Mario - You said... << what information do you have on greene county harpers? they were black, weren't they? >> I find Hapers in the AL census indexes for Greene County in 1830, 1840 and 1860... I didn't record Harpers in 1850 in Greene County, but they were probably there... and, I have not seen an index for 1870. I also have some data on Harper marriages in Greene Co., 1823-1860. Of all of the notes that I have, I surmise that what is recorded--especially in the early years--pertains to white families. Data on the black families doesn't start to emerge until after Emancipation. Although, it is fairly likely that a number of black families used the surname Harper, even prior to 1865, I don't think you make a correct assumption that Harper families found in Greene county were black. The data does not seem to support that notion. There were Harper families all over AL, both black an white, related both by blood and location. Sorting out the different family lines/relationships is what most of us doing research on this surname are tryng to figure out... Good luck.... and, please share what you learn about Harpers. Annette