First-time Attendees at the
2002 Reunion were:
- Norm & Deanne Weinberg, Chantilly, VA
- Reece & Marie Harper, Marietta Georgia
Will this be your year??
2002 Harper Reunion
Call for Help:
Greg Adamson is collecting donations to fence in the Susan
(Skidmore) Harper Cemetery. Susan was
the mother of Dr. Eli Akim Harper. The
supplies will cost about $300. Send checks to 2723 Ottobine Rd., #2, Dayton, VA
22812. He also needs helping hands to work on it over the Memorial Day
weekend. Anyone coming in for the
reunion could help! Contact him
at: 540-879-2461 or 304-567-2286.
Farm for Sale:
Greg Adamson writes: “the historic Harpers Mills farm,
south of Seneca Rocks, WV, is up for sale.
It contains 180 acres. This is the farm where Dr. Eli Akim Harper was
born, and his brother, Sylvanus Harper, inherited this part of the original
farm. It has a native trout stream flowing through it, from west to east, into
the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac. The North Fork River is one
of the best trout streams that West Virginia has to offer. The portion of the farm on the River Knob
east of the North Fork River is good deer hunting. The asking price for the
farm is $700,000 but the owner will take $500,000. The farm has a lot of river bottom land, plus one barn, and a
large garage with a huge storage space overtop. There are two houses on the
farm. The house by US 33 has traditionally been rented. The structures, bottom
land and stream frontage probably make the price not far out of line.”
Steven Zuraff sent an email:
“In an attempt to discover a potential, more
ancestral connection between the Harper lines in Pendleton County, I was
wondering if, in your next Harper newsletter, you might mention Y-chromosome
testing. That is, you might ask if any
Harpers out there plan to have their DNA analyzed on their own initiative (as
opposed to being a participant in a Harper surname project). It would be useful if they would communicate
their results to me. Then, as Harpers from the same or other lines get tested,
we can slowly compile a database which ultimately MIGHT determine if these
lines are related or not. It would be
preferable to do this as a surname project because you derive some benefits
such as discounts on the testing costs, but I don't know if there is much
interest in such a project at present. That is why I suggested the long-term
compilation of a database. You can
contact Steven at : sjz@sprintmail.com
Ø The Dr.
Eli Akim Harper ranch near San Diego, California has been purchased by
the Anza Borrego Foundation and merged with the Anza Borrego Desert State Park
and the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park.
Photos and memorabilia from the Harper family will be on exhibit there
yearround. A photo of the original
Harper homestead in 1865 was in their Spring 2002 newsletter. More information can be seen on their
website at: www.theabf.org
Ø
RESEARCH TIPS:
Using Death Records
If you’re looking for the
parents of any of your Harpers, check to see if they have a death record. The State of Virginia has kept death records
since 1853 (with certain gaps).
Information typically recorded on these was names of parents, date of
birth, date of death, and cause of death.
Annual Harper
Reunion
May 25, 2003 1:00 pm
Covered Dish Dinner
Harman, West Virginia
Ø There
are 7 of the original 136 grandchildren of Jacob C. and Susan
(McDonald) Harper still living. They
are: June (Harrison) Reed of Los
Angeles, CA, Sally (Harper) Head of Akron, OH, Albert Harper of Dryfork, WV,
Nela (Harper) Carter of Akron, OH, Madge (Harper) Bottom, of Claremont, CA,
Neal Harper of Lawton, OK, and Erma
Montoney Teal of Dublin, OH.
MISSING ADDRESSES
Newsletters sent to the following people were returned
with “Forwarding Order Expired” last year.
Does anyone have current addresses for:
Barbara
Neil Bruce
Alan Leitner
Edward
& Fern Muse Jacklyn F.
Valentine
Karen
Eye Louise
Harman Bower
Margaret
Andrews Mark
Stephen Thornberry
Michael
& Nancy Roder Dale Lacy
Mrs.
Jack Marzano Troy Brown
CHANGES TO OUR FAMILY TREE
BIRTHS:
·
Alexzandria Jai Hershberger,
daughter of John Harper & Sharla
(Larsen) Hershberger , born June 28, 2000.
John is the great-grandson of George Harper, 9th Child).
·
Aidan Nathaniel Hart, son of
Doug & Diane (Goldenberg) Hart, on June 30, 2002. Doug is descended from Malinda (Harper) Carr, sister of Jacob C.
Harper.
·
Shane Myles McClain, son of Kent & Kris (Harman)
McClain, arrived at 7:51 am, March 6, 2003.
He weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. and is 20 in. long. Kris had a C- section because the baby was in a breech
position. Shane has strawberry blond
hair, beautiful skin and blue eyes.
Kris is the great-granddaughter of Elmira (Harper) Harman, 12th
Child).
DEATHS:
Ø Helen
Marie (Harper) Johnson, granddaughter of Albert Harper (4th Child),
on January 26, 2002 in Tempe, Arizona.
Her ashes were sprinkled over the Pacific Ocean.
Ø Harold
R. (Major) Hershberger, grandson of George Harper (9th Child), on
November 29, 2002 in Ashland, Kentucky.
He was born November 23, 1923, in Akron, Ohio.
Ø Kathleen
“Kitty” (Harper) Wade, granddaughter of Minor Harper (11th Child),
on Friday, December 27, 2002 at her home in Morgantown. She was born July 29, 1921 in Dry Fork, WV.
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DON’T FORGET
If your email address
changes, be sure to send the new address to me, so you don’t miss out on the
newsletter.
__________
Marsha L. Fuller, CGRS, Editor
mfuller@fred.net
Harper Family Website: www.fred.net/mfuller
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Ø Kathryn
(Degler) Arbaugh, granddaughter of Henry Harper (10th Child), on
June 17, 2002 in Ohio. She was born
September 4, 1912.
Ø Pierpont
Morgan "Dutch" Harman, 87, on January 14, 2003, in Morgantown,
WV. He was born February 16, 1915, in
Davis, WV, a son of the Elmira (Harper) Harman (12th Child). He was an avid golfer, a loyal Mountaineer,
Pirates and Steelers fan.
Ø Wilma
Jean (Corrick) Wilt, daughter of James Leo & Maud (Wimer) Corrick. Maud was the daughter of Susan (Harper)
Wimer, 18th Child.
Re-prints of the original The Harper Family
History 1713-1995 are available for $46 from: Marsha Fuller, P.O. Box 3623, Hagerstown, MD 21742
Family members who own an original copy of The
Harper Family History 1713-1995 often ask me if they should buy a copy of
the re-prints. There aren’t really enough changes to
warrant buying another copy. However,
it occurred to me that I have added about 30 pages of new photos, so I am
publishing a 60-page photo booklet with ALL the photos from the old and new
editions. Just send check or money
order for $25, made out to Marsha Fuller, at the address above.
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1st Annual Harper Hero Award
goes to
GREG ADAMSON
for his amazing dedication to bringing the
Dr. Eli Akim Harper Papers back into the
family. Greg spent thousands of
dollars of his own money, and hundreds of hours of his own time, in buying
these items from the eBay website where an antiques dealer had put them up
for public auction.
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Harper
Christmas Letters
From Doug Harper, Biloxi, MI: “Travel was a big part of my year's
activities including two cruises, an Air Force unit reunion, NSSAR and other
visits. The first cruise was on
"Royal Princess" from Manaus, Brazil down the Amazon and back to
Ft. Lauderdale, FL. This completed my circuit of South America
that I began last year in Chile around Cape Horn to Rio de Janeiro.
Cindy Harper Davis and her
husband were on vacation in Biloxi and we had a nice visit about the Harper
Family in Texas. Isobel Harper, Nevada,
sent me a large box of papers and photos from Aunt Grace Harper which included
a great deal of information about Grace and Berta Harper's careers as
teachers. There were also pictures of
Jacob and Jemima Rose Harper which I did not know existed.
I continued my work on the
history of First United Methodist Church, Biloxi having completed a series of
99 monthly articles. We did a study of the Book of Daniel and are in the
process of studying Revelations at the end of the year. The MOWW chapter elected me for another term
as Commander and I insist it is the last term.
The circus came to town in June and I went for the very first time in my
life. My car would not start twice and
it seems to have been security system that shut everything down. Glad to find
out the system does what it is supposed to do.
I have notified the Mississippi Society SAR that when my term of Secretary
is over in March I will no longer serve in any elected position. My plan is to get back to my genealogy and
get more of it done for all my families and on a full time basis.”
From Wilma (Montoney) Lund, California: “On December 26th,
my daughter and I fly to Ft. Lauderdale to begin a 15-day cruise of Brazil, the
Amazon, and Caribbean. The month of May
was real fun as I toured around showing the sights to my visiting first cousin,
Myra (Golightly) Ott. The highlight of
her trip was the family reunion that my daughter put together on June 1. Myra had not seen or met many of the family
in many years. We also had the great
pleasure of a too-brief visit from Jerry (Montoney) Leitner from Florida.”
From Myra (Golightly) Ott, Cumberland, MD: “I think I already told you
that I missed the 2002 Harper Reunion due to being in California for my
granddaughter’s college graduation. Katherine
Harman Lally graduated cum laude from Scripps College in Claremont, CA.
During the 2 weeks I was there, my cousin, Wilma’s daughter, and husband
threw a Los Angeles area family reunion – 31 people in attendance and 29 of us
were related. It was great! Two of my 2nd cousins had moved
to California in 1950 and I had not seen them in all that time.
Then, on June 29th, my granddaughter and
Peter Ernest Bergeron were married at St. Ann's Episcopal Church, in
Kennebunkport, ME. The happy couple are currently living and working in
Hollywood, CA.”
From Gary Johnson, Tempe, Arizona: “In May, I had the opportunity to
go on vacation in the Philippines with my cousins, Steve and Keith
Marshall. I had a terrific time,
especially since this was the first time I had ever been in the South
Pacific. Again, I saw the sights, swam
in the ocean, got sunburned, and ate way too much.
In March, I visited my
youngest niece, Victoria Yett, and her 3 sons, at their home in Norfolk,
VA. The boys are growing like weeds,
and they are great little guys and very well-behaved. We saw the sights, including Monticello (Thomas Jefferson’s
home), and the aircraft carrier, Theodore Roosevelt, right after she returned
from the Arabian Sea.
My large German Shepard, Zeus,
and I continue to make a home for ourselves – or, at least, I make it after he
tears it up. But somehow I still love
the contrary monster.”
From Erma (Montoney) Teal, Dublin, OH: “It
has not really been a good year since I lost my sister, Annabell, followed by
her husband, Raymond, a few months later.
She was my last living sibling, so that leaves me as the last child out
of eleven. It would be terribly lonely
if not for my daughter, Susan, who lives with me, and for my son, Brian.
I have been well, considering
my age. Just a few of the old age
complaints, but I thank the Lord that I can get out of bed in the mornings and
walk around.”
From the family of Sylvia
Harper (daughter-in-law of Walter Harper, 15th Child), Harman, WV: “What a birthday bash! Ninety-five years old! Praise the Lord! On September 28th, we all gathered at the Harman VFW
to celebrate Mom’s birthday. She had
must come home from Ohio the day before.
She was so happy to see all her family and friends. She was feeling well, so it was a joyful day
for her. We had over 100 people in
attendance. We had lots of good food
and, I think, everyone enjoyed it very much.
It is hard to get to talk to everyone the way you would like because
more people keep coming up to talk. Mom
was so happy to see everyone.”
From Muriel & Mac Hart,
Hendersonville, SC: “In 2002,
we had some very special joys to celebrate.
We spent a week in Connecticut helping our daughter, Liz, move excitedly
into her first house. She teaches at
the University of Connecticut. She and
Cameron, aged 8, have settled happily into their new neighborhood and are
learning the joys of yard work, summer, and winter.
In April, we enjoyed
celebrating with the Agnes Scott College Class of ’52 at our 50th
class reunion.
In mid-May, we flew to New
Mexico and spent a week in Santa Fe.
While we were there, Muriel’s much-loved cousin, Betty Rupp, came in
from California for a couple of days.
That was good for the soul.
Little did we know then that we would be back in New Mexico in October
for an elderhostel to Chaco Canyon – one of those sights we have always wanted
to see. We met a Harper 3rd
cousin, Sue Major Holmes, during this trip.
Her great-grandmother was a sister to my great-grandfather Harper in
West Virginia. This is the sister who
moved West with her family in the 1880s.
Sue is a writer in Albuquerque for the Associated Press. She has the wonderful eyes and eyebrows that
run in the Harper family.
Our big event for ’02 was
celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary in August in New England where 3 of
our 5 children live. Everyone came –
all the grandkids, too – some of whom we had never met. It was a fine week of being together
again. Those times are so rare.”
Dating
Tombstones: One way to help
find the era your ancestor was buried is to examine the material from which the
tombstone is made. If your ancestor has
a stone made of slate or common fieldstone, chances are that the stone dates
from 1796-1830. For more info: www.gravestonestudies.org
Harper Cemetery Association
HC 66 Box
10 B
Hendricks, WV 26271
J Harper Cousin Bill Armstrong
from Colorado wrote me in his December 2000 Christmas card: “I will probably never get to Hagerstown or
to West Virginia for the Harper Reunion.”
He made himself into a liar when he and his daughter showed up for the
May 2001 Reunion!
HARPER FAMILY TREE
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Philip
Harper the Pioneer
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Nicholas
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Philip, Jr.
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Jacob
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1. Henry
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1. Adam
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1. Henry
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2. George
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2. Philip, III
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2. Adam
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3. Peter
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3. Elias
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3. Jacob, Jr.
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4. Peter
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4. Nicholas
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5. Moses
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6. Leonard
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©2003
Marsha L. Fuller, CGRS, All
Rights Reserved.
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