Harrie Vernette (Rhodes) Harper (1871 - 1953)

Born 14 Oct 1871 in Lansing, Tompkins County, New York, USA

Ancestors

Wife of Chester Wayland Brown — married 25 Sep 1890 (to 1903) in Little Falls, Morrison County, Minnesota

Died 27 Jun 1953 at age 81 in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota

Biography

Harrie Vernette Rhodes was born October 14, 1871 in Lansing, Tompkins County, New York. She was the daughter of John Henry Rhodes and Ellen Vernette (Perrigo) Rhodes.

When Harrie was one year old, she traveled with her mother to Minnesota to join her father.

They stopped at the Babbitts in Coldwater on the way. When they arrived in Minneapolis, her mother went to a hotel, got a room way up on top, and was forgotten. When John Henry came looking, no one knew where she was for several days. Harrie went to the NE Conservatory for a year at 18, and later when she lived in Jackson, MI she studied music at the University of Michigan. When in her later years, she found she could help people by ‘laying on of the hands’ and had a wide following in Minneapolis until she died. ^[1]

She married September 25, 1890 to Chester Wayland Brown (1868-1951). They were in Little Falls, Minnesota first and then settled in Jackson, Michigan. They had five children: Henry, Lillian, Harry, Chester and Kirkley who died as an infant.

She divorced Chester Brown about 1903 and then married L. K. Harper. They had a child, James Rhodes Harper. They divorced and she married Charles Bates. ^[2]

Her great-granddaughter, Karen, explained that Bates was a wealthy oilman until the great depression. She said her mother (the daughter of Lillian) remembered being picked up by his chauffeured limo. Both of Karen’s parents spoke of Harrie’s healing abilities which they said were remarkable. Her father was cured of his migraines in minutes. Harrie never charged for her services; instead, people paid what they could in tips. Her living room would fill with patients each day. Her daughter Lillian followed in her steps, becoming a licensed chiropractor. ^[3]

By 1946, Harrie was an author of religious literature: “The Raft,” a story of life beyond; “Lyrics of Life and Love,” a book of poetry, and the “The Rainbow Series” of seven religious pamphlets. ^[4]

Harrie died June 27, 1953 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is buried as Harrie Harper in Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. ^{[5] [6]}

This profile is a collaborative work-in-progress. Can anyone contribute more?

Sources

1. ↑ Family history files of Margaret Rohde, Marblehead, MA; correspondence April 1987 to Louise Bement, Lansing Town Historian, Lansing, Tompkins County, New York.
2. ↑ Family history files of Margaret Rohde, referenced above.
3. ↑ Contributed via email from Karen Montgomery to Dee Poole, 26 Aug 2018.
4. ↑ Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Wednesday, June 5, 1946.
5. ↑ Minnesota, Death Index, 1908-2002; online database, Ancestry.co Operations, Inc., Provo, UT.
6. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #33237423