September 1989

About Edwin N. Harris's

Harpending's Corners

by

Bill Treichler

Harpending's Corners was the name of Dundee until 1834. The village was named for Sam Harpending, an early settler there.

Mr. Harris chose the village's early name for the title of his book that combines sketches of Dundee history and his own vivid recollections of growing up there in the 1920s and 30s. He was born in the farmhouse built by his great grandfather Israel Dillistin on the farm his great-great grandfather, Levi Price, settled on in 1811. The farm is along the Pre-Emption Road a few miles south of Dundee.

Ed Harris grew up there amid family, relatives, and neighbors, all of whom influenced his attitudes and are now characters in his stories. He went to school in Dundee where he made life-long friends .

After going to business school in Rochester, Mr. Harris worked in the construction industry. His particular field was concrete, and he became an authority on Portland cement comcrete. For one period he ran a ready-mix plant and, later, until his retirement, was branch manager of the Construction Products Division of W. R. Grace & Company in western New York. Since that time he has been able to devote time to writing and among other stories and articles has produced this book. He is a regular member of the Jo-Ho's genealogy research group and has contributed articles to the Schuyler County Historical Society Journal.

Edwin and Esther Weichenthal Harris have been married now for fifty years. Harpending's Corners was written with their six grandchildren very much in mind.

CLR Blog | Site Map | Contact CLR