My Genealogy Hound

Judge Henry H. Harris, Melbourne, Ark. There is one man within the limits of this county whose name, it might be said, is a household word with the people in the vicinity, for his long residence here and his intimate association with its various material and official affairs, have gained for him an extensive acquaintance. Such a man is Henry H. Harris, judge of the county court of Izard County. He owes his nativity to Independence County, Ark., where his birth occurred on the 18th of January, 1826, and is the son of James A. Harris, a native of Georgia, who moved to Arkansas in 1820, and was there married, in 1822, to Miss Elizabeth Finley, also a native of Georgia. They first moved to Lawrence County, but a short time afterward went to Independence County and located east of Batesville, where they were the neighbors of John Miller, Sr. To their union were born two children, the Judge being the only one living. Mrs. Harris died in 1827, and Mr. Harris took for his second wife Miss Ester Ruddle, of Arkansas, in 1828. One child (deceased) was the result of this union. Mrs. Harris died in 1830, and Mr. Harris was again united in marriage to Miss Ann Carter, of Virginia, by whom he had four children, all deceased after arriving at maturity. The third Mrs. Harris died in 1846, and Mr. Harris’ fourth marriage was to Miss Ellen Holoman, who bore him one child (deceased). After living in Independence County and tilling the soil until 1834, Mr. Harris moved to Izard County, and settled on White River, in Kickapoo Bottom, which is known as Harris Bottom, and now in Stone County. He here purchased 160 acres of land and improved a farm of about 100 acres in the Bottom. In 1840 he was elected sheriff, serving in that capacity for two years, and at a time when it required some little courage to successfully fill that position, as Col. Lewis had recently left with his Cherokee Indians, and everything was wild and unsettled. Later he was elected county and probate judge, which position he filled in a creditable manner for two years. He was very successful as a farmer, and popular as an officer. He had acquired considerable property, and owned at the time of his death, which occurred in 1848, several negroes, besides a good improved farm. Of all the children born to James A. Harris, Judge Harris is the only one now living. During his boyhood days he assisted on the farm and received his education in the subscription schools of the county, but later supplemented this by a course at Mount View, where he paid 50 cents a week for board. Though not a graduate of any school, the Judge is quite a scholar, and is held in the highest respect by all for his sterling integrity, sober, sound judgment, broad intelligence and liberal progressive ideas. His decisions are not made without care and painstaking, and all feel that he can be relied upon. At the age of eighteen he ventured out in life for himself and first engaged in the calling to which he had been reared, but in connection was also a horse drover and trader. He was married on the 22d of November, 1849, to Miss Lucy A. Dillard, a native of the Old Dominion, but reared in the State of Arkansas. To them were born nine children, seven now living: Virginia E. (wife of Dr. D. T. Powell, of Thayer, Mo.), James A., Arkansas (widow of A. J. Rainey, of Powhatan), George D., Henry H. Jr., Ruth L. (wife of S. R. Hinkle, of Melbourne), and R. D. In 1852 he was elected county and circuit clerk of Izard County, served for two years, and, in 1856, was elected the second time to the same position, holding that office until 1860. He was then elected county and probate judge, served about a year, and then sent in his resignation from Bowling Green, Ky., where he had joined the Confederate army, Company G, Eighth Arkansas Infantry. He served east of the Mississippi River and was wounded in the battle of Shiloh, after which he came home to remain there three or four months. After this he went east and served until the close of the war. He was a daring and fearless soldier and participated in some of the closest engagements. He was at Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, also Franklin, where he was wounded the second time, and was from Dalton, Ga., to Jonesboro, of the same State. Aside from these he was in many minor engagements. He surrendered at Meridian, Miss., in 1865, and returned to his home, where he continued farming for some time. He was then employed to carry the mail and followed this for seven years, after which he embarked in mercantile pursuits, and was thus occupied from 1871 to 1872, when he moved to La Crosse, and there continued the same business for two years. In March, 1877, he was again elected clerk of this county and served for seven years. From 1884 to 1886 he was deputy clerk, and in the last named year he was elected county and probate judge, being re-elected in 1888. The Judge and wife have reared a family of which they may well be proud, for they are all honorable men and women. Politically, the Judge is a very decided Democrat, and was one among the prominent men of his county that the reconstruction act did not leave out in the cold. He was then, as he is now, among the most prominent men, and is desirous of the welfare of his county. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, also the I. O. O. F., and he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.