William Greene Harper of English descent was born in Greene County, Arkansas. He served during the Civil War in the Confederate Army and was wounded in the Battle of Chickamauga -- he carried a "Minie ball" in his knee the rest of his life. He married Rhoda Underhill Nall in Tennessee in 1867. Her father was James Carroll Nall and her mother was Naomi Underhill, whose father or grandfather came over from the "Old Country" and married a Cherokee Indian girl. The Harpers moved to Arkansas in 1868. After a brief move to VanZandt County, Texas, they soon returned to Arkansas and spent the rest of their life in Marion and Baxter Counties. They reared six children: Lovie Texana who married Isaac Pangle; Weddie who never married; Earnest; Essie who married Matt Kirkendall and moved to Oklahoma; Ola who married a Partee; Aubrey who married Docia Crownover. Earnest, Essie and Aubrey moved to Oklahoma but Ola Partee has many descendants in Marion and Baxter Counties.
Reprinted with permission from History of Marion County edited by Earl Berry, copyright 1977.