- Birth: 13 Feb 1749, Bethlehem, Hunterdon, New Jersey
[S4]
- Death: 10 Jun 1833, Harpersfield, Ohio, Ashtabula, OH
- Burial: Unionville Cem., Unionville, Lake, Ohio
Father: Johan BARTHOLOMEW
Mother: Dorothy ENDT
Family 1:
Alexander HARPER
- Marriage: 30 Jul 1771, Wooster, Otsego, New York
- Margaret HARPER
- John A. HARPER
- James A. HARPER
- William A. HARPER
- Elizabeth HARPER
- Mary HARPER
- Alexander HARPER
- Robert HARPER
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_Johan BARTHOLOMEW _|
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|--Elizabeth BARTHOLOMEW
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| _Jacob ENDT _|__
| _Johan Theobald ENDT _|
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|_Dorothy ENDT ______|
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|_Sibbilla STRATTON ___|
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INDEX
Notes
previous record showed that Elizabeth was sealed to her parents on 3 april 1933
Extract from The Pioneer Women of the West, by Elizabeth Fries Ellet, 1852, p. 254-266. ELI
ZABETH HARPER Elizabeth Bartholomew, one of the pioneer band who made the earliest settlemen
t in Northeastern Ohio, was born in Bethlehem, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, February 13th, 1
749. She was the sixteenth child of her parents, and had still a younger sister. She was desc
ended on the maternal side from the Huguenots of France, and her ancestors were persons of we
alth and respectable rank, firmly attached to the principles they professed, and willing to s
urrender all, and yield themselves unto death, rather than give up their religious faith. The
y removed to Germany after the revocation of the edict of Nantes; and there is a family tradi
tion that the grandmother of the subject of this sketch, then a child, was brought from Pari
s concealed in a chest. She married in Germany, and in an old age emigrated to America. In 1
771, Elizabeth was married to Alexander Harper, one of several brothers who had settled in Ha
rpersfield, Delaware County, New York. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary war, these brothe
rs immediately quitted their peaceful occupations to enter into the continental service, Alex
ander receiving a commission to act as captain of a company of rangers. The exposed situatio
n of that portion of country, and the frequent visits of Indians and Tories, made it necessar
y for the Whig families to seek the protection of Fort Schoharie. Mrs.. Harper repaired thith
er with her family, including the aged parents of her husband. In time of comparative securit
y, she lived at the distance of about a miles from the fort. Here, when there was a sudden al
arm, she would herself harness her horses to the wagon, and placing in it her children and th
e old people, would drive with all speed to the fort, remaining within its walls until the da
nger was over, and then returning to her occupations on the farm. As peril became more freque
nt or imminent, the old people were removed to a place of greater security, while Mrs. Harper
, with her four children and a lad they had taken to bring up, remained at home. One night th
ey were startled by the sound of the alarm-gun. The mother took the youngest child in her arm
s, another on her back, and bidding the two elder hold fast to her clothes, set off to escap
e to the fort; the lad running closely behind her, and calling to her in great terror not t
o leave him. The fugitives reached the fort in safety, and for the present Mrs. Harper conclu
ded to take up her abode there. She would not, however, consent to live in idleness, supporte
d by the labor of others, but undertook, as her special charge, the bread-baking for the whol
e garrison, which she did for six months. During her stay the fort sustained a siege from a p
arty of Tories and Indians, commanded by British officers. Messengers were dispatched to th
e nearest posts for relief; but while this was slow in arriving, the commanding officer, in o
pposition to the wishes of all his men, determined on a capitulation, and ordered a flag of t
ruce to be hoisted for that purpose. The announcement of his intention created a disaffectio
n which soon amounted almost to rebellion. The women, among whom Mrs. Harper was a leading sp
irit, had on that day been busily occupied from early dawn in making cartridges, preparing am
munition, and serving rations to the wearied soldiers. They heartily sympathized in the deter
mination expressed not to surrender without another effort to repel the besiegers. One of th
e men declared his willingness to fire upon the flag which had been ordered to be hoisted, pr
ovided the women would conceal him. This they readily agreed to do, and as often as the fla
g was run up it was fired at, while the commander was unable to discover the author of this e
xpression of contempt for his authority. The delay consequent on this act of insubordinatio
n and the displeasure of the soldiers, prevented the capitulation being carried into effect
, till the arrival of reinforcements caused the enemy to retreat. In the spring of 1780, Cap
t. Harper availed himself of an interval in active service, to look after his property in Har
persfield. While there were several of his friends, they were surprised by a party of Indian
s and Tories under Brandt, and taken prisoner, an invalid brother-in-law being killed. Harpe
r and Brandt had been schoolfellows in boyhood, and the chief did not fail to show a remembra
nce of the days thus spent together. The Indian captor of Harper treated him with great kindn
ess, taking him, however, to Canada. Here his exchange was effected soon afterwards, but he w
as not released till peace were concluded; being offered, meanwhile, large rewards by the Bri
tish if he would enter into service on their side. Mrs. Harper remained ignorant of his fat
e during the time of his absence, and supposing him killed, mourned for him, while she did no
t suffer grief to paralyze her efforts for the protection and support of her family. All he
r characteristic energy was devoted to keeping them together, and doing what she could toward
s improving their shattered fortunes. In the year 1797, a company was formed in Harpersfield
, to purchase lands in the country then called "the far west." Besides Alexander and Joseph H
arper, the company consisted of William McFarland, Aaron Wheeler, and Roswell Hotchkiss; othe
rs joining afterwards. In June of that year these individuals entered into a contract with Ol
iver Phelps and Gideon Granger, members of the Connecticut Land Company, for six townships o
f land in what was then called New Connecticut, in the Northwestern Territory. Three of thes
e townships were to lie east and three west of the Cuyahoga river. The Connecticut Land Compa
ny drew their lands in the same year, and the township now known as Harpersfield in Ashtabul
a County, was one of those which fell to the company formed at the town of that name in New Y
ork. In September commissioners were sent out by them to explore the country. They were muc
h pleased with the locality called Harpersfield, and selected it as the township most eligibl
y situated for the commencement of a settlement. On the 7th of March, 1798, Alexander Harper
, William McFarland, and Ezra Gregory set out with their families on their journey to the lan
d of promise. As the winter's snow was upon the ground, they came in sleighs as far as Rome
, where they found further progress impracticable and were obliged to take up their quarter
s until the 1st of May. They then made another start in boats, and proceeded to Oswego, wher
e they found a vessel which conveyed them to Queenstown. Thence they pursued their journey o
n the Canada side to Fort Erie, being obliged to take this circuitous route on account of the
re being no roads west of Genesse River, nor any inhabitants, except three families living a
t Buffalo, while a garrison was stationed at Erie, in Pennsylvania. At Fort Erie they foun
d a small vessel which had been used for transporting military stores to the troops statione
d at the West, and which was then ready to proceed up the lake with her usual lading of store
s. This vessel was the only one owned on the American side, and the voyagers lost no time i
n securing passage in her for themselves and their families as far as the peninsula opposit
e Erie. As the boat, however, was small and already heavily laden, they were able to take wit
h them but a slender stock of provisions. Having landed on the peninsula the party was obliga
ted to stop for a week until they could procure boats in which to coast up the lake, at tha
t time bordered by the primeval forest. After having spent nearly four months in performin
g a journey which now occupies but two or three days, they landed on the 28th of June at th
e mouth of Cunningham's Creek. The cattle belonging to the pioneers had been sent through th
e wilderness, meeting them at the peninsula, whence they came up along the lake shore to th
e mouth of the stream. Here the men prepared sleds to transport the goods they had brought wi
th them; the whole party encamping that night on the beach. The next morning, Col. Harper, wh
o was the oldest of the emigrants, and was then about fifty-five, set out on foot, accompanie
d by the women, comprising Mrs. Harper and two of her daughters, twelve and fourteen years o
f age, Mrs. Gregory and two daughters, Mrs. McFarland, the Colonel's sister, and a girl who
m she had brought up, named Parthena Mingus. Their new home was about four miles distant, an
d they followed up the boundary line of the township from the lake, each carrying articles o
f provisions or table furniture. Mrs. Harper carried a small copper tea-kettle, which she fil
led with water on the way to the place of destination. Their course lay through a forest unbr
oken except for the surveyor's lines, and the men who followed them were obliged to cut thei
r way through for the passage of sleds. About three in the afternoon they came to the corne
r of the township line, about half a mile north of the present site of Unionville, Ohio, wher
e they were glad to halt, as they saw indications of a coming storm. The women busied themsel
ves in striking a fire, and putting the tea-kettle over, while Col. Harper cut some forked po
les and drove them into the ground, and then felled a large chestnut tree, from which he stri
pped the bark, and helped the women to stretch it across the poles so as to form a shelter, w
hich they had just time to gather under when the storm burst upon them. It was not, however
, of long continuance, and when the rest of the men arrived, they enlarged and enclosed the l
odge, in which the whole company, consisting of twenty-five persons great and small, were obl
iged to take up their quarters. Their tea-table was then constructed in the same primitive fa
shion, and we may believe that the first meal was partaken of with excellent appetite, afte
r the wanderings and labors of the day. The lodge thus prepared was the common dwelling fo
r three weeks, during which time some of the trees had been cut down, and a space cleared fo
r a garden. The fourth of July was celebrated in the new Harpersfield by the planting of bean
s, corn and potatoes. The next thing was to build log cabins for the accommodation of the dif
ferent families, and when this was done the company separated. The location chosen by Col. Ha
rper was where he first pitched his tent, while his brother-in-law took a piece of land abou
t half a mile east of Unionville, near the spot now occupied by the Episcopal Church, and Mr
. Gregory put up his swelling close to the river where Clyde Furnace was afterwards built. Th
e settlers suffered from the sickness peculiar to a new country when the season came. A hire
d man in Harper's service was taken ill in August, and soon after the Colonel himself was sei
zed with the fever, of which he died on the tenth of September. They had been able to procur
e no medical aid, and a coffin was made by digging out the trunk of a tree and hewing a sla
b for the lid. This melancholy event was a peculiar and distressing affliction to the littl
e band of pioneers, and its effect on them would have been paralyzing, but that the firmnes
s and energy exhibited by the widow, who now found her exertions necessary to sustain the res
t, restored the confidence and hope which had nearly been extinguished by the loss of their l
eader. Although the principal sufferer by the dispensation, she would not for a moment liste
n favorably to the proposition made to abandon the enterprise. When an invitation came from f
riends in Pennsylvania for herself and daughters to spend the winter, both she and her eldes
t daughter, Elizabeth, declined, knowing how necessary was their presence to keep up the spir
its of the little community, and that their departure would discourage many who had intende
d coming to join them in their forest home. The magnanimity of this resolution can be appreci
ated only in view of the hardships they knew it would be their lot to share. In the fall, an
other small vessel was built for use on the American side of the lake, and two pioneers, on
e of whom was James Harper, were sent to Canada to procure provisions for the winter. They di
spatched four barrels of flour by this vessel, and waited some weeks for the other, the capta
in of which had agreed to bring provisions up the lake for them. Disappointed in this expecta
tion, and hearing nothing of the vessel, they were compelled to return when the season was fa
r advanced, without supplies; finding on their way home the remains of the vessel, which ha
d been wrecked near Erie. They found also that the vessel which had on board the flour they h
ad purchased had been driven into the basin, and was too fast locked in the ice to proceed. T
hey were obliged therefore to remain till the ice become so strong that the four could be rem
oved in sleds. They at length arrived at home just in time to bring relief from absolute wan
t to the settlers, who had lived six weeks, without any kind of breadstuffs, substituting sal
t beef and turnips, the supply of which was just exhausted. Some grain had been raised at El
k Creek, in Pennsylvania, but there were no mills in that neighborhood, and the wheat afterwa
rds procured there was brought in hand-sleds on the ice to Harpersfield. The records of the H
istorical Society state that the two sons of Mrs. Harper frequently brought bags of grain pac
ked on their backs. It was ground in a hand-mill somewhat larger than a coffee- mill, which t
he pioneers had brought with them. By keeping this constantly in operation enough flour was o
btained for daily use, mingled, of course with the bran from which they had no means of separ
ating it, but having a relish and sweetness which such necessity only could impart to the coa
rsest food. There were no deer in the country at that time, but large droves of elk, the fle
sh of which resembled coarse beef, were frequently seen. The flesh of the bears was much mor
e oily, and really very palatable; raccoons also were abundant and easily obtained, and wer
e much used by the settlers, although in after years of plenty they lost all relish for the "
coon meat." Hickory nuts were also abundant that year, and were found a valuable article of f
ood when other provisions failed. It is worthy of notice, that in the severest straits to whi
ch the settlers were reduced, the utmost harmony and friendly feeling prevailed among them, a
nd whatsoever game or provisions chanced to be obtained by any one family was freely shared w
ith the other two. Toward spring the men were again sent for a supply of wheat, but by tha
t time the ice was growing tender, and the weather tended towards thawing, so that they wer
e detained on the way much longer than they had expected, and on their arrival at home foun
d the families reduced to the last extremity, having been without provisions for two days. I
n this time of distress, the fortitude and energy of Mrs. Harper aided in supporting the rest
; she was fruitful in expedients, and for the last few days they had lived on the wild leek s
he had gathered from the woods and boiled for them. Their troubles did not terminate with th
e severity of winter. As soon as the lake opened, the men set out for Canada in boats to proc
ure provisions, but found so much ice as they went down that they were unable to reach Buffal
o without much detention. In the meantime new difficulties arose in the little settlement. Th
e mill, on which all depended, was broken beyond hope of repair, and there appeared no way o
f grinding the wheat, which they could not pound so that bread could be made of it, and which
, when prepared by boiling, proved unwholesome food. In this extremity some relief was afford
ed by the arrival, at the mouth of Cunningham's Creek, of Eliphalet Ausin, who came to make p
reparations for a settlement at Austinburgh, and gave the pioneers what they needed for immed
iate use from his supplies of provisions, thus preventing them from suffering till the retur
n of their messengers. Howe gives an anecdote of Mrs. John Austin, showing some of the troub
les of the settlers. "Hearing, on one occasion, a bear among her hogs, she determined to defe
at his purpose. First hurrying her little children up a ladder into her chamber, for safety
, in case she was overcome by the animal, she seized a rifle, and rushing to the spot saw th
e bar only a few rods distant, carrying off a hog into the woods, while the prisoner sent for
th deafening squeals, accompanied by the rest of the sty in full chorus. Nothing daunted, sh
e rushed forward to the scene with her rifle ready cocked, on which the monster let go his pr
ize, raised himself upon his haunches and faced her. Dropping upon her knees to obtain a stea
dy aim, and resting her rifle on the fence, within six feet of the bear, the intrepid femal
e pulled the trigger. Perhaps fortunately for her, the rifle missed fire. Again and again sh
e snapped her piece, but with the same result. The bear, after keeping his position some time
, dropped down on all fours, and leaving the hog behind, retreated to the forest and resigne
d the field to the woman." About this time an accident not uncommon in this forest life occu
rred to Mrs. Harper. She went out one morning to find the cows, which had strayed away, but n
ot having yet learned to tell the north side of a tree by the difference in the bark - a spec
ies of woodcraft with which she afterwards became familiar - she lost herself, and wandered a
ll day along the banks of a stream that ran through the depths of the forest. Her family, o
f course, became alarmed at her lengthened absence and blew the horn repeatedly; but it was n
ot until the shades of night had fallen that she heard the signal, when she managed to ligh
t upon the township line, and followed it to the clearing. In the summer following, her son
s were obliged to watch closely the hogs they had brought from Canada, on account of the bear
s, which were very numerous and destructive to stock. The men being occupied in clearing an
d working the land, or procuring provisions, various out-door employments were cheerfully ass
umed by the women. One evening Mrs. Harper, with her eldest daughter, went out to look up th
e hogs, taking the path leading to the nearest neighbor's house. Presently they were startle
d by seeing a small bear's cub cross the path just in advance of them; it was followed by ano
ther, and the old bear composedly brought up the rear, taking no notice of the females, who m
ade their way home with all speed. The pigs came to their quarters directly unharmed. So freq
uent were encounters with wild beasts, that the men never went beyond the clearing without fi
re-arms. In July, 1799, Major Joseph Harper, the Colonel's brother, joined the colony with h
is family, while a relative of the same name, with some other families, made a settlement a
t Conneaut, "the Plymouth of the Western Reserve," some thirty miles down the lake. This yea
r wheat, corn, etc., were raised sufficient for the consumption; but there was a scarcity o
f meat, the severity of the preceding winter having killed several of their cattle, and man
y of the hogs being devoured by the bears. The settlers were under the necessity, therefore
, of depending on wild game, and the ease with which they secured it in traps, or by the uner
ring aim of their rifles, with their iron strength for the endurance of fatigue in ranging th
e forest, might well entitle them to be called "mighty hunters." But they were heavily lade
n with daily cares and laborious duties, which even the pleasures of the chase could not indu
ce them to neglect; the clearing of the land and the culture of grain and vegetables demande
d incessant attention, and the grinding of the grain was a matter requiring the exercise of s
ome ingenuity. Corn they soon contrived to pound in mortars scooped in the top of oak stumps
, with a pounder attached to a spring-pole; but they were obliged to send their wheat in boat
s down the lake as far as Walnut Creek, in Pennsylvania, where a mill was erected this year
. The families of the new emigrants suffered considerably in the latter part of the summer fr
om sickness, and Mrs. Harper went down to the settlement at Conneaut to offer assistance in a
ttending to them. She remained some weeks occupied in her ministrations of kindness, and wa
s not ready to return home till the last of November. Travelling in open boars and on horseba
ck were the only modes practicable among the pioneers; the season was too far advanced for th
e first, and accompanied by her relative, James Harper, our benevolent heroine started on he
r homeward journey, the only road being along the lake shore. Fording the streams at their mo
uth, they had ridden some fifteen miles when they came to the mouth of the Ashtabula Creek, a
cross which a sand-bar had formed during the summer, but had now given way to the increased f
orce of the waters flowing into the lake. Harper was not aware of the depth of the stream, in
to which he rode without hesitation, and presently found his horse swimming. He called out t
o warn his companion, but she was too anxious to reach home to heed his remonstration, and fo
llowed him fearlessly. Both reached the other side with some difficulty, Mrs. Harper wet to t
he shoulders, and in this condition she rode the remainder of the way, arriving at home befor
e midnight. During the fall there were some accession to the colony; Judge Wheeler, who ha
d married the daughter of Col. Harper, came in October with his family, and Harper's eldest s
on, who had been out the year before and returned. For a year and a half after the settlemen
t was commenced, they were not visited by Indians, though they frequently heard their dog, an
d learned afterwards that they had not escaped the observation of their savage neighbors, wh
o had counted them and noticed all their occupations and new arrivals. The winter of 1799-180
0 was remarkable for the depth of snow upon the ground. In consequence of this, game could no
t be procured, and the Indians suffered severely. Some thirty of them, unable to procure anyt
hing to satisfy the cravings of hunger, came to the settlement to ask relief, and were treate
d with the most generous hospitality. They remained six weeks, sheltered and fed by the colon
ists, and when the snow was melted they found plenty of game in the forest, which they showe
d their gratitude by sharing with their white friends. In March, 1800, Daniel Bartholomew br
ought out his family accompanied by that of Judge Griswold, whose destination was Windsor. Th
ey came on the ice from Buffalo, arriving only the day before the breaking of the ice left th
e lake clear as far as the eye could reach. In the winter preceding, the whole Western Reserv
e has been erected into a county, which was called Trumbull, the part of it comprising Ashtab
ula being then included in one township, and called Richfield. In May there were still furthe
r accessions, in consequence of which a scarcity was experienced of provisions raised the pre
vious year, and designed for the use of a much smaller number. The settlers were again compel
led to send, in June, to Canada in an open boat, for fresh supplies. In August, an election w
as held for the purpose of sending a delegation to a convention appointed to be held at Chill
icothe in the ensuing winter, for the purpose of taking measures preparatory to the admissio
n of Ohio as a State into the Union. The winter of 1800-1801, passed without any remarkable o
ccurrence, the country being healthy and provisions abundant. In the following June other fam
ilies were added to the number of inhabitants, and the summer was signalized by the erectio
n of a horse-mill, the first built in the country, and the only one for many miles round, til
l others were built in Austinburgh. The suffering of the settlers from the scarcity of food a
nd other provisions were now over, the advance of improvement developing the resources of th
e country and the farmers were able to enlarge their cleared lands, and cultivate the soil t
o better advantage. Their friends from the East continued to join them, and Mrs. Harper had t
he satisfaction of seeing her elder children settled around her. In 1802, a school was establ
ished in the settlement; supposed to be the first on the Reserve. The scholars came from th
e distance of two miles and a half, and as the reputation of the institution extended, they w
ere sent from Windsor and Burton, twenty and thirty miles distant. The same year regular meet
ings were established by the "Lovers of Good Order," and the year following saw numerous acce
ssions. In about three years after the commencement of the settlement, the Indians began t
o visit them periodically. They were chiefly Ojibways, and belonged to Lake Superior in the s
ummer, but came down every fall in their bark canoes, and landing at the mouth of the streams
, carried their canoes on their heads across the portage to Grand River, seven miles from th
e land, where they took up their quarters for the winter, returning west in the spring. The
y manifested a friendly disposition towards the white men, and as the pioneers gave them assi
stance in sickness and destitution, they endeavored to show their gratitude by bringing the
m portions of such large game as they killed. Many a choice piece of bear's or elk's meat, ca
refully wrapped in a blanket, has Mrs. Harper received from her savage friends. One day she s
aw a party of drunken Indians coming towards her house when the men were absent; and she ha
d just time to conceal a small keg of liquor under the floor before they came in, demanding w
hiskey. They were told that they could not have any, but insisting that they would, they comm
enced a search for it, and finding a barrel of vinegar, asked if that would "make drunk come,
" as if so, they would take it. Finding it not the right sort of stuff, they insisted, befor
e leaving the house, on treating the women from a calabash of muddy whiskey which they carrie
d with them. During all the privations, trials and suffering which Mrs. Harper was compelle
d to undergo, she was never known to yield to dependency, but with untiring energy exerted he
rself to encourage all within the sphere of her influence, teaching them to bear up against m
isfortune, and make the best of the home where their lot was cast. Her own family knew not, u
ntil the hardships of pioneer life had been overcome, how much she had endured - how many hou
rs of anxiety and sleepless nights she had passed in the days of darkness and disaster. She f
ound her reward in the affection and usefulness of her children, several of whom filled impor
tant stations in their adopted State. During the war of 1812, the country was exposed to th
e dangers of a frontier, liable, on every reverse of the American arms, to be overrun by host
ile Indians. In the time of danger, Mrs. Harper's advice was always eagerly sought, as one wh
ose experience qualified her to decide on the best course in any emergency. Her grand-daughte
r well remembers seeing her one day engaged at the house of her son-in-law in showing a compa
ny of volunteers how to make cartridges. Her life was prolonged to her eighty-fifth year, an
d she died on the 11th of June, 1833, retaining unimpaired until her last illness the charact
eristic strength of her remarkable mind.
_______________________________
Source:
Ashtabula Sentinel
August 24, 1833
Obituary of Elizabeth Bartholomew Harper
Born: 13 February 1749 at Bethlehem, Hunterdon Co., New Jersey
Died: 10 June 1833 Harpersfield, Ashtabula Co., Ohio
(spelling left as in original obituary)
Died:
At Harpersfield June 10, 1833, widow Elizabeth Harper, in the 84th year of her age.
Mrs. Harper was descended, in the maternal line, from a Huguenot family in France - in the pa
ternal line from a French family in Switzerland, by the name of Bartholemi.
Her maternal great-grandparents were apprehended and imprisoned, on account of their professi
on of the Reformed Religion, and awaited the expected sentence of exclusion, which would ad
d their names to the long catalogue of martyrs, who fell during the persecuting reign of Loui
s XIV.
They were anxious to preserve a posterity in the earth, and having a daughter very young, mea
ns were found to enclose her in a box and convey, her to Swabia in Germany. This child was t
he grand-mother of Mrs. Harper.
From Germany the family emigrated to America and settled in New Jersey, near Elizabethtown
. Here Mrs. Harper was born of parents whose name having undergone a slight change from th
e original French, is called Bartholomew.
When Miss Bartholomew was about 21 years of age, she was married to the late Col. Alexande
r Harper, a man of Irish extraction, but a native of Middletown, Conn. Soon after their marr
iage, with letters patent from the British Crown, they emigrated to the then howling wilderne
ss west of Shoharie, , in that present county of Delaware, State of New York. Here they too
k possession of a tract on which they settled, to which he gave his name, and which is the pr
esent township of Harpersfield.
In this wilderness there opened, and for several years continued, a scene of distress, privat
ions and hardships to which the present generation are necessarily strangers, and which broug
ht into requisition all the corporeal strength and activity, and all the fortitudes and energ
y of mind by which they both were highly distinguished. Here they toiled under the various d
isadvantages of a new settlement, where the pioneer necessarily, but in the present instanc
e cheerfully, does more in sowing for succeeding generations to reap, than in acquiring advan
tages and comforts for himself and his immediate descendants.
Here they lived and toiled in leveling the tall and thick trees of the forest, until there ha
d been born to them four children, when the war of the American Revolution commenced. Now th
ey were involved in perils and distresses which none but those who endure similar ones, can r
ealize or even understand.
After many severe conflicts with the British foe and their savage allies, in the capacity o
f an American Captain, the husband was taken prisoner, carried to Quebec in irons, and then i
n a gloomy prison, and subsequently in a still more gloomy prison-ship, he endured a painfu
l captivity of two years and eight months.
Meanwhile his wife and children fled with their friends and neighbors to Middle Fort at Schoh
arie for safety. Soon after their retreat into this fortress it was besieged, stormed and we
ll nigh taken.
Having no prospect but that of an immediate and indiscriminate massacre, the garrison fought
, although under a timid commander, with great bravery. While the truly Spartan band of wome
n, among who were Mrs. Harper and a younger sister, encouraged and inspired them to hold ont
o the last extremity, being themselves actively employed in furnishing them with such refresh
ments as could be hastily taken, preparing their cartridges, and rendering every assistance i
n their power.
The battle having proceeded for a long time, the disheartened commander ordered the garriso
n t cease firing. This being understood by the enemy as a prelude to the surrender of the fo
rt, they ceased their fire also, and raised their triumphal flag. This being done, a soldie
r in the quarter where the women were, was instigated to fire upon the flag. The commander h
astily approached and charged them with having broken his orders, and sharply reprimanding th
em retired. Immediately, however, the fire o the flag was repeated a second and a third time
, upon which it was hauled down and the siege raised, when the garrison, unknown to any but t
he females, were reduced to one round of ammunition. Thus by means of these females, the gar
rison, and themselves and little ones were preserved by Providence from savage massacre or cr
uel captivity, fates which had befallen many of their friends.
From this fortress Mrs. Harper with her children and friends, removed to New Lebanon on the e
astern border of New York, as a temporary place of safety. Hither the husband, released fro
m captivity, returned to his family and was joyfully received by them and their friends.
From this place the family returned to Harpersfield, A.D. 1780, and there remained leading me
mbers of society until they saw the wilderness turned into a fruitful field and the place whi
ch they had found solitary made good for them. Churches they saw erected, schools established
, and society enjoying blessings, social, literary, civil and ecclesiastical.
A.D. 1798, they removed to the wilds of New Connecticut, and were one of the first three fami
lies that settled in the County of Ashtabula. The township in which he settled was the secon
d in which he was one of the first emigrants, and to which he gave his name. It is the prese
nt populous and flourishing township of Harpersfield, in the county of Ashtabula, and State o
f Ohio.
Here Mrs. Harper was destined to experience fresh trials, demanding resignation, fortitude an
d prudent and strenuous exertions. The death of her husband, about three months after thei
r arrival in this wilderness, devolved the chief care of her numerous family on her. Wit
h a good share of wealth they were poor, because oftentimes money could not procure them foo
d to preserve them from the very brink of starvation; yet by the blessing of Providence, on t
heir indefatigable exertions, they were kept from perishing, and preserved with their fello
w pioneers, to lay the foundation of the present and future prosperity of this flourishing se
ction of country, and to bring the present generation under obligations which they can neve
r duly appreciate.
By a mind naturally strong, well stored with experience, and imbued with Christian piety, Mrs
. Harper was well prepared to sustain hardships with fortitude to manage and direct agricultu
ral affairs with prudence and judgement, and to train her family to usefulness, respectabilit
y and piety.
She lived to see one hundred and ten of her posterity. She survived three children, eightee
n grandchildren, and eleven great grand-children. She left behind her, five children, forty-
nine grandchildren and twenty four great grand children.
As she lived in the exercise of repentance toward God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, an
d in works of duty and charity, so she died in the Lord, and now rests from her labors and he
r works which do follow her.
This site maintained by Rick Harper
Images copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
All rights reserved
Created by
Sparrowhawk 1.0 (4/17/1996)
on
Thu Mar 6 21:09:19 2008
