always listed in hcgs.net because stones could be gone by the time they were recorded by these wonderful volunteers.
I do not know how a family recovers from the tragic loss of a young life. I believe that Evan was always missed. I know John and Nancy Harvey Harris eventually moved to Polk Co., Iowa where they had two daughters, Viretta and another. Nancy Harvey Harris is buried in the Sims Cemtery, Polk Co., Iowa. Nancy died 14 Sep 1853 and her husband, John Harris died in 1864 in Iowa. I am not certain when or why Nancy and John Harris left the Harvey neighborhood, but I have wondered if it was linked to this tragedy in the Harvey family of Indiana.