Author: HARPER, Alexander
Biography:
HARPER, Alexander (1782-1854: ancestry.co.uk)
Little information about his life has been found but he was the son of Alexander Harper and his wife Isobel Leslie of Inverkeithny, Banffshire. He was baptised on 18 Feb. 1782. By the time Ryando and Helmina was published in 1810, he was a soldier in the 2nd battalion of the Royal Artillery. He married Anne Alexander on 18 Nov. 1828 and worked as a farmer at Gellymill, near Banff. It is not known if they had any children. By the time of the 1851 Census they were living in Huntly, Banffshire. He died on 19 Dec. 1854 at Huntly; the death notice in the Christian News records that as “A. H.” he had been a regular contributor of verse to the newspaper. Other publications include Summer Excursions in the Neighbourhood of Banff (1843) and Fruits of Solitary Hours (1852). “The Twa Roads” (1803) is attributed to him but has not been located. (ancestry.co.uk 17 Feb. 2022; Christian News 6 Jan. 1855); BBA) SR