Michael Harper (1858–1924), Louisburgh
great-great-grandfather
Birth: 1858-09-29 · Louisburgh, Co. Mayo
Death: 1924-03-02 · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Burial: 1924-03-05 · Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh
Name variants: Mick Harper; Michl. Harper
Michael Harper was born in September 1858 and baptised a few days later in Louisburgh, the son of Patrick Harper and Bridget Walsh (S1). He grew up on the family farm and, as the eldest son, could have inherited it; instead, at twenty-one, he took the coach to Castlebar and the train to Queenstown.
He sailed in April 1880 and landed at Castle Garden in New York (S4). By the June census he was boarding in Pittsburgh's Sixth Ward and working as a labourer at a rolling mill (S14). Four years later he married Catherine 'Kate' Doyle at St. Patrick's church; their wedding portrait, with the inscription on the back, is one of the oldest photographs in the archive (S3).
Michael worked in the mills of the Strip District for nearly forty years and rose to be a roller. He and Kate raised three children in a narrow brick house in Lawrenceville. He died in March 1924; the obituary calls him 'a native of the County Mayo and a man well liked on Butler Street' (S10). He is buried with Kate at Calvary Cemetery (S19).
Sources
- S1. Baptism register of Louisburgh parish, 1858 — Copy in the archive
- S3. Photo: Michael and Kate Harper on their wedding day, 1884 — Copy in the archive
- S4. Passenger list, Queenstown to New York, April 1880 — Original
- S10. Obituary of Michael Harper, 1924 — Copy in the archive
- S14. United States census of 1880, Pittsburgh, Sixth Ward — Original
- S19. Gravestone of Michael and Catherine Harper, Calvary Cemetery — Copy in the archive
