Harpers In Missouri

The Family of "Marvin" H. Harper, Sr. - Son of Joseph
(Joe) W. Harper and Fannie Rudder
Harper-Page 5

"Marvin" H. Harper Sr., the son of Joseph (Joe) W.
Harper and Fannie Rudder Harper, married "Minnie"
Belle Brooks (Born on January 15, 1885 in Pemiscot
County, Cooter Township (Present Day Steele), Missouri)
on October 31, 1904 at the courthouse in Pemiscot County,
Caruthersville, Missouri. The couple was married by
Probate Judge Sterling H. McCarty, with witnesses Mrs.
Mary E. Brooks, the step-mother of "Minnie" Belle
Brooks, and Flora Tell Brooks Rudder, the sister of
"Minnie" Belle Brooks.

Below is a copy of the Marriage License of "Marvin" H.
Harper, Sr. and "Minnie" Belle Brooks Harper.

After getting married the couple started living in Dunklin
County, Gibson, Missouri. While living in Dunklin County,
Gibson, Missouri "Marvin" H. Harper, Sr. and "Minnie"
Harper had two children: 1) "Roy" Winfield Harper born
July 26, 1905 and 2) "Frank" Brooks Harper born August
19, 1907.

Between August of 1907 and October of 1909 "Marvin" H.
Harper, Sr. and "Minnie" Harper moved with their family
to Dunklin County, Freeborn Township (Near Clarkton),
Missouri. While living in Dunklin County, Freeborn
Township (Near Clarkton), Missouri "Marvin" H. Harper,
Sr. and "Minnie" Harper had their third child, Troy
"Raymond" Harper born October 6, 1909.

Sometime between October 1909 and November 1911 the
family of "Marvin" H. Harper, Sr. and "Minnie" Harper
moved to Dunklin County, Holcomb Township, Holcomb,
Missouri. While living in Holcomb, Missouri "Marvin" H.
Harper, Sr. and "Minnie" Harper had two more children:
1) Minnie "Kathleen" Harper born November 12, 1911 and
2) "Ruth" Rita Harper born June 17, 1914. Also while the
family was living in Holcomb, Missouri the third child of
"Marvin" H. Harper, Sr. and "Minnie" Harper, Troy
"Raymond" Harper, died of typhoid fever on September
23, 1915. He was buried at Mount Zion Cemetery in
Pemiscot County, Steele, Missouri.

After the death of their third son, Troy "Raymond"
Harper, "Marvin" H. Harper, Sr. and "Minnie" Harper
moved their family to Pemiscot County, Steele, Missouri to
the house that had been built by the grandfather of
"Minnie" Belle Brooks Harper (Robert "Bailey" Brooks)
on Route 1 in Pemiscot County, Steele, Missouri.

More information on Pemiscot County and be found at the
following link:

Pemiscot County, Missouri

While living in Pemiscot County, Steele, Missouri
"Marvin" H. Harper, Sr. and "Minnie" Harper had five
more children: 1) Mary "Christine" Harper born
February 10, 1917, died of ulcerative colitis on December 6,
1920. Buried at Mount Zion Cemetery, Pemiscot County,
Steele, Missouri. 2) Louis Marvin (L. M.) Harper born
September 6, 1919, 3) Guy "Reginald" Harper born
September 8, 1922, 4) Marvin H. Harper, Jr. (Junior) born
February 9, 1925, and 5) "Bobby" Joe Harper born July
26, 1927.

"Marvin" H. Harper, Sr. lived at the Harper home located
on
Route 1 in Pemiscot County, Steele, Missouri until his death
on April 21, 1959.

"Minnie" Belle Brooks Harper lived at the Harper home
located on Route 1 in Pemiscot County, Steele, Missouri
until her death on April 16, 1981.

The following information on Pemiscot County, Steele,
Missouri was found on the website www.cityofsteele.com
which is no longer available on the internet:

The town of Steele was incorporated October 9th, 1901,
upon a petition presented to the County Court of Pemiscot
County by 12 people, which constituted two-thirds of the
taxable residents of the town on that date.
Several sawmills and what seemed to be an unlimited
supply of virgin timber surrounded the town. Steele grew
from the start, and soon had three good stores and three
flourishing saloons. The F.T. Jackson Store Co., was the
first merchant to locate here; Samford and Treece second,
and the Cannon store third. The post office was located in
the Samford and Treece store with George W. Treece the
first postmaster.
The town, as originally incorporated, extended from the
east side of the railroad track to the bank of Bailey Lake,
one of a chain of lakes extending practically all over the
county. For several months in the year, called the "gum
boot" season, the town would overflow from rain water to
the extent that at times a boat could be rowed from one end
of Main Street to the other and anchor at any store door in
town. The sidewalks were of boards and built about four
feet above the ground. Since the completion of the first
dredge ditch through town in 1910, the water disappeared
and what was once the bed of Bailey Lake is now the Echols
and Cobb addition, the most exclusive residential section of
Steele.
At the time of the organization of the new town, lumber,
ties and bolts were the chief source of revenue, with fur and
fish a close second. Land was valued solely for the timber
thereon and could be bought for a few dollars per acre.
Land that was at one time considered worthless so far as
agriculture was concerned is now a part of what is
regarded one of the richest agricultural sections of the
United States.

This web site brought to you by the City of Steele.
Please contact us if you have questions
or for further information.
Phone: (573) 695-3690
Address: 115 S. Walnut
Steele, Missouri 63877
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Steele, Missouri

Overview
•        Location: Pemiscot County, Missouri
•        Legal status: Fourth-class city
•        Name origin: Mr. L. L. Steele, merchant

Geography
•        Located at intersection of US 61 and MO 164
•        Latitude: 36°05'08" N   (+36.0854)
•        Longitude: 89°49'46" W   (-89.8294)
•        Land area: 1.9 square miles

Timeline
Oct. 9, 1901
Steele incorporated

Information found at the following link:

City of Steele, Missouri

Resources:

Marriage of "Marvin" H. Harper, Sr. and "Minnie" Belle
Brooks: Recorded by Minnie Belle Brooks Harper in the
Golden Anniversary Book of "Marvin" H. Harper, Sr. and
"Minnie" Belle Brooks Harper.

Birth Records: Excerpts from an interview given by "Roy"
W. Harper to J. R. Fuchs for the Truman Library on
September 22, 1978. Interview found on website: http://www.
trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/harperrw.htm.

Source Citation: Federal Census Year: 1910; Census Place:
Freeborn, Dunklin, Missouri; Roll: T624_780; Page: 19A;
Enumeration District: 65; Image: 268.

Source Citation: Federal Census Year: 1920;Census Place:
Cooter, Pemiscot, Missouri; Roll: T625_939; Page: 15B;
Enumeration District: 162; Image: 145.

Source Citation: Federal Census Year: 1930; Census Place:
Cooter, Pemiscot, Missouri; Roll: 1216; Page: 14B; Enumeration
District: 6; Image: 704.0.

Death of Mary Ellen Barger Allen Brooks: Date found on
headstone at Mount Zion Cemetery, Pemiscot County, Steele,
MO. Date also found in death records recorded by "Minnie"
Belle Brooks Harper in the family bible of "Minnie" Belle
Brooks Harper.

Death of Mary Ellen Barger Allen Brooks: Record found on the
following website: http://www.sos.mo.
gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates/results.asp?
type=basic&tLName=brooks&tFName=&sCounty=Pemiscot&tY
ear=#null

Death records of Troy "Raymond" Harper and Mary
"Christine" Harper recorded by "Minnie" Belle Brooks Harper
in the family bible of "Minnie" Belle Brooks Harper.

Records of the reasons for the deaths and places of burial of
Troy "Raymond" Harper and Mary "Christine" Harper
recorded by "Minnie" Belle Brooks Harper in the Golden
Anniversary Book of "Marvin" H. Harper, Sr. and "Minnie"
Belle Brooks Harper.

Death of Mary "Christine" Harper: Record found on the
following website: http://www.sos.mo.
gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates/results.asp?
type=basic&tLName=harper&tFName=&sCounty=Pemiscot&tY
ear=1920