Veteran Bio
The Kemp Sketch
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HARPER, PETER -- Came to Texas in 1835 after May 2nd. In the Headright Certificate issued to him April 27, 1838 by the Board of Land Commissioners of Nacogdoches County for one-third of a league of land it is stated that he arrived in Texas prior to March 2, 1836. Had he arrived prior to May 2, 1835 it would have been so stated in the certificate. John S. Roberts testified that "he knew applicant previous to the 2nd of March, 1836, has a family and lives in this county." Henry Raguet stated the same. He is known to have been in Texas in 1835 for on page 68 of the army rolls in the General Land Office he is shown to have enlisted in Captain John Chenoweth's Company December 27, 1835.
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Mr. Harper was Second Lieutenant of Captain William H. Patton's Columbia Company at San Jacinto and on October 14, 1849 he received Donation Certificate No. 126 for 640 acres of land for having participated in the battle. The Land Office Records do not show that he received the bounty land due him for his services in the army. In Comptroller's Military Service Record No. 540, countersigned by General Sam Houston, it is certified that he received his honorable discharge from the army April 27, 1836.
Mr. Harper sold 640 acres of his headright to Samuel Bean, June 10, 1839, the deed being witnessed by Robert Bean, son of Samuel Bean, who was a physician living in what is now Cherokee County. (See Deed Records Nacogdoches county, Vol. F, page 65.) Peter Harper was then living in what later became Cherokee County.
Mr. Harper was living in Anderson County May 17, 1859 when he sold his Donation Certificate to George May. This is shown in the transcribed Deed Records of Lee County Book B, page 472.
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Written by Louis W. Kemp, between 1930 and 1952. Please note that typographical and factual errors have not been corrected from the original sketches. The biographies have been scanned from the original typescripts, a process that sometimes allows for mistakes in the new text. Researchers should verify the accuracy of the texts' contents through other sources before quoting in publications. Additional information on the veteran may be available in the Herzstein Library.
Gallery
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Battle Statistics
- Died in Battle: No
- Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Company: Capt. David Murphree
Personal Statistics
- Came to Texas: 1835
- Donation Certificate: 126
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