MAJOR ANDREW GARDNER HAPPER. This gentleman, so widley and reputably known in Washington county, in connection with insurance and real estate interests, traces his ancestry to about the middle of the last century. John Happer, born in 1745, died August 25, 1818, married March 17, 1778, Margaret Patton, who was born in 1753 and died May 12, 1838. Their children were: Andrew, born February 15, 1779; Agnes, born February 21, 1781, died August 23, 1850; Baptist, born July 15, 1783, died July 4, 1833; John, Jr., born January 14, 1786, died August 8, 1808; Jane (1), born May 16, 1789, died November 24, 1791; Samuel, born June 14, 1791, died April 30, 1812, and Jane (2), born September 11, 1793, died November 26, 1819.
Baptist Happer married, September 27, 1808, Miss Ann Arrell, a native of Pennsylvania, born February 9, 1784, and died at Mt. Hope, same State, January 19, 1848. Their children were: Sarah, born September 11, 1809; John Patton, born March 16, 1811; Samuel, born April 13, 1813; John Arrell, born October 1, 1816; Andrew Patton, born October 20, 1818; James Edward, born February 2, 1821, and Margaret Jane, born June 12, 1823. Of these Sarah married Rev. Thomas Galt, and lived in Sangamon county, Ill. (she had six children); Samuel married Sarah Curry, of Albany, Whiteside Co., Ill. (they had seven children); Andrew Patton married Elizabeth Ball, and is a resident of Canton, China (they had seven children); James Edward married Mary Gardner, and lived in Sangamon county, Ill. (she had six children); Margaret Jane married David Breading Arrell, and resides in Whiteside county, Ill. (she had eight children).
John Arrell Happer married May 10, 1838, Miss Violet Gardner, who was born March 24, 1818, and they made their home in Union township, this county, where they shared life's joys and sorrows till death separated them. The names and dates of birth of their children are as follows: Andrew Gardner, August 15, 1839; Anna Margaret, October 14, 1841; Mary Belle, October 12, 1843; James Breading, June 25, 1846; Francis A., January 10, 1848; Oliver Paulinus, May 22, 1850; Sarah Elizabeth, March 12, 1853; John Wilner, January 23, 1858; and Ella Blanche, February 19, 1860. Of these Anna Margaret married Rev. John J. Beacom, a Presbyterian minister of Allegheny county, Penn.; Mary Belle married Dr. George Chessman, a physician of Allegheny county, Penn.; Francis A. married Emily F. Foster, and lives at Washington D. C. The father of this family died in 1890, aged seventy-four years; the mother is living with one of her sons on the old homestead in Union township.
Andrew Gardner Happer was born in Union township, Washington Co., Penn., August 15, 1839. At the common schools of the district he received a thorough general literary training, and in 1859 he entered Washington College, where he was engaged in his studies when the Civil war broke out, abruptly interrupting his deep drinking at the "Pierian spring." In August, 1861, fired with innate patriotism, he enlisted in Company K, First P. V. C., from which, in March, 1862, he was transferred, with rank of first lieutenant, to the Eleventh P. V. I., serving till November 7, 1865, when he was honorably discharged with the rank of major. Throughout his entire term of service he was on duty along the Potomac, and participated in the following battles: 1862--Thoroughfare Gap, August 28; Second Bull Run, August 30; Chantilly, Va., September 1; South Mountain, September 14; Antietam, September 17; Fredericksburg, July 1 to 3.--1864--Wilderness, May 5 to 7. At Antietam he was slightly wounded, but kept the ranks; at the battle of the Wilderness, May 5, 1864, he was struck with a bullet (which he still carries) and was taken prisoner. Major Happer's war record is as follows: Mustered into Company K, First P. V. C., September 6, 1861; promoted first lieutenant, Company G, Eleventh P. V. I., March 11, 1862; promoted captain Company I, of same regiment, in March, 1864. After his discharge from the army, Major Happer returned to Washington county, where he received the appointment of assessor of inland revenue, holding office from 1866 to 1871, his residence being, during the term, in Monongahela City. On retiring from this, he at once embarked in the real estate and insurance business in Washington borough, where he has made his home since 1870. His residence, one of the handsomest in the place, is built of Cleveland stone. It is situated on East Wheeling street. In 1878 he was married to Miss Matilda M., daughter of the late James Watson, Esq., of Washington. Politically, our subject is a Republican. He has been secretary of the Western Pennsylvania Agricultural Association for some fifteen years; the present association is some seven years old, only, and Major Happer has done much to place it among the best and most prominent institutions of the kind in the State. Socially, he is a member of Templeton Post, G. A. R., and of the Loyal Legion, an association composed of army officers honorably discharged. Since the beginning of the oil industry in and around Washington, he has taken an active part in the development of the field.
Text taken from page 22 of:
Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893).Transcribed April 1997 by Paula Talbert of Caldwell, OH as part of the Beers Project.
Published April 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.[ [Back to Beers Table of Contents] [Back to Beers Project Page]