Harpe Brothers

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The Harpe Brothers were murderous outlaws who operated in Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois in the late 1700's. Unlike most outlaws, their crimes were motivated more by blood lust than financial gain. There are so many versions of their story that it was difficult to separate fact from the legends of 150 years ago.

The Harpes are believed to have been brothers, born in North Carolina. Micajah, "Big Harpe", was born around 1768. Wiley, "Little Harpe", was born around 1770. It was said that their parents were Tories who fought along side the British during the Revolutionary War. For a time they lived with renegade Creek and Cherokee Indians, who were committing atrocities not only against whites, but also against their own tribes.

Big Harpe had two wives: Susan and Betsey Roberts. Little Harpe married Sally Rice.

In 1797 the Harpes were living near Knoxville, Tennessee. They were driven from there on the accusation of stealing hogs and horses. They were also accused of murdering a man named Johnson, whose body was found in a river, ripped open and weighted with stones. This was to become a characteristic of Harpe murders.

From Knoxville they fled north into Kentucky. They entered the state on the Wilderness Road, near the Cumberland Gap. They are believed to have murdered a peddler named Peyton, taking his horse and some of his goods. They then murdered two travelers from Maryland.

In 1798, Big Harpe was shot in the head by a victim of his atrocities, Moses Stigall. Stigall then decapitated Harpe and stuck his head on a pole, at the location still known as "Harpe's Head," on the border of Hopkins, and Webster county, Kentucky. His brother, Little Harpe, eluded the authorities for some time, until finally being caught in an effort to get a ransom of his own on the head of outlaw Samuel Mason. He was eventually killed as well {Hanged 1800}.

After the atrocities committed by the Harpes, many members bearing the family name changed their name in some way to dusguise their family heritage. Wyatt Earp is a famous example said to have been a member of the Harpe family.

There are still descendants of the family today, including those that have changed their surname back to the original spelling. Included is E. Donald Harpe, who also authored a fictional account on the subject of Micajah and Wiley, entitled "Born Wolf, Die Wolf."