Montgomery County TN Archives Biographies.....Harper, James E. 1861 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tn/tnfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com October 25, 2005, 4:31 am Author: Will T. Hale JAMES E. HARPER. Montgomery county is fortunate in the character and ability of its public officials, and in none more so than in the present clerk of the circuit and criminal court, James E. Harper. He has lived in this county all his life, has been known to the citizens first as a substantial farmer and through an efficient record in various responsibilities to the public, and in 1910 was elected to his present office "for a term of four years. Mr. Harper was born in Montgomery county, February 23, 1861, a son of B. G. and Mary A. (Coke) Harper. A century has passed since Grandfather Whiteman Harper emigrated from Virginia and settled in 1812 on the old Harper homestead in Montgomery county, where he spent the rest of his life and died at an advanced age in 1876. He was a large planter and slaveholder. On this old estate B. G. Harper was born in 1832, attended the local schools of his day, and spent his career as a more than usually successful farmer and an extensive tobacco grower. His death occurred on January 16. 1894. He was a Democrat in polities, and he and his wife were both devout members and workers in the Methodist church. The mother, who was born in Montgomery county in 1836 and died in September, 1866, was a daughter of Ben Coke, who was born and spent all his life in Montgomery county. From the country school which he first attended James R. Harper continued his education in the fine private school conducted by Prof. G. T. Abernathey, one of the leading educators of the time in this part of Tennessee. "With the close of Ms school days he applied himself with characteristic energy to farming, and continued that vocation until his official duties required all his attention. In 1881 he married Miss Rebecca D. Green, whose father, L. F. Green, was one of the substantial farmers and an old settler in Montgomery county. There were nineteen children in the Green family. Mr. and Mrs. Harper have a fine family of eight children, whose names and situations are as follows : Eva R., wife of Rev. John F. Bagget, a minister of the Methodist church; W. A., in the hardware business at Clarksville; A. B., a resident of Savannah, Tennessee; J. Rice, at Erin, Tennessee; John E., of Clarksville; C. B., in his father's office; Mary R. and Maggie E., both at home. The family are all Methodists. Mr. Harper is a chapter and Knight Templar Mason and also affiliates with the Knights of Pythias, the Odd Fellows and the Moose. As an influential member of the Democratic party, he was first called into the public service in the office of constable, serving eight years in that capacity, and for twelve years was magistrate of the sixteenth district of Montgomery county. For four years he was deputy register of the county, and was then elected to his present position in 1910. His oldest brother, W. D. Harper, is magistrate in the twenty-second district of this county, while the second brother, T. W. Harper, is a Montgomery county farmer, James R. being the youngest in the family of three children. Additional Comments: From: A history of Tennessee and Tennesseans : the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities by Will T. Hale Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1913 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/montgomery/bios/harper170nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/tnfiles/ File size: 3.8 Kb