The Quaker John Harper of Noke sailed from England with
his wife and children aboard one of the ships in William Penn’s fleet,
landing in Pennsylvania on 2nd August 1682. They purchased 500 acres of land in
William Penn’s new colony, and settled just outside Philadelphia in a
township to which the Harpers gave the name of Oxford. One of their grandsons,
Robert, founded the settlement at Harpers Ferry, now a famous beauty spot in
Virginia. |
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John had been baptised in Noke Church on March 5th 1634.
He married Ann Butcher, of Kings Sutton, Northamptonshire, in the parish of St.
Ebbe’s, Oxford on April 6th 1667. Eight children are known: Bridgett,
John, Joseph, Josiah, Mary, Charles, Elizabeth and Ralph.
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John died on April 29th 1716 in Philadelphia, and his
wife seven years later. His tombstone bears the following inscription:
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John, son of John Harper, of Noke in
Oxford Shire in Old England, arrived in Pensilvania the 2d of August, 1682, who
died ye 29th of April 1716, aged 83 years |
Their descendants are widely dispersed, and the American
branches of their family history extensively studied. John Harper’s family
can be traced in Noke from the earliest parish registers which were begun in 1574.
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