Are you enjoying the website? Are you looking forward to the reunion? Have you got any stories to share? Let us know below.
(Comments are moderated so they won’t appear immediately)
Are you enjoying the website? Are you looking forward to the reunion? Have you got any stories to share? Let us know below.
(Comments are moderated so they won’t appear immediately)
I’m really looking forward to my first Harper Reunion!!
Website looks great Graham!
So delighted this is up and running! Really looking forward to the reunion and catching up with everyone!!
Great site. Well done. Can we have a family tree on the site so the young people can see where they came from and whether the person they are writing to is a fifth or seventh cousin twice removed?
Great idea Mark. Valuable for the more mature (ahem!) family members to see who these young folk are too!
Looking forward to my 4th Harper Reunion! I’ll be flying back from Australia specially! Whoop whoop! 🙂
Went to my Wesley College 40 th class re-union recently. Not so sure where those 40 years went. ?
A 40 th re-union sounds like something my parents would have gone to. ! How did I get this old.? I may not have been paying attention.!
It was great.. Everyone was still the same personality … but looking a bit like their parents.
So with equal excitement , I look forward to THE HARPER GATHERING. Bring a picture of my father Robert if you want to recognise me.
Adrian – that is so funny! I laughed out loud – literally. Looking forward to more banter and craic in April!
~ Caroline
Think I might have missed, or forgotten this site,… could be old age settling in?
Hey Jill, did you see that the reunion is on 3months, 16 days and 14hrs away! or is that just mean to point it out?! exciting times ahead.
Really looking forward to reunion will be great to catch up with family members from far and near!!
looking forward to meeting all my relations.
Hi all, can’t wait ’til reunion in April. Make sure you all come to it while we can still fit in same building. It’ll be a stadium next, as the family is growing so quickly. May God be praised! Love to you all. Avril & David, Co Clare.
Hello everyone from the Egan’s in Canada. My name is Dana and I’m the eldest of 3 – great grand daughter of Alice Burditt (nee Harper). Nana passed away at the ripe old age of 97 years, I believe. We all thank you for including us in this reunion. I would have loved to have known about the previous reunions also. However, I am definitely coming! My youngest Brother Patrick is going to try to come if he can talk his boss into a couple of weeks off at that time. He works in Red Earth, Alberta in the tar sands. Some of you have met my Uncle Budge whom we are also trying to get to come with us. I have a son, Renney, 16, who I’m going to convince to come as well. Are they any relatives his age??? that will be there? He won’t come if there aren’t. Kids! Go figure! We own a 150 seat Pub & Grill in Merritt, B.C. called the Grand Pub & Grill. Check us out on Facebook! We have tons of pictures in there. My other brother Ric won’t be able to come as he is a quadraplegic and doesn’t go far from home these days. Am also trying to convince my mother, Valerie, to come home early from Mexico and attend. This sounds absolutely fabulous & I can’t wait to meet you all!
Hi Dana, how great to have some new Canadian relatives to meet! Be sure to bring as much information about your branch of the family as you can. There will be all ages and sizes there, including our youngest son who will be 16 in May. Other teenagers and young adults too, he’ll have a ball!
Jan Cromie, daughter of Robert (Bob) Harper
Hi Dana,
Looking forward to meeting your family in KK in April at the Reunion.While there you will be able to see the house where your Great Great Grandfather John Bolton Harper Lived ,before emigrating to Canada.The farm is the home of my cousin Sam Harper and his family.I had the pleasure of meeting Uncle Budge in North Cork, at lunch time ,during part of my working day ,some years ago now.!!!
Les Harper,brother to Jan Cromie ……( just so you wont get confused with Harpers before you leave Canada.)
Hello Dana
I’m Eriks brother, I noticed you own a grill in Merritt, My wife’s relative’s Edna Taylor (Nee Harper)
Ran the red top cafe in Merritt. Before that the Adelphi hotel. Are you any relation to them?
We live in Kamloops. It would sure be suprising if my wife and i are both related to the Harpers.
Ed.
Hi Ed
No we never knew that we were relatives to Taylor’s but I did grow up with Wendy Taylor…Edna’s brother in law’s daughter. I do know Barb, who is Edna’s daughter…wow, wouldn’t that be wild if I was. I got a ride down to school with Ted Taylor, the local jeweller, for a few years before high school. Crazy, small world. Wait til I tell Wendy….
Still trying to work out the details of our trip. Finally got Renney’s passport yesterday. Now my brother Ric, is trying to talk himself into going. He’s a quad so lots of details to work out there. TTY Soon.
Dana
I ran into Barb Taylor McGowan today here in Merritt and told her that we could all likely be related. She expressed excitement and even shouted that she would love to come to the reunion as well if we really are all related. She would love to talk to you to find out more information. Her tel # is: 250-378-4141. Her mother is Edna. I will give her a call with your name & that you may call her. She works at the local Pharmasave, days.
Hi everyone, I’m so excited about the Harper reunion. I think I’m even going to buy some new socks in honour of the event. Is it really that long since we were all together last time… I’m delighted that we’ll be able to bring our two boys Ethan (4) & Niall (2) to their first gathering. I hope Nore Valley Park mobile unit will be there with some petting animals for the city kids?
BTW Dana, Renney will be in very good company, as I expect will anyone of any age range. He’ll have a great time.
Hey… I did know about this site… but how come my comment is in January 2013? Was that the year of the reunion? Yeah… I guess it was because 7 years later was 2020!!! The Zoom Event during Covid Lockdown… special memories there too… but much less hugs!
Hi all,
Thank you for including other Harper lines in this reunion. I am from Creston, B.C., Canada. and from the Charles line. Charles (1818-1889) was Robert(Sargent) Harper’s son. My wife, Valerie, and I are putting the finishing touches on our travel arrangements and are very much looking forward to meeting so many relatives.
Thank-you Jill and others for putting this together. I know it is a lot of work.
Erik Halliday
Erik, I just read your post, and was surprised to see you’re in Creston where my sis Donna lives. I just moved to Penticton from there. We are descendants of John Bolton Harper (1865-1947). Donna is also travelling to attend the reunion in Ireland. It would be great if you and she could contact each other. Her phone #is 428-4423.
Hi Erik,
Looking forward to meeting you and Valerie in KK in April at the Re Union.I come down the Robert Line ….”.the little piglet who stayed at home “!!!Cousin Ken Barringer email … kdbmailbox@aol.com is organising a trip to Scotland and Ireland before the re union in KK. Ken has been in contact with David Harper ( William line) who is hoping to come if wife Sue is recovered from Hip Replacement surgery.
Hi Les,
Got a real chuckle out of your “little piglet who stayed at home”. It would be interesting to know how it was decided who in the family would stay at home on the farm. My understanding is that Charles, Alexander, William and Henry (not sure who else) came to Canada to help build the Rideau Canal. My brother Ed, his wife Betty, Valerie & I went back to Ontario in 2008 to do some ancestry research. We were very fortunate to find a lot of info and locations. Also have a picture of a sketch of Charles Harper (1818-1889). The sketch is located in Scugog Shores museum on Scugog Island near Port Perry, Ontario. It might be handy for any history/ancestry buffs to bring along a USB flashdrive for sharing info. I will bring my laptop as well as some flash drives.
Erik
I would like to Thank Sharon Sadler for bringing to our attention not only the Harper Family Reunion but the entire Harper family. My name is Kevin Perry, based on the information via the Family history I would be John Bolton Harper’s great gransdson. I currently live in Coquitlam, British Columbia with my wife and kids. It is unfortunate that I only became aware of the reunion very recently, but I will certainly be at the next one. In reading the guestbook comments it’s nice to see that there are relatives close by, in Penticton and Merrit. If any of you would like to know more about our part of the family please don’t hesitate to write. I want to wish everyone a very enjoyable reunuion and please take lots of pictures and post them when possible.
Kevin
Hi Kevin: Would love to meet you & your family. We have the Grand Pub & Grill in Merritt. Drop in or call me. check us out on facebook as well. We’ve never had a big family so this is really exciting to find out we have a bigger family than we thought.
Dana
Well I have already talked to my Dad and one of my brothers and one of my boys, we will be going to Merritt in the latter part of April or early May to take in a round of Golf and then celebrate (or drown our sorrows) our accomplishments on the golf course at your Pub. We look forward to meeting you. As you noted in your post it is exciting to know that you have a bigger family than what you thought. If you’d like I have provided my e-mail address or you can look me and my family up on Facebook. I have taken a look at your Pub’s facebook page and it sounds like a very enjoyable place to socialize. My wife’s brother and sister-in-law have a B & B at Lac le Jeune so we may drop in more often now. Take care
Hi Kevin….that’s great! Renney & I won’t be back from Ireland til after the 23rd so hopefully you will come in May. Maybe you will have room for me to golf with you? Didn’t see your email address, but mine is ban.dana@shaw.ca You can also send me a message on the Grand Pub’s facebook page as I’m on that nearly everyday too. Am thinking of doing a blog on my web page as the refurbished page should be done by then.
My brother Patrick should be back from his job in Slave Lake by then so we could all golf together. Well, we can pick up a couple more people and golf in front or behind you. lol Should be a fun time. Dana
As I write it’s 2 months, 16 days, 13 hours – can’t wait!
4th reunion for myself and my wife, Ashling, 3rd reunion for our eldest, Adam (age 14 now, 15 in time for reunion), 2nd reunion for our twins Nathan and Ciara (age 12 now, 13 in late April).
Can we fit all this in one weekend? It’s going to be fun trying.
I am so looking forward to the 4th re union.
At the 1st one- I had just had confirmed my pregnancy with Brian the day before.
At the 2nd one, Our church fellowship had fallen apart and feeling quite ‘displaced’, the family reunion gave me a sense of belonging and what heaven will be like , it was very encouraging,
The 3rd one, well I left early that Sunday morning to head to hospital, facing surgery for breast cancer. I am very grateful for life, for family and especially for ‘my men’ in my life.
The 4th one, EXCITED! It will be so good to be all united again and so looking forward to our Mark coming home for it.
Hi my name is Christina Haddrell and I from British Columbia, Canada. I understand you recently contacted my mom, Lois Spinks ( nee Fraser ). Her mom, my grandmother was Elsie Margaret Harper, her sisters ( my great aunts ) Henrietta and Alice to my knowledge were born in Kilkenny Ireland. If you are interested in some additional photos, my mom has my grandmother’s album with many photos that I could scan and send to you.
Looking at the photos that you have published on this site, I can see some very strong family resemblences especially to my grandmother Elsie and my mother Lois.
Please email me personally ……… love to hear from you.
Best Wishes to the Harper Clan ……….
Hey Christina, no, Hettie and Alice were born in BC. Only Elsie was born in Ireland. This is while their dad was in the Klondike (I attached the article). Frances went with Hettie and Alice to visit her relatives in England, and went over to visit the Irish in-laws, and it was there that Great Aunt Elsie was born.
The African Harpers can’t wait for the Reunion. Unfortunately I missed the last one but am making up by bringing 3 Zimbabweans with me this time – My wife and 2 kids!
Happy to say that the Harper’s from Hawaii will be there in 2 months 8 days and 13 hours! It will be myself, Jon Harper (son of Leslie Harper) my wife June and our two boys, Kieran(4) and Ronan(2). A big thank you to Jill, Graham, Emma, Dougie and all those involved for making this happen. Looking forward to seeing you all soon. I won’t need to buy a new pair of socks but I should probably go find a rain coat!
We are still trying to locate some pictures to send. My mother says that many of the pictures were likely destroyed in a flood at Ernie & Sally Winters house in Kelowna about 10 years ago. We will keep looking but it’s quite difficult to get in touch with my cousin who now lives in that house. Still waiting for my brother’s passport to come in so haven’t made the reservations yet. We will be planning to stay at the College tho. Are there any arrangements for pillows, blankets etc for those of us travelling from out of the Country? Can’t see us packing that kind of garb with us. Hope all is going well with the planning of this huge event. Can’t wait to meet you all…………Dana
Hi Dana, for those of you flying in for the reunion, we will get locals to help out with the bedding.
Hi Jill: Renney & I are coming. Arrive on the 3rd in Dublin. Will rent a car & drive to Kilkenny on the 5th. Hopefully we will stay at the College if there is still room. Will look around this site a bit more to see about booking there later today. Patrick’s son, Jacob, is hoping to come too. He will be meeting with me in a few hours to discuss details. He likely won’t stay as long as Renn & I who are planning on staying 3 weeks, leaving Dublin on the 23rd.
Not too many real definite plans made at the moment. Looking for ideas from all of you. I heard there was an Egan Distillery is Tullamore??? (sp). Could you check for me? I can’t find any references on line about it. Also, my dad’s family originates from Thomastown so we plan to go there as well. LIkely Waterford Crystal Factory, want to go to Galway and mostly want to go to the area where the movie PS I Love You was filmed….no direct reference to area when you look the movie up on line so…does anyone over there know? Perhaps some of my relatives could suggest some great things for us to do. Biking, Site Seeing, something that a 16 year old teenager would like to do or see? Thought about the Hurling Demo so will likely do that…great reviews on Trip Advisor.
Look forward to hearing from any or all of you Irelanders with some great insights. Also, is it better to travel by rail or car? How much is gas per litre or gallon? How much is a one way train fare from Dublin to Kilkenny compared to driving? Can’t get real answers online without actually booking a ticket and the BritRail passes are absolutely rediculously priced.
Dana
Hi Dana, be prepared for gas to seem very expensive to you, about $8 a gallon! Our rail network is quite good where it runs, but nowhere near covers the whole country – the last train left Donegal, where we live, in 1961. Train one way from Dublin to Kilkenny is €9.99 each which is pretty reasonable. Advantage of car hire is that you can do your own thing, but over the reunion weekend you won’t need to go too far afield so could rely on lifts from a hundred or so relatives 🙂
Jan
Thanks for the info Jan. I have rented a car now so just need to worry about the fuel prices. Not to worry. I have good credit! lol
I will be attending the Harper Family Gathering. My darling sister Donna Carlyle who is related to the Harpers has asked me to be her travel companion. I am looking forward to meeting all who will be there. So excited to be a part of this. I live in Delta, BC. Canada. :). see you there.
Hi all! Really looking forward to the reunion! At the last reunion I was in college, this time round I’m bringing my lovely husband Dave, and three kids Zoe (3) Jack (2) and Benjamin (3 months)! Really looking forward to meeting all the Canadian cousins! My grandfather was George E Harper, and I’m his youngest granddaughter!
See you all in two months!
Hi all Harpers. I am just completing our plans to attend the reunion. The U.S. Wisconsin branch of the “lost Henry line” will include myself, my husband Gary Boley, daughter Melissa, brother John Harper and his wife Jeanette. The tree is: Sgt Robert, Henry (who emigrated to Canada, then to Michigan), James (who moved to Wisconsin in 1913 to enter his daughters in a girls’ Methodist seminary), then Glen, our father. In doing research on our family in the U.S. I was struck by the great interest that our family had in human rights and in womens’ education. Also, service to our countries seems to be a theme that runs through the Harper clan in the U.S. and Canada. I will be interested to see how that plays out internationally. Also, I’m interested to meet other artists, as I am a painter! See you soon!
Hi Patricia,
After many emails back and forth we will finally see each other in person. Very much looking forward to meeting you and members of your family. In a previous post I mentioned that some of Robert Sgt’s boys came over to work on the building of the Rideau Canal. My dad had written this in our family history. After some checking of dates I believe that the time frame was wrong. They may have come and worked on some other aspects of the canal after its completion. Safe travels.
Erik
My wife, Marlies (now deceased) and I had the pleasure in 1996 of enjoying the hospitality of Lilia and Sam Harper and meeting a number of my Harper cousins in County Kilkenny. We traveled around for ten days and fell in love with Ireland. Now, I am coming to the Harper Reunion for the first time, along with daughter Heide and I hope my brother David and his wife Sue, who came to the Reunion seven years ago. I live outside Philadelphia and my line goes back to the Harpers who emigrated to Canada. I am now 84, and it will be a wonderful experience to join with all the Harper clan in celebration! It would be just great if a printout of the basic Harper “family tree” were available for us at the Reunion, if at all possible (or a large poster we could photograph).
That shouldn’t be a problem. There will be a talk on the Saturday morning about the family history and now we are all related.
i’m sure we will be able to arrange that. There will be a talk on the Saturday morning about the family history and now we are all related.
Hellooo fellow relatives from Ireland. Renney & I will be in Ireland for 3 weeks are and hoping you will direct us to all the great sites and activities to see & do in Ireland while we are there. If you could drop me some pointers in this discussion, we would greatly appreciate it. Don’t forget, Renney is 16 so he will tire easily from all the heritage sites and castles…lol. One thing for sure we are doing is the Kilkenny Road Tour where we get to go to the Stadium and learn Hurling, and get to play with some of the Kilkenny Hurling Team.
Wow, I’m confused just reading the guest book on the website!! haha, well Maybe it will be clearer when I see the family tree on the wall. Glad to say I’m making it back from Mozambique to the family reunion! Who knows where I’ll be by the next one!
Greetings from Creston BC Canada. Thank you so much for this invitation, it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and all of my friends are so envious that I am actually traveling to Ireland! My sister Diane and I have planned a tour around Ireland prior to the reunion – to Dublin, Boyle, Donegal, Galway and Limerick/Cork/Kerry areas. I also would appreciate hearing about “do not miss this” sights or activities from our Irish relatives. Thanks to Jill for directing us to family members that live in these counties.
I am excited to meet everyone – it is a challenge to figure out genealogy. It seems odd that I am going to Ireland to meet my my cousin Val and first cousin once removed Dana and first cousin twice removed Renney when they live only 8 hours away! I have had the joy of meeting third cousin Erik and his wife Val who live in the same town as I do. This is going to be so much fun!
Donna, if you are coming to Donegal you are welcome to stay with us. Just let me know when you are going to be up this way!
Jan
Hey Donna, I’m with you on this one. Can’t believe how many relatives have come ‘out of the wood works’ for us in BC just because we have learned about this reunion. Spoke with my cousin Loanne Winter Athans tonite about completing some of our geneology and she is all for it. Says she can’t come but will help me fill out all the branches hopefully by next Tuesday when I will be in Kelowna. I’m going for the Sysco Food Show but as she lives in Grama Sally’s home, it’s close to the venue so I should be able to fit in a visit. She is going to try to find a video of Great Grama Alice & Don playing in their band. What a hoot that would be to show in Kilkenny.
Forgot to mention that Loanne’s daughter, Kaylee, met a fellow from South Africa with the last name of Harper….wouldn’t that be a hoot if he was related to us as well? Loanne said she would find out the details and post here to see if he actually is a relative.
It’s absolutely crazy to read all of these comments from people all over the world, particularly the concentration of people in North America!
How incredibly exciting to meet and greet so many family members and make connections and share plenty of craic!
I’m very excited for my 4th Harper Reunion (3rd outside of the womb!!) – I was a young teenager at the last one, now I’m a final-year student (stressing because the reunion is right before my final deadlines!!!), about to begin my first graduate job! Who knows where I’ll be by the time the next one comes along…
I’ve got a portable high quality audio recorder and it would be great to chat to as many as possible and document the memories of the older generations as well as hearing the familial connection from those abroad who are coming for the first time!
Ruth Taylor (nee Harper)
Third daughter of George Harper
20th March 2013
It will be absolutely super to be together.God s so good to us all.Without His grace and activity in our lives I guess we wouldn’t care this much to be together. He bonds us together in love.
So pleased that there are many talented younger relatives to bring it all together this time.
It will be great.
Booked! see you there.
Hello All,
My Is Ric Egan, Sorry I won’t be there but I was kind of wondering if anybody knew where my great great grandmother of John Harper. My bloodline comes down from John’s daughter Alice, then her daughter Sally, then her daughter Valerie You married a man named Jack Egan (born Toronto 1929)Canada they had three siblings Dana, Rick, and Patrick. Born in order 57 58, 61. Dana is coming with her son Renny. I am still waiting to get set up to Skype The reunion.
Just wondering no mention of my great great grandmother can anybody help?
Give me a call please At 250-378-4140 Merritt British Columbia Canada.
Or fax. 🙂
Hi Ric. I have read your post 3 times, and am not sure what you are asking. I’m thinking you’re asking for information about John Bolton Harper’s wife. ??? I am descended from John Bolton Harper’s oldest child, Henrietta (Alice’s older sister) – her oldest daughter Edna, and then me, the oldest daughter (only child actually). If I am right in what you were asking, John Bolton Harper’s wife (Henrietta, Alice, Elsie and Robert’s mother (plus there was a younger boy who died)) was named Frances Harriet Woolliams. She was from England. The music that many of us have inherited came from her family. She emigrated to Canada as a music teacher. Her sister who remained in England was a concert pianist. Last night I finally got my act together and sent Jill a bunch of pictures, which I imagine she will post to this site after the reunion is done. There is one picture in there with Alice, Sally, Valerie (Sally’s daughter) and Frances – so that’s a picture with your Mom in it. I have a couple of other pictures of Frances when she was younger, but they are the sort taken from far away to show the people, the house, the yard and the entire area, so I didn’t think they were good enough for posting. There’s a picture in with the ones I sent of Sally as a teenager, and I have others of her as a toddler with my Mom Edna. The two of them were very good friends. In Frances older years, after she and John had separated, she lived by rotating visits with her daughters. Hope this is what you were asking about. ??
We’re all packed and leave Quebec – Canada tomorrow, April 1st.
It will be wonderful seeing our family. I am also excited about meeting
the descendants of people who have just been names on a Tree until now.
Margaret
Hi Sandy,
Ric Egan, pleased to be introduced. Yes you’re correct about John
Bolton Harper, BUT, I did not know he was married twice. Q? That could mean another twig of the tree.
If you are going to the reunion, look up my sister, Dana Egan, she has many pictures of our family. Thank you very much for your knowledge.
Richard Michael Egan.
married twice? that’s the first I heard of that one.
Just back from the Harper Reunion. What a great weekend! Well done to all who organised. Great weekend of fun, food, fellowship and the service was so special.
Thanks sooooooo much all. How great was that weekend! Just been reading all the comments again. Very grateful to all concerned!
Thanks for all the hard work every one , we all had a great time.
Thanks to all the family in Ireland that made this reunion possible. It was great reconnecting with family and meeting new people. We are blessed. Layla will forever remember dancing with Andre. We all had a great time.
Margaret
Thanks for all the effort to keep the website going after the reunion. The photos are great! Will other photos from the other designated photographers be going up?
Hello,
I have just discovered the Harper website! My grerat grandmother was Mary Eliza Harper (1867-1954). She married Robert Thompson and one of her children was Emily Arabelle Thompson, who married Ernest pain. Their daughter, Joan Paine, married Michael Fisher and I am their eldest son. I remember visiting the ‘Harper cousins’ in the 1970s and staying with ‘Auntie Tilly’, who I suspect may have been a cousin of Emily Thompson / Paine.
It is great to see so many of the Harper family keeping in touch.
Is there a public family tree online?
Best wishes,
Trevor FIsher
Hi Trevor,
AT present there isn’t access to an online version of the family tree, to it contain people’s personal details. However, it is stored digitally and a hard copy will be available at the reunion. I am sending you an email with the details of who you would need to be in contact with about the family tree.
Hi Trevor
Auntie Tilly was married to George Edward Harper ,1st cousin of your Grandmother Emily Paine (nee Thompson )who lived in Greystones. Regards Les harper West Cork.
Hi Everyone,
We are part of the Canadian Harper clan. My grandfather was Johnathan Harper who emigrated in early 1900 to Toronto. My father was John Edward Alexander Harper.
My wife and I will be in Ireland, Dublin area in August 2023. We’d love to meet any family in Kilkenny area.
Please email or text +1-604-366-3933.
Thanks, Stephen
Hi…My name is Dorthy Stephens
My Grandfather was Roy Harper who immigrated to Ontario Canada.
I actually visited Kilkenny and Dublin with my Mom (Eleanor Harper) approximately 15 years ago.
Would like to see family members again!!
Lovely to read this blog, what a great job you all did in making your reunion happen. My grandfather, a seafarer was Edward Harper (originally Harpur) and he married Margaret. After their wedding in Liverpool – an extension of Ireland – where I was born. This year I plan to go with my husband and our kids, both in their 20s to Wexford where my mother’s ashes are now laid. We live in Italy and my husband is a Pastor here.
My late aunt thankfully created and maintained our family tree on Heritage, so I’ll be looking to see if we have any links.