James Bertrand Harper was born in Asheville, North Carolina on January 4, 1907. He met and married Clara Victoria Smith in Morristown, Tennessee. She was born November 4, 1908 in Middlesboro, Kentucky. Bert and Clara had three children, Constance Lugenia born November 22, 1932; Maurice Dewitt, born January 4, 1934, and Hardres Jerome, born August 27, 1939.
Bert served in the Navy from 1942-1946 as a cook on board a ship. After his discharge from the Navy, he worked at Berkline Furniture in Morristown, Tennessee for 33 years. Clara kept house and tended to her children at their home on Blair Street. For a short while she worked as a domestic. She was always diligent in attending services at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church where the three children also attended. All of their three children also attended Judson S. Hill elementary school. Constance and Maurice also attended Morristown College High School and Morristown College.
Constance met and married William Evans. They moved to New York and stayed with her Aunt Nella in Bay Shore. Bill got a job at Brunswick Hospital and Constance went to work at Edgewood State Hospital. They never had any children. Bill was killed in a car accident around 1951. Constance died in Morristown, Tennessee of kidney failure on February 6, 1993.
Maurice went to New York and lived with his Aunt Nella. He worked at Nassau General Hospital. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corp form December 1953 – 1957. His last assignment was at Camp Pendleton, California. He stayed in California, went to work at Glidden Systems, and later went to work for the Los Angeles Sanitation Department until he retired. He continued his education at Los Angeles Trade and Tech College. In 1969 he met Vera Mae Merritt thru a friend and they were married on April 28, 1971. Together they raised Vera’s son Reginald and had a child of their own, Constance Jannine Harper; born November 10, 1973. As a family, they were very involved at Bethel AME Church in Los Angeles. Maurice was also a 33rd degree Mason. He served as director of their church’s food ministry to the homeless and poor in that area. He picked up food from local businesses; sorted and stored them; then systematically allotted foods to be distributed every week. Maurice died on January 15, 2015 of complications of heart disease and diabetes.
Constance Jannine graduated high school and attended college for about 2 years. She married Juan Siler and had two children; Juan, Jr. and Jarrell. Constance has worked for American Airlines for about 20 years and is now a supervisor at American Airlines in LAX Airport.
Reginald has one daughter named Rachell. She is now married and is a Registered Nurse (RN). She and her husband Desean had a daughter in 2014. Maurice and Vera have 3 grand children and one great grandchild.
Hardres Jerome Harper (Hoppy) was born August 27, 1939 and was raised with his brother and sister in Morristown, Tennessee. In his early teens he went to New York to live with his Aunt Nella. He attended Bay Shore High School where he played football and ran track. He volunteered to serve in the United States Army from 1956 – 1959. Much of his service time was spent in Germany. After his discharge, he married one of his school mates, Ana Luisa Vidal. They had three children, Hardres Jerome, Jr. (Jerry), born September 20, 1960; Carlos Maurice (Fidget), born October 10, 1964; and Sonia Pamela, born July 5, 1974. Hoppy first went to work at Pilgrim State Hospital, where he worked for 33 years. He took a second job with the Brentwood School District where he worked for 28 years as grounds keeper and later in the carpentry department.
Jerry went into the United States Air Force shortly after his graduation from Bay Shore High School in New York (1975) where he played football. He served from 1978 – 1982. While serving in the Air Force, one of his buddies introduced him to his sister Tamara. Jerry and Tammy married in 1984. They have 2 children; Tiana Louisa, born June 20, 1987; and Tristan Jerome, born March 6, 1990. Jerry joined the New York City Police Department and served for 8 years. Later he was accepted on the Nassau County Police Force on Long Island, New York where he served until he retired in 2012. They are now living in York, South Carolina. Jerry is employed at Charlotte Airport for American Airlines. About 3 years ago Jerry began having dysfunction of his kidneys, which progressed rapidly, and he was on dialysis for a while. He needed a kidney replacement. After some months, his sister Sonia was found to be a good match and she donated her kidney to her brother. They both are doing fine now, but it took many months of preparation and healing. Tammy and Jerry’s oldest child, Tiana graduated from Bay Shore High School in New York. She attended Suffolk Community College, where she earned an Associate Degree in Early Child Development. She is now employed in a pre-school program in South Carolina.
T.J. graduated from Bay Shore High School. He attended Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina on a lacrosse sports scholarship. After 4 years and 3 concussions, he felt he had to do something else. He is now employed by Canada Oil; and is working with his mother’s brother, Tom.
Carlos (Fidget) went into the United States Air Force shortly after he graduated from Bay Shore High School in New York where he was on the State Gymnastics Championship team. He went into the Air Force in 1982 and served for 8 years at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. He later went to Korea and then to Colorado Springs, Colorado. After his discharge, he worked as a gymnastics coach in a few places, but finally found comfortable employment at a gym in Northport, Long Island. There he met Robin Thomas and they married on July 6, 2009. Robin and Fidget opened the New Image Gym in Brentwood, Long Island, New York. They have been having very good results there. They have moved to a larger facility and have helped many of their students attain scholarships in gymnastics. They have one daughter, Skye Ana, born October 15, 2002. She is also a gymnast and runs track at Bay Shore High School in Bay Shore, Long Island, New York.
Sonia graduated from Bay Shore High School. In 1993, she attended Suffolk County Community College for a short while. She has worked many jobs. Sonia went to Walters State Community College. She is now employed as a chair side dental assistant at Aspen Dental in Knoxville, Tennessee. She has one son, Josheem McClain who was born on July 4, 1995. He graduated from Morristown Hamblen High School West and went into the United States Air Force shortly after. He is now working in construction for a company in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Hoppy married Esther Graham on October 17, 1987 and are now living in Morristown, Tennessee. Between us, we have 9 grand children and 6 great grand children.