Mary Harris Hooper, Large Wife of Sanford (part 2)

Remember Joseph Smith Harris told us that Mary Harris was a large woman, weighing 220 lbs? Here's a second photo of Mary... well, what do you think? I wish I knew how tall she was!

Here she is, Mary Harris

Undated photo of Mary Harris. How old do you think she is here? Keep in mind she died in 1875 at the age of 64.

Here he is, Sanford A. Hooper

Undated photo of Sanford A. Hooper. Check out that goatee! Does he look how you imagined?

Thank you Ebay and Esnipe!

When I started my Hooper & Harris search in November 2008, my biggest goal was to find photographs of the ancestors. I noted previously that I don't have a single photo pre-1920 of any ancestor on my mother's side.

My research led me to believe that the book "This is Our Town" by Harold Albrecht, sponsored by the Belle Plaine Historical Society, might be a source of information for the Hoopers. Sanford A. Hooper, wife Mary Harris, and their young family moved to Belle Plaine, MN from Geneseo County New York in the 1850s.

This book is hard to find! It came up once on Ebay in January and I didn't bid high enough. So when it came up again last week, I set my Esnipe high enough to win. I won! And I was right! Lots of information on the Hoopers and photos, too!

EWWWW !!! Thanks a lot, John Harris!

Ever since I can remember, the taste of lima beans elicits the gag reflex in me. There is no taste or texture more foul, in my book. One of my most enduring memories from childhood is being forced to eat them at the age of 5. I could not swallow them, so I stuffed my mouth full and ran to the bathroom where I spit them out & flushed. My mother, fast on my heels, saw the whole thing and though I don't remember what happened next, I'm certain I got my butt spanked. But it didn't matter. Next time I didn't eat them and I have never eaten them since. And will never eat them again.

Imagine my horror when I came across this today in Joseph Smith Harris's book "Notes on the ancestry... " . He is speaking here of John Harris (1789-1864), brother to our Campbell Harris.

It runs in the family!

Not the last of the Harris line to work for the post office! From Google Books, this:





This book was published in 1819. By that time Campbell Harris was already in New York so I suppose this was out of date when printed. It seems that Campbell's duties as postmaster were probably tied to his activities at the General Wayne.

Bad news, good news, bad news, good news...

Unfortunately I must admit an error in my earlier research. Bad news! The General Wayne Inn of Merion, Pennsylvania-- with its colorful history of Edgar Allen Poe, ghosts, and murder-- is not a part of our Harris history.

But, good news! My Chester County pal (thanks, Dan!) was able to ascertain the correct location of Campbell Harris' General Wayne Inn, and it was located in Frazer, East Whiteland township.

Now the bad news. Dan reports "This building has been abandoned for years. It has been on the market for years and once someone bought it and was going to convert it into a store front. Nothing ever became of it. I think it is in disrepair by now. "

But here's good news for those of us who live a world away. You can sit on your rump and still SEE the building that Mary Harris grew up in, and the home to Mary's father Campbell Harris and mother Jane Lee!!! Mary was born in 1811 and the family moved to New York in 1817, and it looks like the family lived here during that time. Here it is, and if you click the arrows, you can move around, get different views of the building, and take a tour of the neighborhood.


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