1233I grew up in the Fraser Valley not far from Bellingham. We went there quite often. My parents had a place on Whidbey Island until a few years ago when ill health inspired them to sell. I live on the Sunshine Coast in Gibsons (and yes, if you're of that generation, the home of The Beachcombers).

Regarding Emma Harper. My father, who is 85, always said her family led back to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and also Daniel Boone. I haven't had the time to pursue the Harper line yet, but will some day (my approach to family history is akin to a shotgun blast). You have informed me that she was one of 17 children. She married an older man, Rev. William B. Cochran, who had already been married and had two children. A very good write-up on the good reverend exists in the USGenWeb pages of Lawrence County Missouri. I have pulled the names of their six children off the International Genealogical Index: Hugh Francis Cochran (b. Aug. 2, 1891), Anne Ruth Cochran (b. Aug. 18, 1893), William B. Cochran (b. June 24, 1895 - my grandfather), Robert Allen Cochran (b. Dec. 10, 1896), Blanche Clementine Cochran (b. Oct. 18, 1898), and Charles Harper Cochran (b. Dec, 12, 1901). I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this information, and as you know, there is a lot of incorrect information being published online. I have connected with descendents of Robert, Blanche and Ruth, only online, and not recently (too busy!). My father recently recalled how his grandmother took the train from Aurora Missouri to Harrison Arkansas to take care of the family who were all down with measles. Other than that, I don't have a lot of oral history on Emma. My second cousin did speculate that she might have come into Rev. Cochran's home as a housekeeper, because she was always known as an immaculate housekeeper. Who knows, it was a May-December marriage, maybe he spotted her in the choir!
Cheers!