About Nathan & Patsy Harper Family Tree, Tarboro, NC
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This site is dedicated to all the descendants of Nathan Harper and Martha/Patsy Meeks Harper. Special thanks to all family members and friends who have contributed in various ways to help make it a comprehensive, centralized site to document and enjoy learning about our family heritage.
Please know that the site is still very much under construction, with new information being added continuously as it is submitted by various family members, or as I have the opportunity to call, visit or search the internet for information. If you see incomplete or missing information on the tree, or pictures not added, please do not be alarmed as it is a work in progress. I am committed to making this site as accurate and complete as is humanly possible, so be assured that information will be added or corrected once the information is obtained. Remember I can only add what has been provided to me, so please send me any information you have.
I have written a little background information below to give you a little history on our family. The source of this information comes from stories provided by some of our older relatives, as well as information received from Ancestry.com, which links into records from the Census, Social Security Administration, County birth, marriage, death and property records, and other sources.
Nathan was born in slavery around 1841 to Sarah Harper and Daniel Hooker in Hookerton, North Carolina. Hookerton is located in Greene County, just outside the Snow Hill/Kinston area. Nathan's wife is listed as Martha in some records and Patsy in other records. There are some indicators that they are the same person, but other signs point to differences in who they are, such as the time period in which they were born. There is not much separate information available on Martha, however, Patsy Meeks was born around 1854 or 1856 to Soloman and Eliza Meeks. She was born in Orange County North Carolina, which is in the Chapel Hill, Hillsborough area. Patsy's name was sometimes spelled Patsy, sometimes Patsey, and sometimes Patsie. Census records show that Soloman was from the Dakota Country, meaning the Meeks family is a whole other legacy yet to be discovered. Nathan was the oldest of six or seven siblings, but he was the only one to carry Sarah's maiden name of Harper. His other siblings all carried Daniel Hooker's last name.
In his early twenties, right around the time that slavery was abolished, Nathan relocated to the township of Deep Creek in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Deep Creek is located between Hobgood and Scotland Neck, off highway 258 north, in the vicinity of Batts Chapel Church. The 1870 census shows Nathan as a border in the home of a black family named Nelson and Rosetta Bridgers, where he worked as a farm laborer. By the time the 1880 Census came around, Nathan was head of his own household, and he and "Martha had had four children, though it showed they were born in Greene County. Perhaps Nathan commuted back and forth between Deep Creek and Hookerton for a while, but we don't know for sure. This Census showed the name of Nathan's spouse's as Martha, but also showed that Nathan's sister-in-law, Maria "Micks", lived with them at that time. This is one of the indicators that Martha and Patsy were one in the same, considering there were other records showing that Patsy, not Martha, had a sister named Maria "Meeks".
Nathan and "Patsy" went on to raise the first four, plus about ten more children and several grandchildren. Based on the Census estimates of their ages, Patsy was in her mid to late forties and Nathan was in his early sixties when their youngest son, Jessie, was born. The entire family worked on the farms, and the records show that neither Nathan nor Patsy had the opportunity to attend school, and therefore could not read or write. Neither could any of their children living in the home as of the 1910 Census. We are thankful those opportunities are now available to all their descendants!
Their granddaughter, Florence Artis Harris Higgs made sure she passed on a picture of Nathan to her children and grandchildren, which is now shared on this site. She told them stories of how she would sit on his lap as a little girl and plat his beard. She instilled in them how much he loved his family, calling him a "A Colored Man of Great Importance". In the picture, the bearded Nathan, sporting a three piece suit, is sharp as a tack. He is seated, but it is apparent that he was a man of tall stature. With strong features and his head held high, he exuded strength, pride and great character. He really looks the part of the true patriarch of this family.
Patsy died in 1922 in her mid sixties, while Nathan, based on various estimates of his birth year, lived well into his nineties. Some family members believe he may have even been over 100 when died in 1932, which is entirely possible. But whether it was 90 or 100, not many people enjoy that kind of longevity,even today, but especially not in those days before the era of modern medicine and technology. Therefore,it is a great testament to what strong genes he must have had! It is unknown where Nathan was buried, but the headstone of Patsy and a few other family members have been placed under a tree in what is called "Harper Family Cemetery" in Deep Creek, near the intersection of Acorn Hill Road and Dickens Road off of highway 258.
Today we see God’s promises to Abraham as recorded in Genesis 12:1-3 and Genesis 22:17 being manifest through the Harper Family. Indeed, the blessings of Abraham are upon us as the seed of Nathan and Martha/Patsy continue to grow with each new generation. Through much research, and following one connection after another, over 1,800 of their descendants have been identified. But because we have not been able to make contact with the families of about half of the children of Nathan and Martha/Patsy, we know that number could be much higher, maybe even doubled. We believe that it is God’s will that all the surviving descendants of Nathan and Martha/Patsy be reunited one day. We know there are others out there somewhere, and with prayer and diligence we have faith that we will be able to locate them, if not in this generation, then in the future.
To God be the Glory! ...for what He has already done, for what He is doing now, and for what He will continue to do in the lives of the Harper Family!
Researching and documenting the history of a family this size is a long, on-going process. It has been a wonderful, fascinating and enjoyable journey so far. I feel it is something I was called to do and I am thankful and proud to have worked with so many of you to put it together. While much progress has been made since beginning this journey in February 2010, there is so much more to do to document our heritage and reunite the descendants of Nathan and Martha/Patsy. As the family grew up and spread to different parts of the country and the globe, many family members lost contact over the years, and as generations pass by, their children and their children's children are not aware of their roots in the Harper Family. We are still working to reconnect and build an awareness of our rich family history. But there are still some we have not located, particularly the descendants of the first four children and the older grandchildren of some of the others. In addition, some of the information we do have is still sketchy and needs more research. However, we will not give up because we are still learning more and more with each passing day and will continue to document all we can. But we cannot do it without your help.
It is my sincere hope that not only will you enjoy looking at the information and pictures on the site just out of curiosity, but that as family members, you will join me in this journey to help make this a true and complete centralized site for all the descendants of Nathan and Martha/Patsy. Now that we have a great foundation, we can make it even better. We can build it faster and more accurately if you send me information rather than me having to search and piece it together. If we all join in and contribute information, pictures and even stories, not only will we be able to build a wonderful site for the whole family to enjoy, but we can leave a long lasting legacy for future generations of Harpers to come.
The site generates a family newsletter every two weeks to update family members on changes that have been made, as well as birthdays, anniversaries (if available) and special events. If you would like to receive the family newsletter via email, please submit your email address and you will be added to the mailing list for the newsletter.
Enjoy the journey family! And do visit often as more information and pictures are continuously being added and updated.
Humbly Submitted With Much Love to All the Harper Family,
Patricia A. Harper-Guzman
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