Hi, Jean - Yes, I am researching HARPERs, in AL, but only just begun working on this line a few months ago. I am hardly an authority. I have very little information on Harpers in Georgia...have not even begun to look there. However, the information you provided does offer me some possible clues for the AL families, which is the primary focus of my research at this time. Here is what I can tell you... There are numerous Harpers in AL. The earlest AL Census (1810) shows James in Washington Co. and Robert in Madison Co. Increasing numbers of Harpers start to show up around 1830, in Greene, Pickens and, thereafter, Hale Co. and numerous other counties. It is unclear to me how/if these families are related. The earliest land records for AL reveal that John Harper owned land in Hale Co. (1824); William W. Harper owned land in Shelby Co. (1824); Edward Harper owned land in Perry Co. (1823); Jeseph Harper owned land in Montgomery Co. (1825); Levi Harper, Shelby Co. (1825). The AL territory was just opening up at that time and, no doubt, many families were taking land lots offered by the government. These individuals bought the land, but may never have actually lived there. Your folks could have lived in GA, but bought some of this "new" land in AL. My source for this information is the Bureau of Land Management at <www.blm.gov>. You might try that site for GA records. I indend to do that eventually, but am up to my ears sorting out Harpers in AL. In GA, I find ... o L.R.A. Harper received land in Elbert Co. in 1854. o William Harper is found in Marion Co. among "1830 Marion Co. GA Pioneers." ...found at GAGenWeb site. o Several Harpers are shown in a book,"Authentic List of All Land Lottery Grants Made to Veterans of the Revolutionary War by the State of Georgia." All seem to have been awarded between 1831 and 1841. (Source: National Archives). - Harper, George; residence, Jones Co.; land awarded in Cherokee Co.; lottery #1832 (circa 1841) - Harper, John; res., Haberham; land awarded in Cherokee, reverted (?); lot. #1832 " - Harper, Samuel, Sr.; res. Crawford; land in Lee; lot. #1827, 12/8/1836 - Harper, William, Sr.; res., Hancock; land in Early; #1820, reverted - Harper, William M.; res., Habersham; land in Cherokee; #1832, 1/16/1836 As for VA, I find tons of Harpers, at least 67 different heads-of-household residing in 27 different counties, per the VA 1810 Census. A William W. is shown listed in Brunswick Co., along with a Nathaniel Harper. I did not list every individual I found...no time. (Source: Census indes, National Archives.) Check out the different census records that may be on- line...cemetary/marriage records, too. Some additional leads can come from that. There is also a William Harper found in Louden Co., VA, circa 1773...he witnessed the will of Joshua Evans (.this note was received from another Harper researcher.) Here is another interesting fragment: a John Harper is found on a listing for "The Second Virginia Charter, May 23, 1609" (Charter established by King James," to called and incorporated by the name of The Tresorer and Companie of Adverturers and Planters of the Citty of London for the Firste Collonie in Virginia." (sic). You can view this document at http://virginiagenealogy.com. By the way, are you on the Harper mailing list? Sign-up to "subscribe" through the Rootsweb Home Page. Go to "Mailing Lists" > "Families/Surnames" and find the name HARPER. This has been a very useful source. Nailing-down Harpers is a lot like trying to nail-down Smiths, Jones, and Williams...a lot of material to wade through, with uncertain links... but it appears you've made some progress. That's about all I have. I hope this at least gives you some leads. Let me know if something concrete turns up. Annette Researching: SPEED, HARPER, LENNARD/LENARD/LEONARD, GREENE, KROUSE, LANE, BESTEDA, MCLANE...all found in AL counties.