John Ferguson Harper

May 1882–19 September 1960 (Age 78)
Shamokin, Northumberland, Pennsylvania, United States

The Life of John Ferguson

When John Ferguson Harper was born in May 1882, in Shamokin, Northumberland, Pennsylvania, United States, his father, William Harper, was 38 and his mother, Elizabeth Crow, was 34. He married Hazel May Leaverton on 26 October 1908, in Des Moines, Polk, Iowa, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 1 daughter. He lived in Boone, Boone, Iowa, United States for about 15 years and Des Moines Township, Boone, Iowa, United States in 1930. He died on 19 September 1960, in Boone, Iowa, United States, at the age of 78, and was buried in Linwood Cemetery, Iowa, Iowa, United States.

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Family Time Line

John Ferguson Harper
1882–1960
Hazel May Leaverton
1887–1972
Marriage: 26 October 1908
Deane Ferguson Harper
1910–1989
Mary Jeanne Harper
1912–1925

Spouse and Children

MARRIAGE
26 October 1908
Des Moines, Polk, Iowa, United States
children

(2)

    Deane Ferguson Harper

    Male1910–1989Male

    Mary Jeanne Harper

    Female1912–1925Female

Parents and Siblings

    William Harper

    Male1844–Male

    Elizabeth Crow

    Female1848–Female

siblings

(9)

    Margaret Harper

    Female1867–1880Female

    Robert Harper

    Male1870–1880Male

    Marion Crowe Harper

    Female1876–1970Female

    Jean Harper

    Female1878–1962Female

    Gavin Harper

    Male1880–Male

+4 More Children

World Events (8)

1884 · There is now a Capital Building

Age 2

The capitol building in Des Moines originally had a budget of $1,500,000 but complications arose because of the need of a redesign. The building was dedicated on January 17, 1884, but it wasn’t completed until 1886. On January 4, 1904, a fire started and swept through the areas that housed the Supreme Court and Iowa House of Representatives. A major restoration was performed and documented, with the addition of electrical lighting, elevators, and a telephone system. By the early 1980s, the sandstone exterior of the Capitol had started deteriorating and prompted the installation of canopies to protect pedestrians from falling rubble. The entire reconstruction process took around 18 years to complete.
1886

Age 4

Statue of Liberty is dedicated.
1903 · Department of Commerce and Labor

Age 21

A short-lived Cabinet department which was concerned with controlling the excesses of big business. Later being split and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor splitting into two separate positions.

Name Meaning

English, Scottish, and Irish: occupational name for a player on the harp, from an agent derivative of Middle English, Middle Dutch harp ‘harp’. The harper was one of the most important figures of a medieval baronial hall, especially in Scotland and northern England, and the office of harper was sometimes hereditary. The Scottish surname is probably an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Chruiteir ‘son of the harper’ (from Gaelic cruit ‘harp’, ‘stringed instrument’). This surname has long been present in Ireland.

Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

Possible Related Names

Sources (3)

  • John Harper in household of William Harper, "United States Census, 1900"
  • John F Harper, "United States Census, 1910"
  • John F Harper, "United States Census, 1930"

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