MRS. VIOLET G. HAPPER. John A. Harper (deceased) was a cultured citizen, and a representative of one of the oldest families of Union township, his grandfather, John Harper, having settled upon the Harper homestead in Union township in 1787. This ancestor was a native of Ireland, from which country he and his wife, Martha (Patton), emigrated in 1778, and on May 19, 1787, received a patent for 300 acres in Union township. He was a weaver by trade, but after arriving in America devoted his life to agricultural pursuits. His children were Ann (Mrs. John Steele), Andrew, Baptist (who always resided on the old homestead), Andrew (who lived in Ohio), John, Samuel and Jane, none of whom are yet living. Baptist Harper, son of John and Martha, was born July 15, 1787, on the home farm in Union township, Washington county. On September 27, 1808, he was united in marriage with Miss Ann Arrell, and remained on the homestead all his life. He was a prosperous agriculturist, and an extensive stock dealer. Politically he was a supporter of the principles embodied in the Whig party. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Harper: Sarah (deceased wife of Rev. Thomas Gault), who resided in the Western States; John P. (deceased); Samuel (deceased), who went West; John A.(deceased); Andrew P. (still living), for forty years a missionary in China, whither he was sent by the Presbyterian Board of Missions; James B., a resident of Illinois; and Margaret J., who resides in the West. John A. Harper was born October 1, 1816, on the ancestral acres in Union township, Washington county. He attended Jefferson College, and became a well educated, intellectual and prominent citizen, serving the State Legislature in 1862-63. In 1838 he was married to Violet Gardener, who was born in 1818, on a farm in Allegheny county, Penn., daughter of John Gardener, a native of Chester county, Penn. The young couple continued to reside on the homestead, which contains 220 acres of fine land, and in connection with general farming, Mr. Rapper made a specialty of stock raising. He was the first to bring Berkshire hogs into the neighborhood, and among the first to introduce Durham cattle in Union township. In political opinion he was a Republican, and took a special interest in educational matters, having served for many year as a member of the school board. In religion he was a member and elder of the Mingo Presbyterian Church. He died November 11, 1890, leaving a widow and the following children: Andrew G. (a resident of Washington, Penn.), Maggie A. (wife of J. J. Beacon, LL. D.), Isabella (married to Dr. Cheeseman), James B. (deceased), Frank A. (living in Washington, D. C., is married to Emma Foster), Oliver P. (deceased), Elizabeth, Wilmer, and Ella Blanche (deceased).

Text taken from page 503 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed May 1997 by George & Mary Ann Plance of Gainesville, FL as part of the Beers Project. Published June 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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