| | Manuscript Collection | Save | | 1 | Title: | Alexander Harper Family Papers
| | | | Creator: | Harper, Alexander Family | | | | Dates: | 1755-1935 | | | | Abstract: | Alexander Harper, a Revolutionary War officer, brought his family to settle in Ashtabula County, Ohio (then a part of the Western Reserve) in 1798. The settlement was named Harpersfield by the family after their hometown in New York. After Alexander Harper's death in September 1798, his widow Elizabeth Harper was joined in 1799 by Alexander's brother Joseph and by her daughter and son-in-law, Margaret and Aaron Wheeler. Elizabeth's children; William, Elizabeth, John A., James A., Alexander, and Robert, all became prominent members of the community. In 1814, the Harpers were among those who organized the Harpersfield Commercial Company. Most prominent of the Harper brothers was Robert, who married Polly Hendry in 1815 and began construction of the family homestead, Shandy Hall. Robert was a lawyer, farmer, businessman, Superintendent of the Public Works at Cunningham Creek, and a member of the Ohio House of Representatives. His nephew, Rice Harper, was also a prominent lawyer and businessman, and was involved in the Ohio Rail Road Company with his uncle. Robert Harper's daughter Ann moved to Sandusky, Ohio, shortly after her marriage to Dr. Aaron Austin. His eldest daughter Ellen lived at Shandy Hall with her youngest sister Jane and Jane's husband, Alexander J. Harper. The last owners of Shandy Hall were Stella and Ann Harper, the two daughters of Alexander and Jane Harper. After the death of Ann Harper in 1935, the property was maintained by the David Z. Norton family, cousins of the Harpers. In 1948, the Norton family donated Shandy Hall to the Western Reserve Historical Society. The collection consists of letters, financial accounts, business files, legal documents, military records, and other documents related to the personal and business interests of Alexander Harper (1744-1798) and his descendants. | | | | Call #: | MS 3231 | | | | Extent: | 11.61 linear feet (14 containers and 1 oversize folder) | | | | Subjects: | Ashtabula County (Ohio) -- Genealogy. | Ashtabula County (Ohio) -- Politics and government -- 19th century. | Ashtabula County (Ohio) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century. | Court records -- Ohio -- Ashtabula County. | Deeds -- New York. | Deeds -- Ohio -- Ashtabula County. | Deeds -- Ohio -- Western Reserve. | Frontier and pioneer life -- Ohio -- Western Reserve. | Harper family. | Harpersfield (Ohio : Township). | Harpersfield Commercial Company. | Lawyers -- Ohio -- Ashtabula County. | Ohio Rail Road Company. | Ohio. Militia. Division, 4th. | Ohio. Militia. Division, 9th. | Postal service -- Ohio -- Ashtabula County. | Public works -- Ohio -- Ashtabula County. | Shandy Hall. | United States. Army. Infantry Regiment, 27th (1813-1815). | United States. Army. Ohio Cavalry Regiment, 2nd (1861-1865). | Western Reserve (Ohio) -- Social life and customs. | Women -- Ohio -- Ashtabula County -- Social life and customs.
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| Manuscript Collection | Save | | 2 | Title: | Jonathan Warner Family Papers
| | | | Creator: | Warner, Jonathan Family | | | | Dates: | 1804-1996 | | | | Abstract: | Jonathan Warner (1782-1862) was an early pioneer settler of Jefferson, Ashtabula, County, Ohio, in the Connecticut Western Reserve. Born in Connecticut, he traveled to the Western Reserve in 1804, and permanently settled in the Jefferson area in June 1805, where he farmed. He married Nancy Frethy in 1807, and they had 11 children. Jonathan Warner served as an Ashtabula County justice of the peace, county recorder, and county treasurer. In 1822, he helped organize the Ashtabula County Agricultural Society. He was very active in the antimasonry movement and the Antimasonic Party, and helped establish and run the Ohio Luminary, an antimasonry newspaper in Jefferson. Warner also was an Ohio state legislator, served as the first mayor of Jefferson, and was elected a judge of the Ashtabula County Court of Common Pleas, serving until 1846. The collection consists of correspondence, a biographical sketch, typed transcriptions, deeds, agreements, contracts, surveys, a lease, a petition, a record transcript, lists, indentures, wills, genealogies, newspaper clippings, account sheets, county treasurers' reports, receipts, powers of attorney, a wolf scalps subscription list, and obituaries. The letters of Jonathan Warner to his family in Connecticut describe in great detail the land, weather, crops, wildlife, social events, and fellow settlers of the Western Reserve. Descriptions of Warner family journeys back and forth from Ohio to Connecticut are also included, as is commentary on events and battles of the War of 1812, political discussions, descriptions of land transactions and business opportunities, farming conditions, and financial concerns of Jonathan Warner. Correspondence of the women of the Warner family often includes commentary on family life, religious and social activities, work, and other facets of daily life in the Western Reserve. Jonathan Warner's political involvement, particularly with the antimasonic movement, is well documented. Correspondence of Warner with James Moorhead, Alfred Kelley, Cyrus Smith, and Henry Dana Ward is included. | | | | Call #: | MS 4848 | | | | Extent: | 1.90 linear feet (6 containers) | | | | Subjects: | Warner, Jonathan. | Warner family. | Frethy family. | Antimasonic Party. -- Ohio. | Frontier and pioneer life -- Ohio -- Western Reserve. | Frontier and pioneer life -- Ohio -- Ashtabula County. | Women pioneers -- Western Reserve. | Women -- Ohio -- Jefferson. | Farmers -- Ohio -- Jefferson. | Western Reserve (Ohio) -- Description and travel. | Western Reserve (Ohio) -- Economic conditions -- 19th century. | Western Reserve (Ohio) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century. | Western Reserve (Ohio) -- Politics and government -- 19th century. | Western Reserve (Ohio) -- History -- 19th century. | Western Reserve (Ohio) -- Biography. | Jefferson (Ashtabula County, Ohio) -- History -- 19th century. | Ashtabula County (Ohio) -- History -- 19th century. | Ashtabula County (Ohio) -- Politics and government -- 19th century. | United States -- History -- War of 1812.
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