Portraits of the Past: History of the Odis Harper Family 1845-2020

By Rosie Harper Austin

Have you wondered about your ancestors—how they arrived in the area that they did, what were their lives like, and what legacies they passed on to future generations? This book traces one family, the Odis Harper family, from 1845 to the present day. It chronicles experiences from slavery, the Jim Crow South, the Civil Rights Movement, and current day.

Readers of this book will be inspired to not only begin an ancestral search but also determine what legacy they will leave for future generations. Will you leave something for the world that will change it? Will you leave something for your family that will improve their lives? Will you write the history for the next generations? Will you let your family legacies die within these pages?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728364834

Rosie Harper Austin

Rosie Harper Austin recently wrote her family history, Portraits of the Past: The History of the Odis Harper Family. While writing it, she knew she would have to write a companion book that described the tales that her father told his children; the result: The Preacher’s Tales. The author grew up in Nettleton, MS and attended Jackson State University where she received both the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in English. She received the Doctor of Education degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Houston. Most of her career was spent in higher education in the Lone Star College System in Houston. She is active in several organizations including the Rotary club, her alumni association, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She lives in Houston with her husband, Milton. She enjoys interior and garden design, traveling, reading and antiquing.

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Copyright © 2020 Rosie Harper Austin All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   07/14/2020

ISBN: 978-1-7283-6482-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-6484-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-6483-4 (e)

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ESV

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®). Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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CONTENTS

Dedicated to my Parents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Prologue

Part I: About my Family

Chapter 1   Webster White and Catherine Adams White

Chapter 2   Tennessee Harper and Alice Hunt Harper

Chapter 3   John Harper and Pearl White Harper

Chapter 4   My Parents Story (Odis Harper and Rozena Steel Harper)

Chapter 5   Odis Without Rozena

Chapter 6   Favorite Odis and Rozena’s Stories

Chapter 7   Odis and Rozena’s Children

Freddie

Alex

Albert

Louis

James Lee

Floyd

Rosie Mae

Mary Jean

Chapter 8   FAMILY and Other Traditions

Epilogue

References

Part II: Special Events: The Complete Story

Family Gatherings and Reunions

Class Reunion

Vacations

Sistercations

Weddings

Birthday Celebration

Special Announcement

Special Events

Part III: Photographs of my Siblings and their Families

Freddie

Alex

Albert

Louis

James Lee

Floyd

Rosie Mae

Mary Jean

LIST OF TABLES

1   Webster and Catherine Adams White’s Children

2   Tennessee and Alice Hunt Harper’s Children

3   John and Pearl White Harper’s Children

4   John and Pearl White Harper’s Grandchildren

5   Odis and Rozena’s Children

6   Odis and Rozena’s Grandchildren

7   Odis and Rozena’s Great Grandchildren

8   Odis and Rozena’s Great-Great Grandchildren

9   Odis and Rozena’s Great-Great-Great Grandchildren

DEDICATED TO MY PARENTS

Reverend Odis and Rozena Harper

who taught us the value of faith, hard work, and honesty.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Writing a book about the story of my ancestors was more time-consuming than I thought, but it has been more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. This book would not have been possible without the assistance of the following people:

First, I would like to thank my cousin, Evelyn Nabors-Cole, who conducted preliminary work on our great-grandfathers and some other ancestors some 20 years ago and provided it at a family reunion. Even though this book chronicles mainly my parents and my siblings, Evelyn’s work was invaluable in my providing background information on my ancestors before I began the story of my parents.

I would like to thank my parents, Reverend Odis and Rozena Harper, whose example provided the stimulus for me to record their great legacy to be passed to future generations. Their tenacity and sacrifice are forever stamped in my heart.

I would like to thank my siblings: Freddie, Alex, Albert, Louis, James, Floyd, and Mary—whose interviews were instrumental in my creating a full picture of my parents’ legacy. I thank them for the photos they provided, for we all know that a picture is worth a thousand words. I especially thank my sister, Mary, for making numerous phone calls on my behalf, particularly calls to cousins Mozella Smith and Geraldine White McIntosh, who supplied information that filled some gaps to the past. I wish to thank Mozella and Geraldine likewise. I would also like to thank all of my nieces and nephews who provided names and photos of their children.

I must thank my loving husband, Milton, for reading every draft and giving me advice on how to make this history more personable.

I am writing this history as most of the nation sit home during the COVID-19 global pandemic of spring 2020. This writing has been the positive in the midst of the chaos associated with the virus. Currently, more than 440,000 people have died world-wide and more than 115,000 Americans.

INTRODUCTION

Marvin Lewis, during his junior year in college, was enrolled in an African American Studies course and was given an assignment of writing a three-page essay about his ancestors. The charge was to go back as far as possible, showing how his ancestors navigated Jim Crow laws if they grew up in the South, what legacy did they leave, and how his family arrived at its current state. Marvin thought for a moment and suddenly realized that he did not know even his paternal grandfather’s name, not to mention knowing any information about him. His parents never talked about their ancestors. Marvin thought: What am I going to do?

Perhaps your knowledge about your ancestors is not as limited as that of Marvin, but you may be curious about life for African Americans from Reconstruction through your parents’ era. This book traces the Odis Harper family from 1845 to the present day, focusing on the legacy of Odis and Rozena Harper. Though this book provides information on two generations that came before Odis, it is mainly Odis and Rozena’s story that is chronicled to be shared with generations to come. Readers of this book may be inspired to begin a wide-range ancestral search or a more focused one, as in this case. If readers are in any way connected to the Harper or White (paternal grandmother’s maiden name) families, they may recognize names of our shared ancestors.

As slavery inhibited most African Americans’ family information, it is only after African Americans were counted in the census (after 1865 in the South) that concrete documentation occurs. This book documents the first ancestors whose names appear in a census; they had spent their early years in slavery. Since there was slave trading throughout the South, my ancestors could have been born in a different state than the state where their names appeared in the census.

Travel with Odis and Rozena as they navigate Jim Crow laws to becoming pillars of the community and leave a powerful legacy for their children. I hope that you enjoy this journey.

Please note the terms black Americans and African Americans are used interchangeably in this book. These terms refer to Americans with total or partial ancestry from any of the black racial groups of Africa, through the terms generally refer to descendants of enslaved black people who are from the United States (African American, n.d.).

PROLOGUE

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Odis with daughter, Rose

It is the summer of 1980 and Odis is happily celebrating Father’s Day with his six sons and two daughters. He opens the gifts that they have given him, and he reflects on his life. He has had some rough days, months and even years—growing up in the Jim Crow South and working the fields for as little as twenty-five cents per day. He has lost two wives to illnesses, the first to whom he had been married for 38 years and the second for just under three years.

Odis is happy today as he has been most of his life, despite the difficulties. Though the mother of his children, Rozena, has been gone for seven years, their children have not forgotten him; in fact, they celebrate him each year on Father’s Day. They tell him that they appreciate the sacrifices he made for them, his powerful work ethics and principled-centered life. They tell him that they loved the childhood stories he told them. Just the thought of these wild stories brought waves of laughter around the room. Odis gave a thunderous laugh.

Odis is one of 10 children born to John and