Henry Harman was born in 1726 on his parents’ (Heinrich Adam and Louisa Katrina Harmann) voyage to America, at the Isle of Man, during the obligatory call at a British port before a foreign ship could proceed to a British colony in North America. They initially lived in Pennsylvania, but the family relocated into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia by 1736. The Harman family eventually made their way to the New River by 1745, where they settled at Gunpowder (Eggleston) Springs.

The Harman family had developed a close relationship with the Moravian community in North Carolina, baptizing children and marrying there, apparently because it was the nearest German-speaking community with clergy. There are many references to the Harmans in the Moravian records.

About 1758 in Rowan County, North Carolina, Henry married Anna Nancy Wilburn (born about 1735), with whom he had nine children: Daniel Conrad (born about 1760, married Nancy Harman), Henry Jr (born about 1763, married Christina Harman), Johann Adam (born 03 Jan 1765, married Anna Gardner), George (born 25 Jan 1767, married Barbra Lopp), Mathias (born 09 Feb 1769, married Mary Dunn), Hezekiah (born 30 Nov 1772, married Mary “Polly” Brown), Rhoda (born about 1773, married William Neel), Louisa “Levisa” (born 1775, married James Davis), and Elias (born 11 Jul 1780, married Polly Davis),

After the Proclamation of 1763, Henry and most of his relatives moved from the Virginia frontier to live in the vicinity of the Moravian town of Bethabara in North Carolina. Henry remained in North Carolina after his father and other members of the family returned to the New River in the late 1760s. Henry Harman was a resident of Rowan County, North Carolina, when in 1775 he was chosen to serve on the Committee of Safety. He would return to Virginia sometime after 1780. His last residence was at Holly Brook in Wythe County (present-day Bland County). Anna died before 18 Feb 1804. Henry died prior to 23 July 1822, and he and his wife are buried at Holly Brook.