Records of the Harper family
II Ik ecor m Gc 929.2 f^M H22848ir<^ 1796336 Records of the' Harper Family Compiled by Jane Cowles Ford and Edited by Carrie Harper White 1905 The A. C. Rogers Co. Cleveland 1796336 CONTENTS. Part. Page. I. A Short Biographical Sketch of Jane Cowles Ford . 7 II. Origin and Dimensions of the "Western Reserve" . 9 III. Incidents in the Life of Capt. Alexander Harper . lO IV. An Historic Spot ...... H V. Incidents in the Life  VII. Extracts from a Letter Written by Electra Tappan to Her Cousin, Miss Ellen Harper; also Brief Family Records ....... 24 VIII. "Shandy Hall" ("Illustrated") .... 29 IX. A Sketch of the Early Settlement of Harpersfield Town- ship ... X. Brief Records of the Brothers of Capt. Alexander Harper 39 XI. The Harper Centennial Celebration and Tenth Annual Reunion at Unionville, Ohio .... 45 XII. The Harper Family Record .... 59 32 INTRODUCTION. Oliver Wendell Holmes, once said, and he said it with a gentle emphasis all his own that, "every thing else being equal, the man of family was the man for him." Nobody knew better than this keen observer, and uncompromising aristocrat, what is meant by a man of family. We remember, when we come to talk on these matters, the brave and honest trades people, who came over here from Holland, in the early days and founded many a fine family. Bravery and hon- esty are two good things to start with. As the years go on and per- haps money and leisure are gradually won, we see more and more that to have had a sturdy, self-respecting ancestor is something to be thankful for. Then there were the skilled mechanics and workmen from France, who sought refuge on our shore from persecution on ac- count of their religion. Of what good stuf^ they were made, we all know. They may not have claimed the ascent from some princely house, neither did the resolute little band of Englishmen, who came over to found a colony and live a life of freedom, but they were not either as, alas! may be recorded in many instances the descendants of robbers and cut-throats. Many a pretentious family would seek the shade of obscurity if the search-light of true history was turned upon the beginnings. Of course here and there, all over our beautiful and hospitable land, there were many gentlemen — using the word in its olden sense — and many really noble men, such as we now have to do with. Elizabeth A. Davis PREFACE. In preparing this history or record as it may more properly be called, the writer makes no pretension to originality, as her work has been merely to gather up from various sources such facts and incidents of the family history as were thought to be of interest to their descendants, and to put them in form for preservation before the hand of time had placed them beyond our reach. The sources of in- formation from which these facts have been gleaned have been from two books, "Border Warfare of New York During the Revolution," by W. W. Campbell and "Romance of the Revolution," published by Porter & Coates of Philadelphia, Chiefly, however, from reminis- cences gathered by the grandchildren from their mothers and grand- mothers who related to them the stories of the thrilling scenes and hardships, through which they passed during the War of the Revolu- tion and their subsequent pioneer settlement in their wilderness home; also from papers read from time to time at the various Harper Reunions held in later years. Jane Cowles Ford, Historian. EDITOR'S NOTES In 1894, Mrs. Jane Cowles Ford was appointed "Historian of the Harper Family"; and in 1899, after much conscientious and pains- taking labor she presented the manuscript which she had compiled to the Family Association. A Publishing Committee was appointed, consisting of Mr. Robert A. Austin, of Chicago, as Chairman, Cap- tain E. R. Palmer, of Omaha, Neb., Mr. E. R. Harper, of Denver, Colo., and Carrie Harper White, of Colorado Springs, Colo. The manuscript was placed in their hands for further action. At the re- union of the following year 1900, the Chairman of the Committee reported that, owing to the fact that the Records were received from so many different sources and that there was so much repetition, it would be impossible to print the work in book form until it had been largely re-written. Carrie Harper White was appointed to assume this task, which she has performed to the best of her ability, with the material at her disposal. It seems quite eminently fitting that this short sketch of the life of Jane Cowles Ford, who compiled the material for the following "Records of the Harper Family" should have an important place. This sketch is a tribute of Mrs. Ford's daughter, Carrie Ford Searle. A SHORT BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JANE COWLES FORD. Jane Cowles was born Januaty 22nd, 1829 — at the old "Cowles Homestead," on the south ridge in Harpersfield, Ohio. She is not a member of the "Harper Clan," but very narrowly escaped it, since her father's first wife and her mother's first husband were Har- pers. She was the connecting link between the two families, having thirteen half brothers and sisters with Harper blood in their veins. Her mother died when she was but three years of age and her father passed away when she was seven. She was then left to the care of her brothers and sisters from early childhood, and found a home with first one and then another of them. However, Sister Mary (Mrs. Dr. Cowles) was often spoken of as the one who mothered her. Her education began when she was four years old. At this time she attended an infants' school in Elyria, Ohio, while living with one of her sisters there. Her education was completed in the district schools, with the exception of one term at the Kingsville Academy, and two at "Select School" in Unionville, teaching a few classes the last term to pay her tuition. She taught her first term in a district school when she was fourteen, receiving 75 cents a week as wages. When she was sixteen she worked in a millinery shop in Cleveland, Ohio. On December 15th, 1847, just a few weeks before her nineteenth birthday, she was married to James Ford, and went with her husband to the old Ford Homestead on the Middle Ridge in Madison, Ohio, and for forty years she lived the quiet busy life of a farmer's wife. To her four children she was a model mother and home maker. As her children look back in after years, with a broadened view of life, they realize that this was a home of rare Christian culture and refinement with a saintly father and a gifted mother. In 1873 came the first sor- row in the death of the youngest child Nellie, a bright beautiful girl of ten years. In a few years the children were all scattered and in homes of their own, but the busy life in the old home went on, and every year saw children and grandchildren spending a few weeks there for rest and inspiration. In 1887, came the sad breaking up, the husband and father dying on January i8th. Only a few weeks previous a little granddaughter, Nellie Ford, had died, and in the pre- ceding August, the eldest daughter, Mrs. Althea Hills, passed away very suddenly. These afflictions were ver^' grievous and the mother never recovered from the shock. The home was rented to strangers, and she went to live with her only son, Albert J. Ford, in Geneva, Ohio, dividing her time between his home and that of her daughter in Nebraska. Unable to overcome the habits of a lifetime of cease- less activity, she has thrown herself into all of the daily cares and responsibilities of these homes. The bright mind still finds pleasure in reading and study and in a large correspondence with relatives and friends. Her soul is sustained by the pure and deep religious life which has been the foundation of her whole being from childhood and she awaits in peace her Lord's "Well Done." ORIGIN AND DIMENSIONS OF THE WESTERN RE- SERVE. When the original grants of land in the new world were made to companies or colonies by the monarchs of Europe its geography was very little known. As a result, there were many conflicting claims. After the close of the Revolution those lying west of the Alleghanies, had to be readjusted. While most of the States readily conceded their titles to the general government, Connecticut was very tenacious of one. She held to a strip embracing all the lands between 41 degrees and 42 degrees 2 minutes north latitude, and extending west through the state of Pennsylvania to the Mississippi. On the 14th day of September, 1786, however, she released all this territory to the United States, excepting that portion lying east of line parallel with the western boundary of Pennsylvania and extending 120 miles west of the same. This soon became known as the "Western Re- serve," or as it was about the size of the State, New Connecticut. Its dimensions are 120 miles in length by 71 in its greatest breadth and comprises the counties of Ashtabula, Trumbull, Portage, Geauga, Lake, Cuyahoga, Medina, Lorain, Huron and Erie, also parts of Ma- honing, Summit, Ashland, and a portion of Ottawa, including Kellys Island, Put in Bay, and contiguous Islands. The survey of this territory was not commenced until the Spring of 1796, and was not fully completed until 1806. This brief sketch will give the readers an idea of the origin of the name so often mentioned in connection with this history, the facts having been taken from the Western Reserve Centennial Souvenir, published by H. M. Johnson. Note. — It has been a subject of inquiry by some of our citizens of the present day w^hy the site of these pioneer residences should be called Unionville. The village being built upon the line which later divided the two counties and also the townships of Harpersfield and Madison, it was found necessary to give it a distinct name inde- pendent of either township. The Rev. Roger Searle, who was then our Episcopal Clergyman, craved the privilege of giving this place its name. He accordingly called it Unionville, as he thought the term Union to be synonymous with the disposition of its inhabitants. INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF CAPT. ALEXANDER HARPER. Captain Alexander Harper was born in Middletown, Conn., February 22nd, 1744; and was the ninth child of John Harper, whose father, James Harper, was the first Harper who came to America. The birth of Alexander Harper is recorded in the Court House at Middletown, Conn., and he was baptized by the Rev. Rus- sell. In 1754 he moved with his parents to Cherry Valley, N. Y. He received an education according to the times and, judging from the remains of his library, one might suppose that he possessed quite a taste for literature. In 1768, Alexander, William, John and Jo- seph Harper, with eighteen other individuals, obtained a patent for twenty-two thousand acres of land in what is now the County of Del- aware, N. Y., whither they moved in 1770, and founded the town of Harpersfield. In 1771, Alexander married Elizabeth Bartholomew, who had recently immigrated from New Jersey. Eight children were born to them. Nothing unusual occurred until 1777, when Mrs. Harper and her family became refugees of war. They returned to their home the following winter, but were obliged to flee the next spring to Middlefort, Schoharie, for safety. In the same year Alex« ander Harper was appointed first lieutenant and served under his brother. Colonel John Harper, who commanded one of the forts in Schoharie. The two succeeding years \\ere spent by him in scouting parties, incident to a frontier invested by Indians and Tories, and March 3rd, 1780, he received a Captain's commission. In the month of April, in 1780, it was the intention of Captain Brant, the Indian Chieftain, to make a descent upon the upper fort of Schoharie, but which was prevented by an unlooked for circum- stance. Colonel Vrooman had sent out a party of scouts to pass over to the head waters of the Charlotte River, where resided cer- tain suspected persons, whose movements it was their duty to watch. It being the proper season to manufacture Maple Sugar, the men were directed to make a quantity of that article, of which the garrison were greatly in want. On the second of April, this party under the command of Captain Harper commenced their labors, which they did cheerfully and entirely unapprehensive of danger, as a fall of snow some three feet deep would prevent the supposed moving of any considerable body of the enemy, while in fact they were not aware of any body of the armed foe short of Niagara. But on the seventh of April, they were suddenly surrounded by a party of forty Indians and Tories, the first knowledge of whose presence was the death of three of their party. The leader was instantly discovered 10 in the person of the Mohawk Chief, who rushed up to Captain Har- per, tomahawk in hand, and said: "Harper, I am sorry to find you here." "Why are you sorry. Captain Brant?" replied Captain Harper. "Because, replied the Chief, 1 must kill you although we were school- mates in our youth" — at the same time raising his hatchet. Suddenly his arm fell, and with a piercing scrutiny, looking Harper full in the face, he inquired : "Are there any regular troops in the fort at Schoharie?" Harper caught the idea in an instant. To answer truly and admit there were none, as was the fact, would but hasten Brant and his warriors forward to fall upon the settlement at once and their destruction would have been swift and sure. He therefore in- formed him that a reinforcement of three hundred continental troops had arrived to garrison the fort only two or three days before. This information appeared very much to disconcert the chieftain. He pre- vented the further shedding of blood, and held a consultation with his subordinate chiefs. Night coming on, the prisoners were shut up in a pen of logs and guarded by the Tories, while among the Indians controversy ran high, whether the prisoners should be put to death or carried to Niagara. The captives were bound hand and foot and Harper, who understood the Indian tongue, could hear the dispute. The Indians were for putting them to death, but Brant exercised his authority to effectually prevent the massacre. On the following morning. Captain Harper was brought before the Indians for ex- amination and the chief said that he was suspicious that he had not told him the truth. Captain Harper, however, although Brant was eye- ing him like a basilisk, repeated his former statements, without the improper movement of a muscle, or any betrayal that he was deceiv- ing. Brant, satisfied of the truth of the story, resolved to retrace his steps to Niagara; but his warriors were disappointed in their hopes of spoils and victory, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that they were prevented from putting the captives to death. The march was forthwith commenced, and was full of pain, peril and adventure. They met on the succeeding day with two loyalists who both dis- proved Harper's story of troops being at Schoharie, and the Captain was again subjected to a piercing scrutiny; but he succeeding so well in maintaining the appearance of truth and sincerity as to arrest the glittering tomahawk. On the same day an aged man named Brown was accidentally fallen in with and taken prisoner, with two youthful grandsons; the day following, being unable to travel with sufficient speed, sinking under the weight of the burden laid on him, the old man was put out of the way with the hatchet. The victim was dragged behind, and when he saw preparations made for his doom took an affectionate farewell of his little grandsons and the Indians moved on, leaving one of their number with his face painted black — the mark of the executioner — behind with him. In a few moments the Indian came up with the old man's scalp dangling from between the ramrod and the muzzle of his gun. They constructed boats and sailed down the Susquehanna to the confluence of the Chemung, at which place their land traveling commenced again. Soon after this a severe II trial and narrow escape befell the prisoners. During his march from Niagara on this expedition Brant had detached eleven of his warriors, to fall once more on the Minisink settlement for prisoners. This detachment, as it subsequently appeared, had succeeded in taking captive five athletic men, whom they secured and brought with them as far as Tioga Point. The Indians slept very soundly and the five prisoners had resolved on the first opportunity to make their escape. While camf)ed at this place during the night, one of the Minisink men succeeded in extricating his hands from the binding cords and with the utmost precaution unloosed his four companions. The In- dians were locked in the arms of deep sleep. Silently without causing a leaf to rustle, they each snatched a tomahawk from their uncon- scious enemies and in a moment nine of them were quivering in the agonies of death. The two others awakened and springing upon their feet attempted to escape. One of them was struck with the hatchet between the shoulders, but the other fled. The prisoners immediately made good their own retreat and the only Indian who escaped unhurt returned to take care of his wounded companions. As Brant and his warriors approached this point of their journey, some of his Indians having raised a whoop, it was returned by a single voice with a death yell. Startled by this unexpected signal. Brant's warriors rushed for- ward to ascertain the cause. But they were not long in doubt. The lone warrior met them and soon related to his brethren the melancholy fate of his companions. The effect upon the warriors, who gathered in a group to hear the recital, was inexpressibly fearful. Rage and a desire for revenge seemed to kindle every bosom and light every eye as with burning coals. They gathered around the prisoners in a circle and began to make preparations for hacking them to pieces. Harper and his men gave themselves up for lost. While their knives were unsheathing and their hatchets glittering, the only survivor of the murdered party rushed into the circle and interposed in favor of the prisoners. With a wave of the hand, as of a warrior entitled to be heard — for he was himself a chief — silence was restored, and the prisoners were surprised by the utterance of an earnest appeal in their behalf. He eloquently and impressively declaimed in their favor, upon the ground that it was not they who murdered their brothers; and to take the lives of the innocent would not be right in the eyes of the Great Spirit. His appeal was effective, the passions of the incensed warriors were hushed and their eyes no longer shot forth the burning glances of revenge. The course to be run was towards the fort. Captain Harper was the first one selected, and at the signal sprang from the mark with extraordinary swiftness. An Indian near the end of the line, fearing he might escape without injury, sprang before him, but a blow from Harper's fist felled him as he sped with utmost speed toward the fort. The garrison when they saw Harper approaching opened the gates and he rushed in, only affording sufficient time for the gates to be closed ere the Indians rushed upon them, clamoring for the possession of their prisoner. The other prisoners taking advantage of the break- ing up of the Indian ranks took different routes and all succeeded in reaching the fort without passing through the terrible ordeal that was intended for them. After many severe conflicts with the British foe Captain Harper was taken prisoner, carried to Quebec in irons and placed in a gloomy prison and subsequently in a more gloomy prison ship. He endured a painful captivity of two years and eight months. In 1783, after his release, he returned with his family to Harpersfield. N. Y., and there they remained leading members of society, until they saw the wilder- ness turned into a fruitful field, and the places which they had found solitary made glad for them. Churches were erected, schools es- tablished and society enjoyed blessings, social, literary, civil and ecclesiastical. In June, 1798, they moved to the wilds of New Con- necticut or the Western Reserve, and were one of the first three fam- ilies to settle in Ashtabula County. The township in which they settled was called Harpersfield, as Captain Alexander Harper was the leader of the expedition. After a summer of hardships, peculiar to the settlement of a pioneer in a new country, Captain Harper con- tracted malarial fever and died Sept. 10, 1798, leaving a courageous wife and family to continue the work he had begun. Endless inspira- tion has been handed down to his descendants by the memory of the self-sacrificing example of Captain Alexander Harper, and although his deeds might well have been a sufficient monument to his name, It will be interesting for us to reprint a short sketch which appeared in a well known newspaper just one hundred years after his death: 13 AN HISTORIC SPOT. In the old Country Churchyard, just south of the square in the old village of Unionville, Ashtabula County, Ohio, lies the remains of many of the old settlers, buried there in the early part of the nine- teenth century. Among the many interesting monuments reared to mark the graves of distinguished persons of northern Ohio, there are few around which cluster associations of more striking interest than some of these located here in this secluded spot. As wandering through this pioneer City of the Dead, you will notice several sand- stone slabs of a rather peculiar and uncommon pattern. One of these bears the date 1798 and marks the resting place of Captain Alexander Harper, pioneer of the Western Reserve, who after the Revolutionary War, in which he took a prominent part, was among the first to pene- trate the depths of the then unknown forest of this section, and do his part to open it to the growth and prosperity to which it has now at- tained. Selecting the name of Harpersfield for his claim he pro- ceeded to choose and clear ground for building. One day while traversing the trackless forest, where Unionville now stands, he noticed that this spot (now the graveyard) was higher and more sandy than the rest and marked it for their burying ground, probably little thinking that he would be the first to occupy it. In the hardships and exposure connected with the improvement of a new country he contracted malarial fever and died, about three months after his arrival here, and was buried on this spot in a coffin hewn from a log. His descendants number most of the highly respected families of this village and vicinity. The grave being dated 1798, is therefore the oldest authentic burial on the Western Reserve. The ode on the slab reads as follows: "Around this monumental stone, Let friendship drop a sacred tear. A husband kind, a parent fond, An upright man lies buried here." C. H. GODDARD. 14 INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HARPER, WIFE OF CAPT. ALEXANDER HARPER. Elizabeth Bartholomew, the wife of Captain Alexander Harper, was the daughter of John Bartholomew and his wife Dorothy Ent. The maternal grandmother of Elizabeth Harper was a 'Trench Huguenot" and at the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, she was sent in a chest from Paris to Germany. The journey occupied twelve hours, and was made in safety by the girl of twelve years. Her name is not known but her parents evidently expected immediate death, and took this way of saving their daughter. They afterward made their escape from France and joined her in Mentz, Germany, where she married a man named Ent, a native of Berne, Switzerland. From Mentz the family moved to Munich and their daughter,Dorothy Ent, married John Bartholomew and emigrated to Germantown, Pa., where they soon after induced their respective parents to join them. From Germantown they moved to Bethlehem, N. J. It was here that their sixteenth child, Elizabeth, was born February 13, 1749. She had one sister (Mrs. Skinner) younger than she. Elizabeth Bartholo- mew was married to Alexander Harper, in Wooster, Otsego County, N. Y., July 30, 1 77 1. They went immediately to their home in Har- persfield, Delaware County, N. Y., her husband's parents residing with them. In course of time eight children were born to them. Elizabeth is described as being small of stature, with very black eyes and great resolution. When the Revolutionary War broke out, the Harper brothers immediately espoused the American cause, and the husband of Elizabeth was commissioned to act as Captain of a Com- pany of Rangers during the war. The exposed situation of the coun- try made it necessary for the Whig families to seek the protection of the fort at Schoharie and thither Mrs. Harper repaired, taking her husband's parents with her. In times of comparative security she would return to her home which was only about one mile from the Fort, and I have heard her say that on a sudden alarm, she would harness her own horses and with her children and her husband's parents, flee to the Fort where she would remain until the danger was past and then return to her occupation on the farm. Later the old people were sent to a place of greater security. While she was thus living alone, the alarm gun was fired in the night. She had four children and a "Bound Boy." She took one child in her arms, and one on her back while the two older ones clung to her skirts, the bound boy running behind, crying, "don't leave me;" but she reached the fort in safety. She then concluded to remain in the Fort, but as she scorned to be idle she baked all the bread for the 15 garrison for six months. While she remained in the fort, it sustained a siege from the Indians and Tories, commanded by British officers. Messengers were dispatched to the nearest garrison for assistance, but the commander being either a coward or traitor determined to capitu- late, and hoisted a Flag of Truce for that purpose. The women of the Fort, among whom M'rs. Harper was the leading spirit, had been engaged from early dawn in making cartridges and preparing ammu- nition, also serving rations to the wTary men, and now they determined to make one more effort for liberty. The men were almost in a state of weeping and one among them agreed to fire on the Flag if the women would protect him. To this the women gladly assented, and as often as the flag was run up it was fired upon, until reinforcements arrived and the enemy retreated. In the Spring of 1780, Captain Harper was taken prisoner and at the same time Mrs. Harper's sister's husband was killed by the Indians. Captain Harper was taken to Canada through the wilderness and, although his exchange was effect- ed soon after, he was not released till the close of the war, the British offering him large bribes to espouse their cause. His wife was en- tirely ignorant of his fate and had long mourned him as dead. Her motto was, "Never Give Up." So she had collected her family again and was doing what she could to improve their shattered fortunes when her husband returned. In 1798 she moved with her husband and family, to what was then called "New Connecticut," now known as the "Western Reserve." Her eldest daughter who was married to a Mr. Wheeler remained behind and her eldest son was in Canada, but four sons and two daughters came with her. They landed from small boats at the mouth of the Creek now known as Cunningham Creek in the present township of Madison, Ohio, having come from Buffalo in a schooner the only one on Lake Erie at that time. Immediately after landing, Colonel Harper accompanied by the women of the band, comprising Mrs. Harper and two daughters, one aged 14 the other 12 years, Mrs. Gregory and two daughters of the same age. Captain Harper's sister, Mrs. McFarland, and an adopted daughter started for what was to be their new home, near the site of the pres- ent village of Unionville, each one carrying in her hand what she could of provision and table furniture. Mrs. Harper carried a small copper teakettle which she filled with water from a way-side spring before arriving at their destination. Their path was a wilder- ness untouched, save by the surveyors' lines, but they followed it four miles, when finding a storm would soon burst upon them they halted at the line of the township which now bears the name of Har- persfield. Here the women busied themselves in starting a fire, put- ting on the teakettle, etc., while Captain Harper felled a large tree from which he peeled the bark which the women placed on poles, thus forming a shelter from the storm. During the summer there was some sickness among the men, and in September Captain Harper was taken sick of a fever and died. His coffin was dug from a tree and a slab hewn from the same for a top. This event would have proved disastrous to the little pioneer band had not Mrs. Harper's energy 16 and resolution restored that confidence which the death of their leader had nearly destroyed. Although, herself, the principal sufferer, she would not for a moment entertain the proposition to abandon the enterprise, and when a kind invitation was extended to herself and daughters to spend the ensuing winter in Pennsylvania, she and her oldest daughter feared it would dishearten those coming and those already here. Consequently they decided to remain and share the hardships of the first winter in their new home. During this winter the settlers were reduced to great straits, but the utmost harmony and kindly feeling prevailed, and whatever provisions or gain any one family obtained was freely shared with the other two. There were no deer in the country at that time, but there were large droves of elk, whose flesh was like coarse beef, and bears whose flesh was much more oily and palatable, raccoons were also plentiful and easily obtained and although the flesh was considered eatable at that time, they in- variably lost all relish for "coon meat" in after years of plenty. Hickory nuts were abundant that year, and aided materially in sus- taining life when other provisions failed. Mrs. Harper was fruitful in expedients and at one time in the spring when the men had gone after flour and were detained by contrary' winds, she gathered leeks from the woods and boiled them. This was all the food they had for some days. It was during this spring that she went out one morning to find the cows which had strayed away, but not yet having learned the north side of a tree by the difference in the bark (a specie of woodcraft she afterwards came to be familiar with), she became lost and wandered on the banks of a stream all day. The family be- coming alarmed by her absence blew horns at intervals, but it was not until night that she heard them and found her way home. In the summer, the sons had brought some hogs from Canada and were obliged to watch them closely on account of the bears. The men being fully occupied in clearing the land, and procuring provisions, various outdoor employments were assumed cheerfully by the women. One evening Mrs. Harper and her eldest daughter, Elizabeth, went to look up the hogs, taking the path that led to the nearest family. They had not proceeded far before a small cub crossed the path immediately in front of them; they stopped when another cub followed and di- rectly behind it came the old bear taking no notice of the women who turned about and went home. The hogs came in afterwards unharmed. This year a brother of Captain Harper joined them, and a relative with some other families commenced a settlement at Con- neaut, about thirty miles down the Lake. In the fall these families were nearly all sick and Mrs. Harper went down to take care of them. After staying some weeks, she prepared to return home the last of November. The only mode of traveling was in open boats on the lake or upon horse back. The lateness of the season precluded the first mode, so accompanied by her relative, Joseph Harper, she started early one morning on horse back, their only road being the Lake Shore, and obliging them to ford the streams where they emptied into the lake. During the war of 1812 the Harper brothers were actively en- gaged, both in Civil and Military capacities. William was a member of the State Legislature the second year of the war, while James accepted a Captain's commission. The two j'ounger brothers were in actual service in the Northwestern A.rmy. Nor did my revered grandmother remain entirely an idle spectator of the times. She found many opportunities of turning her tactics of the Revolution to advantage, by instructing our volunteers in the science of making cartouches and other equipments for the campaign. This war lasted two years and eight months, terminating by the Treaty of Ghent, signed December 24, 1814, and ratified by Congress February 17, 1 81 5. Comparatively speaking, this was a mere cipher of a war compared to the Revolution, but as it answered all the purposes which our United States expected, we must not rob our Statesmen and Gen- erals of any of their well earned fame on account of the briefness of strife and bloodshed. Although a number of log School Houses had been erected in Harpersfield, the year 181 7 was destined to witness the erection of the first frame building of this kind, which was situated upon the cross roads which are now the line dividing the Counties of Ashtabula and Lake. This building consisted of two stories, the upper part being built for a Masonic Hall, and served the double purpose of hall and academy, as our preceptor taught, besides English, both Latin and Greek. Perhaps never did a new country afford greater facilities for acquiring a knowledge of the branches which must constitute the scholar than did our place at the time of which I am writing. Certain it is that this and the few succeeding years were our "Golden Days." Ceremonious fashion had not yet fastened her clamps upon our society. It was not in those days a matter of in- quiry who made the first or last call, or who dressed in the latest style. Who were the stranger and the sufferer were the inquiries worthy of those days, while moral worth and talent were duly ap- preciated whenever they were found, without the least reference whatever to either the quality or fashion of the coat in which they might chance to be arrayed. ELIZABETH HARPER TAPPAN. Sketch of Elizabeth Harper Tappan, daughter of Captain Alex- ander and Elizabeth Harper, copied from a book entitled "Pioneer Women of the West," and published by Chas. Scribner. The name of the writer is not given but we have reason to believe it was from the pen of her daughter, Miss Electra Tappan. It contains some inci- dents and vivid pictures of the life in that day which will be of interest to all. Elizabeth Harper was the second daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth Harper, and was born February 24, 1784, in Harpers- field, N. Y. She was in the fifteenth year of her age when she ac- companied her parents to Ohio in 1798 and was the oldest daughter who went with them, her eldest sister having been married some years previous and remaining in their old home. The labor and perils of commencing a settlement in an almost unbroken wilderness en- countered by all who took part in this enterprise, were shared by the young girl, to whom fell of course no small part of the work of the household and the care of the younger children. The novelty of their mode of living and the wild forest scenery with incessant occupation, caused the time to pass speedily and pleasantly through the first summer; but the approach of a more vigorous season, their hardships commenced and the death of her beloved father brought before the bereaved family the realities of their situation, far from early friends and isolated from the comforts of civilization. Elizabeth suffered much at this time of gloom and distrust, with a longing for home and fears for the future ; but the fortitude and resolution with which the mother sustained herself under the pressure of all these calamities had a due influence on the minds of her children, and the feeling of discontent was soon subdued. During the absence of her brother James, who went to Canada to procure provisions, another brother, William, broke his leg the other brothers were seven and nine years of age and as they could do nothing of consequence, the work of pro- viding fire wood for the family devolved entirely for some four weeks upon Elizabeth and her youngest sister Mary, It was no easy task to cut, split and haul the fuel consumed, as the cabin was very open and large fires were required. The prospects for the approaching winter were very dark, owing to the scarcity of provisions and the want of comfortable quarters; and Mrs. Harper thought it best to send her youngest daughter to stay with some friends at a settlement in Pennsylvania. She determined not to accept the invitation for herself and Elizabeth decided to stay with her mother. This contrivance was called a mortar. Their ovens were equally prim- itive. As neither brick nor stone were to be had, a stump was hewn perfectly flat on the top, and a slab of sandstone laid upon it. On this the women spread a layer of clay and placed upon it wood in the form of an oven, covering the whole, except an opening at one end with a thick layer of clay. After standing a short time to dry, the wood was set on fire and burnt out. The oven thus manufactured proved an excellent one for use, and served as a model for all ovens in the country for some years afterw^ard. In the autumn of the second year of the settlement, Mrs. Wheeler, Mrs. Harper's eldest daughter, came with her husband and family and took up their residence in the cabin which they built half a mile from that of the mother. They were joined by several other families soon after. Some anecdotes of the wild beasts of the forests are remembered in family tradition. One night while Eliza- beth was staying with her sister, Mrs. Wheeler, in the absence of her husband, she was alarmed by an attack by one of these ferocious ani- mals. A crazy woman belonging to the settlement had come to spend the night in the house. Late in the evening they heard a noise among some fowls roosting upon the projecting logs of the cabin and 20 going to the door they distinctly saw a large bear standing on his hind legs trying to reach the fowls that crowded together in terror above the range of his paws. It required all of Elizabeth's presence of mind and energy to prevent the lunatic from rushing out, but bj alarming her fears she persuaded her to be quiet and fastened the doors. A more severe encounter took place some years afterwards, in the house of her brother Alexander, when a hungry bear broke into the yard and attempted to catch a goose. Mrs. Harper, the sister-in- law, hastily called to her children to come in and barred the door, but the fierce creature had heard the sound of her voice and bent on secur- ing his prey he sprang through the window, and attacked her. Her clothes were much torn and her arms were much scratched ; but her husband and a man who chanced to be with him came to the rescue and with clubs succeeded in beating ofi the bear and killing him with- out any serious results except a good scare and some very uncomfort- able flesh wounds. When the school was established in 1802, the first on the Western Reserve, Elizabeth Harper was employed to teach it. The following winter Abram Tappan was appointed to take charge of it, and some of the scholars came from other settlements. The school was taught alternately by Mr. Tappan and Miss Harper dur- ing the winter and summer, for several years. Religious meetings were established at the same time and place. In 1806 Elizabeth was married to Abram Tappan, then engaged as a surveyor and employed in equalizing the claims of land holders. His duties compelled him to be absent from home during a great part of the time, and after they were settled, the labor of superintending and clearing a new farm devolved upon the wife. The work was done, however, with an energy and cheerful spirit worthy the daughter of such a mother. A substantial foundation was thus laid for future comfort and pros- perity. For a few years the youthful couple lived in a small log house containing one room, in which it was necessary very frequently to en- tertain company, as Mr. Tappan's acquaintance and business associa- tion with land owners and land agents brought strangers continually to his house, and the duties of hospitality were esteemed sacred in the most primitive settlements. Mrs. Tappan was often obliged to spread the floor with beds for the accommodation of her guests; and the abundance of her table and the excellent quality of her cooking could be attested by many who from time to time were the chance in- mates of this cheerful home. At that early period an unaffected kindness of feeling, poorly re- placed in the more advanced stage of society by the conventionalities of good breeding, prevailed among the settlers, and some families were sincerely attached to each other. Good offices were interchanged be- tween neighbors every day, and friendly intercourse maintained by fre- quent visits. These were often paid from one to another, even when a journey of fifteen miles on horseback, occupying a whole day, had to be performed. The alarms and accidents to which a new settlement is liable tended also to bind the emigrants together for mutual assist- ance and protection. One of a number of similar incidents which oc- 21 curred in i8ii caused much trouble to the Harper family. A son of Mrs. Wheeler, nine years of age, had gone out alone to gather chest- nuts. The afternoon was sultry, and he was thinly clad, it was not long before a terrible storm of wind and rain came on, prostrating acres of forest, and swelling the streams in a little while to torrents. Just before dark, Mrs. Tappan received a hasty summons to go to her sister, whom she found half frantic for her missing boy. The alarm quickly spread, the neighbors assembled and people came from a dis- tance of fifteen or twenty miles to aid in the search, which was con- tinued through the next day and the following one, without success, till near the close of the third day, when the child was found in such an exhausted condition that in attempting to rise he fell upon his face. His limbs were torn and filled with porcupine quills. Not very long afterwards a boy belonging to the settlement, was lost in the woods and the members of his family called his name aloud repeatedly. It may not be generally known that the panther, which at this time frequently came near the dwellings of man, emits a cry resembling a cry of a human voice in distress. The calling of the boy's name was several times answered as his friends supposed, and after following the sound halloing for some time, they discovered that the voice was not human. In a state of torture, anxiety and apprehension, they were obliged to wait for daylight when the boy made his appearance. He had wandered in an opposite direction from the panther and had found shelter in a house where he remained for the night. 