Betsey Scott Harper: The Story of an Auburn First Family
From Harris County, Georgia to Auburn, Alabama, a family’s story of love and courage.
Written by Dr. Terrance Vickerstaff. Illustration by Laura Murray.
The Story of Major Harper and Betsey Scott
This presentation commemorates the enslaved people of Pebble Hill and other Scott properties and it focuses on Major and Betsey Harper, the patriarch and matriarch of the African-American Harper family and their journey from enslavement to freedom.
Download a PDF of the presentation.
The marriage certificate of Major Harper and Betsey Scott marks the time when this emancipated couple legally codified a sacred union that was already sealed prior to 1865 but was not recognized by the laws of Alabama or the nation. Additionally, the certificate evokes the question “how did Major Harper and Betsy Scott meet? We can never be one-hundred percent certain about the circumstances that brought them together due to the lack of personal documents like diaries and letters that might provide the missing details. The best we can do is to examine primary sources and information provided by the descendants of Major and Betsey Harper within the historical context of antebellum slavery. We reviewed primary sources and information from descendants and found that the kinship ties between the slaveholding families of Nathaniel J. Scott and Judge Harper likely made it possible for Major and Betsey to meet.