John Harper, Sr.

John Harper and Margaret Morrow were the parents of the following children.

1. Rebecca Harper, b. 16 May 1773.
2. William Harper, b. 1 January 1775.
3. Hugh Harper, b. 22 September 1776.
4. John Harper, b. 25 February 1779.
5. Anna Harper, b. 8 September 1781.
6. Andrew Harper, b. 3 October 1784.
7. James Harper, b. 6 June 1786.
8. Elizabeth Harper, b. 25 March 1788.
9. Asa Harper, b. 4 August 1790.
10. Enos Harper, b. 2 July 1793.
11. Jesse Harper, b. 1 December 1795.
12. Margaret Harper, b. 29 November 1799.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141602882/margaret-harper

John Harper's birth year, origins and parentage are uncertain, but he was most probably a son (if not a younger brother or a nephew) of William Harper, Sr., who was last of record on 7 October 1789 in the former Chatham District of Orange County, North Carolina (present-day northwest Alamance County near the Guilford County line, just southeast of Altamahaw).

Farmer.

Resident of Chatham District, Orange County (present-day Alamance County), North Carolina in the 1770s and 1780s.

John Harper relocated to Pendleton District (present-day Anderson County), South Carolina in late 1790 or early 1791, together with William Harper, Jr. (m. Elizabeth ______) and Thomas Garner (m. Susannah Harper).

An early member of the Big Creek Baptist Church near Williamston, Anderson County, North Carolina (founded in 1788), he and his wife were on the earliest surviving member roll of 23 August 1801.

He relocated to Sumner County, Tennessee about 1803, where he purchased 274 acres of farmland on the north side of the Cumberland River in 1808, just southeast of present-day Gallatin.

In 1811, the last year that he appeared on the tax lists for Sumner County, he had 270 acres of land in Captain McCall's District.

He died before 3 January 1812 in Sumner County, Tennessee, the date of his estate sale ("John Harper, deceased").

Harper Name Meaning

English, Scottish, and Irish: occupational name for a player on the harp, from an agent derivative of Middle English, Middle Dutch harp ‘harp’. The harper was one of the most important figures of a medieval baronial hall, especially in Scotland and northern England, and the office of harper was sometimes hereditary. The Scottish surname is probably an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Chruiteir ‘son of the harper’ (from Gaelic cruit ‘harp’, ‘stringed instrument’). This surname has long been present in Ireland.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press

References

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Nov 15 2023, 2:53:03 UTC
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141602829/john-harper Gravesite Details No legible grave marker.

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• Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Nov 15 2023, 7:45:04 UTC
• http://genealogytrails.com/scar/anderson/church_bigcreek_baptist.htm