Brief Life History of Johnathan Watson
When Johnathan Watson Harper was born on 28 July 1832, in Randolph, West Virginia, United States, his father, Johann Adam Harper, was 53 and his mother, Margaret Wamsley, was 47. He married Ruth LeFevre Talbot on 16 September 1857, in Barbour, Virginia, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 3 daughters. He lived in Randolph, Virginia, United States in 1850. He died on 12 December 1909, in Carthage, Hancock, Illinois, United States, at the age of 77, and was buried in Carthage Township, Hancock, Illinois, United States.
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Family Time Line
Sources (20)
- Jonathan W Harper, "United States Census, 1880"
- Jas W Harper, "West Virginia, County Marriage Records, 1776-1971"
- "Jonathan Watson" Harper, "BillionGraves Index"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
Siblings (16)
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World Events (8)
1833
Historical Boundaries: 1833: Hancock, Illinois, United States
1836 · Remember the Alamo
Being a monumental event in the Texas Revolution, The Battle of the Alamo was a thirteen-day battle at the Alamo Mission near San Antonio. In the early morning of the final battle, the Mexican Army advanced on the Alamo. Quickly being overrun, the Texian Soldiers quickly withdrew inside the building. The battle has often been overshadowed by events from the Mexican–American War, But the Alamo gradually became known as a national battle site and later named an official Texas State Shrine.
1856 · The Largest Map Company in the World
William Rand opened a small printing shop in Chicago. Doing most of the work himself for the first two years he decided to hire some help. Rand Hired Andrew McNally, an Irish Immigrant, to work in his shop. After doing business with the Chicago Tribune, Rand and McNally were hired to run the Tribune's entire printing operation. Years later, Rand and McNally established Rand McNally & Co after purchasing the Tribune's printing business. They focused mainly on printing tickets, complete railroad guides and timetables for the booming railroad industry around the city. What made the company successful was the detailed maps of roadways, along with directions to certain places. Rand McNally was the first major map publisher to embrace a system of numbered highways and erected many of the roadside highway signs that have been adopted by state and federal highway authorities. The company is still making and updating the world maps that are looked at every day.
Name Meaning
English (Staffordshire), Scottish, Irish (Antrim and Down), and Dutch: occupational name for a player on the harp, from Middle English harper(e) ‘harper’ (Old English hearpere) and Middle Dutch harper, herper. 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.
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