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Lot record book

This is the earliest known record of our Harper family in the New World

This record book shows the names of the original persons who signed up for lots in Brunswick and Topsham, Maine. The book is part of the Pejopscot Papers. The date of 1717 in the top left side of the page is the original year that the lots were created. Topsham , where the Harper's signed up for lots is shown on the right column. The actual year they signed up for the lots is unclear from this record. We know that the lots were created in 1717 based on primary documents in the Pejobscot Papers. We also know that the first authorized immigration of Ulster families in large numbers was in 1718 and they settled in Nutfield, New Hampshire later to be called Portsmouth.

The persons names and lot numbers they had signed up for are listed below. It is interesting that James Miller is the name of James Harper's son-in-law. He had married his first daugter in 1716 and it was reported on the family records that they had stayed in Ulster, Ireland. Is this the same James Miller? It is also interesting that the lot number he took was adjacent to his father-in-law. Moses Harper is the other mystery. We don't have any record of him as being a part of the family. He, along with the other Harper men would move back to Boston as soon as their Military commitment was up on the frontier.

At the time of immigration, John Harper b. 1705 was just 15 years old and so would not have been able to own property. Lots 31 through 34 were forefeited. These were not the lots, nor was this a good location for the family to build a new life in North America.