Comments on: HARPER, Hance, and the family from Augusta Co VA, Spartanburg Co SC and Hart Co KY

By: Barnia Scruggs

Barnia Scruggs — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 21:40:06 +0000

Came across your blog in an effort to answer some questions about Robert Harper. I was pleased to find you corrected his location of death from Sumner County, TN to Smith County, TN. I believe I am related to his daughter, Margaret. If my findings are correct, Margaret was married to a Wiliam Kent, a union that produced my GG Grandmother, Elizabeth A. Kent. I have Robert Harper’s death being 1807 and a Nathan Kent purchasing items at his estate sale. I also show Margaret’s older sister, Mary, living with her and William in the 1860 census. I am very interested in finding out more, if this seems to be the same Robert Harper. I have his widow being a Margery Payne.
Look forward to your response.

By: alvispat

alvispat — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 00:34:16 +0000

All i know is to be very careful whose comments I approve. I keep two backups of all data, away from the Internet.

By: lyman h reynolds

lyman h reynolds — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 23:09:20 +0000

Hi! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any issues with hackers?
My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing a
few months of hard work due to no back up. Do you have any solutions
to prevent hackers?

By: alvispat

alvispat — Mon, 28 May 2012 22:28:40 +0000

I have been in DAR since 1970 (I was young and mini-skirted). I am also a volunteer genealogist. Although the Harpers look doubtful, send me your family tree and I’ll if I can find a Patriot. Actually, I did that very thing for a friend’s daughter-in-law this morning. I found two. My students would laugh; I almost said “send me your family” instead of “send me your family tree.” We find and read bloopers a lot in the spring quarter. Kathy

By: Sharron A Mattingly

Sharron A Mattingly — Mon, 28 May 2012 21:30:09 +0000

I’m an educator also–retired as a principal of a local middle school. I was at the same school for 27 of my 31 years with the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corp in Evansville IN. Our daughter is a teacher– turned Curriculum Coordinator here too; and our granddaughter will be teaching at Vanderbilt Univ this coming fall. I’m so thankful for my years with my students. Probably my background makes me so determined to “get to the bottom” of this situation!!

Mother always told my cousin and me that our Harper family was from England. I did read your information on Frances H M Pedigo and enjoyed it as well. If and when you find that genealogy genie, please remember to send it my way. Because of our connection through the Harpers, I’m looking forward to speaking with you. Have a great end to your school year.

Perhaps this sounds crazy to you, but I have always aspired to be able to be accepted into DAR. At my age–74, it’s probably far too late for such a task. I noticed that you are in DAR. Have you been a part of DAR for a long time?

Do you have any written material other than this wonderful blog? Thanks again.

By: alvispat

alvispat — Mon, 28 May 2012 19:00:02 +0000

Sharron, One problem I have encountered with the Harpers is that when no one really knows, they say maybe and others pick it up it the idea runs around the country and back to the first person who thinks he/she has found confirmation of her theory. Do you see what I mean?

I took about two months to get around to calling another lady about a different family. I think much better with words on the page in front of me; maybe it was 10 years in Latin America without a phone. After next Saturday (end of school year, I teach), fell free to call me at 405-663-2080, but before 7pm CDT.

What I have in my blogs is pretty much all I have, except for vibes, feelings, itches and twitches. For example, there were two Harper families mentioned in Lyman Chalkley’s wonderful Augusta Co VA book, but someone (I’m thinking in the last 30-40 years) combined them. Ours is not the German family; ours didn’t go to Harper’s Ferry, and our Michael is not named Adam.

The only thing to do is to keep digging in records for bits and pieces. Did you read what I have about Frances (Harper) (Meredith) Pedigo? She was either a sister, half-sister, cousin or aunt to Silas, Samuel Jr and Ransom. Will we ever find the key? One of my two or three biggest wishes ready for a genealogy genie to show up and grant me some.

The next time I work on Harpers, I plan to try to straighten out Revolutionary War evidence in SC. Kathy

By: Sharron A Mattingly

Sharron A Mattingly — Mon, 28 May 2012 18:46:45 +0000

THANKS so much for your prompt reply! Some information I have is written and some is word-of-mouth. Does this mean that what I have is incorrect? Is my maternal Great Grandfather Emery Harper? I would love to speak to you by phone. I’m totally confused; and like you, I would like to solve my Harper dilemma. My research on the Logsdons was right on track with what my Mother had written. Perhaps more attention was given to her Mother’s side of the family. At least I can track Papa–Clarence V Harper SR–back to Nancy Belle Logsdon; I’m online at my family.com Logsdon and have several verifications of the same, i.e. marriage information for Nancy Belle Logsdon/Jeremiah J Harper. Is there any online information to which I could refer? Please help me! Thanks again.

By: alvispat

alvispat — Mon, 28 May 2012 03:42:15 +0000

Sharon,
I would love to know who made these connections and when. The Harpers are convoluted, to say the least.
I have Emory and Andrew J Harper as brothers. Or did andrew J name a son for his brother?
Most of what I have is based on censuses. A lot of Harper family historians have made lists and no one really knows what they were based on. It would be great if our data had some sources, even something like “Great-Aunt Agatha,” not a real name, just the idea.
Someone has posted a list of the children of Silas Harper and his wife Sarah Smith; Emory and Andrew J Harper are both on it, but no reason or evidence is with it. They fit sons in his 1830 and 1840 census; but I suppose they also fit Samuel’s family.
I think samuel and Silas were brothers, sons of a Samuel Harper Sr, who was in Hart County in 1820.

I have this old message:
From Harper Family Genealogy Forum
Re: Harpers of Hart Co KY
Posted by: caldeen benedict
Date: April 17, 2001 at 16:58:32
Samuel Harper Sr, son of Hans and Elizabeth (—) Harper, was born 1760 in Virginia. Samuel Sr died in Kentucky.
He was at Boonesboro Fort, Kentucky 1779-1783. A marriage licence was found in Rowan County SC but we do not know if it is the same Samuel. The 1780(90?) census placed him in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He came to Barren County Kentucky around 1812. He was in Hart
County Kentucky when formed in 1819. Is the mother of his children Elizabeth?
Children:
Samuel Harper, Jr. b. 1795
Polly Harper
James William Harper b. 6 Nov 1813 [that's quite a gap between children, but not impossible]

A difference in the children of Samuel Sr and Hance Jr is that Hance was in Kentucky at an earlier date. Some longer-lived Harpers in 1880 say father born in Kentucky, and others say father born in Virginia.
Get back to me, and let’s try to work this through. I too would desperately like to solve my Harper dilemma.
Kathy

By: Sharron A Mattingly

Sharron A Mattingly — Sun, 27 May 2012 23:58:46 +0000

My maternal Grandfather was Clarence Vernon Harper SR, whose father was Jeremiah J Harper and whose paternal Grandfather was Emory Harper–I think. The lineage that I have for him is Andrew J Harper–Samuel Harper–Hance Jr–Hance SR–Adam Michael Harper. Is there any way or place at which I may verify these assumptions and go further back in the lineage? Papa’s wife, my maternal Grandmother, Bertha Mae Logsdon’s family has been relatively easy for me to research. Incidently, Mama & Papa were second cousins–Jeremiah J Harper married Nancy Belle Logsdon in Hart County KY. Please give me any help you can; I’m desparately wanting to connect with Papa’s family also. THANKS in advance. Sharron A Mattingly

By: Judi Dowlearn Alef

Judi Dowlearn Alef — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:36:04 +0000

Eileen: Talking taking forever to get back to you… I put the work aside and just picked it up again today. I’ve been reworking the data because as it turns out one of my ‘cousins’ who had given me the Phoebe name et al was working off a bad LDS family sheet. I have no patience for LDS because it’s rarely accurate but always ready to insert info. Right now I don’t know who he married. I’m skittish about Hance as some have labeled him John Hans Harper which is a German family Harper line that IS NOT ours.
I know know that Robt. Jr. was married to Margaret/Magret Brown of Anson Co NC. This is also fraught w/ errors, i.e. LDS members list her husband as a Mr. Robert. She is said to be the daughter of a Brown/e who ancestors were Scot and Abenaki woman; location unknown. I’m beating my head against the wall trying to straighten it out.