Lendsay Robert Harper [32470]

  General Notes:

A family rocked by the Civil War was the Harpers. Their family chronicle in the region began when Henry Harper settled in Edinburg, Georgia, in 1792, where he operated one of the first local river ferries. In 1808, his son, Lyndsey, perhaps bettered his own fortunes through marriage. Apparently, not long after his wedding to Jane (Jenny) Harris, daughter of a prominent doctor, Lyndsey moved into her family home or built a house on the Harris property. Documents don't show whether Lyndsey bought or inherited the land where he and Jenny lived, but whichever was the case, people thought of their Abbeville County residence as fairly opulent.

Possible evidence that the newlyweds settled at the bride's home came from the inscription on her 1853 tombstone. Located in the graveyard of the Lyndsey Harper Plantation, the tombstone reads, "She was born, lived, and died within 300 yards of her grave.

Historians tracing the lives of selected reservoir area families often consulted government documents and legal records in their search for information. Census counts, wills, tax records, deeds, itemizations of estates, all were useful. For example, the 1810 census showed that Lyndsey Harper's father owned no slaves, and that Lyndsey, just married, owned one. By the 1820 census, Lyndsey owned eight slaves and employed four other free Blacks. Lyndsey's wealth remained about the same until between 1840 and 1850 when his wealth increased significantly and he came close to being part of the plantation class.

Lyndsey Harper's wealth was documented at his death in 1850 when his estate was listed in public records. At that time, he owned at least 1,304 acres of land and 19 slaves. Three of the slaves were valued at only one dollar apiece because they were old.

One way Lyndsey Harper had expanded his income was by lending money. His estate papers showed that many people were indebted to him. There were several pages listing notes due, some dating back to 1831, with debtors' names, dates and amounts of every loan, and comments whether prospects of repayment were good, bad, or doubtful. Before his death, Harper also made several payments himself to people listed as "landlord" and "landlady". He apparently owned property in Augusta and Elberton, Georgia, and was paying people to manage it.

Jenny Harper died within three years of her husband, and the estate was divided among six children and grandchildren.

Lendsay married Jane McGill Harris [32478] [MRIN: 10951] on 7 Jan 1808.