LOOKING FOR CONNECTIONS FROM SCOTLAND TO AMERICA.....
Moderator: Global Moderators
-
william miracle
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 12:33 am
LOOKING FOR CONNECTIONS FROM SCOTLAND TO AMERICA.....
Looking for the Harp family that crossed into America from Scotland,dont have a clue about the time frame but was before 1800.......Bill
-
SarahND
- Site Admin
- Posts: 5647
- Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:47 am
- Location: France
Welcome Bill,
At least you have an unusual name to work with... In the OPR births & baptisms on SP I only got 28 hits for that surname in Scotland.
Looking at the 1790 U.S. census, I only see 22 Harp households in the whole country, most in North Carolina. Was that where your Harp family settled? I know there were many Scots who settled there in the 18th century.
In the IGI there are also very few Harp births before 1790: one family in Fife, one in Nairn, and a few other births scattered in Moray, Lanark and Midlothian.
It's often hard to make that jump backwards across the Atlantic and be sure the person who was born on one side was the same one who appeared on the other. How far back have you been able to trace this family in the U.S.? What are the names of the earliest settlers and where did they settle? Any information you have will help.
Best of luck,
Sarah
At least you have an unusual name to work with... In the OPR births & baptisms on SP I only got 28 hits for that surname in Scotland.
Looking at the 1790 U.S. census, I only see 22 Harp households in the whole country, most in North Carolina. Was that where your Harp family settled? I know there were many Scots who settled there in the 18th century.
In the IGI there are also very few Harp births before 1790: one family in Fife, one in Nairn, and a few other births scattered in Moray, Lanark and Midlothian.
It's often hard to make that jump backwards across the Atlantic and be sure the person who was born on one side was the same one who appeared on the other. How far back have you been able to trace this family in the U.S.? What are the names of the earliest settlers and where did they settle? Any information you have will help.
Best of luck,
Sarah
-
william miracle
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 12:33 am
HARPS IN AMERICA
Hello and Thank You for the Welcome!,
I have a Tobias Harp born in South Carolina in 1760,that is as far back as i have gotten,Iwas told by a great uncle,that my GreatGrandfather had his great,great grandfathers Kilt,Which dissapeared after his passing,but anyway,i did a surname origin search and found the name "Harp" originated in lennox Scotland,that is all i have been able to acquire...Bill
I have a Tobias Harp born in South Carolina in 1760,that is as far back as i have gotten,Iwas told by a great uncle,that my GreatGrandfather had his great,great grandfathers Kilt,Which dissapeared after his passing,but anyway,i did a surname origin search and found the name "Harp" originated in lennox Scotland,that is all i have been able to acquire...Bill
-
SarahND
- Site Admin
- Posts: 5647
- Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:47 am
- Location: France
Hi Bill,
I note from the various Harp message boards that Tobias is a major brick wall for many people... Do you know where his birth information comes from? As you know, the trick is to find the name of the first family member who was NOT born in the U.S., so you can try to figure out where he was born.
I also see some suspicious looking Earp entries in the census. H's at the beginnings of words tend to come and go-- there may be a connection. There are both Harp and Earp families who came from Ireland, also-- but maybe from Scotland before that? I have a similar brick wall of a Scot who everyone agrees was born in 1759 in Maryland, with no record of who his parents were. In my case the surname is Stewart
which makes it next to impossible. At least you have a less common name to work with!
I think you'll have to do more digging in the U.S. before being able to confidently make the leap across the water. I've got a trip planned to Maryland for the same reason!
Good luck!
Sarah
I note from the various Harp message boards that Tobias is a major brick wall for many people... Do you know where his birth information comes from? As you know, the trick is to find the name of the first family member who was NOT born in the U.S., so you can try to figure out where he was born.
I also see some suspicious looking Earp entries in the census. H's at the beginnings of words tend to come and go-- there may be a connection. There are both Harp and Earp families who came from Ireland, also-- but maybe from Scotland before that? I have a similar brick wall of a Scot who everyone agrees was born in 1759 in Maryland, with no record of who his parents were. In my case the surname is Stewart
which makes it next to impossible. At least you have a less common name to work with!I think you'll have to do more digging in the U.S. before being able to confidently make the leap across the water. I've got a trip planned to Maryland for the same reason!
Good luck!
Sarah