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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Columbia County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1890.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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Pleasant James Harriss, farmer, Waldo, Ark. Among the agriculturists of this county, so many of whom are mentioned in these pages, is Mr. Harriss, the owner and proprietor of a landed estate of 490 acres, 100 acres of which are under cultivation. He was originally from Georgia, his birth occurring in Morgan County October 27, 1832, and is a son of Samuel and Gracie (Butler) Harriss, the former born in Virginia in 1805 and the latter in Morgan County, Ga. The father emigrated from Meriwether County, Ga., to this county in 1849, and was one of the very first settlers. He had to cut his own road in the county, and spent many years in clearing his farm. It was necessary to grind the corn for bread on a hand-mill; the nearest post office was twelve miles distant and the nearest trading post was at Camden, forty miles distant. Bears, deer, wolves and panthers were numerous, and our subject took a great delight in hunting. To the marriage of Samuel Harriss were born four sons and four daughters, all of whom lived to be grown. The paternal grandfather, Graves Harriss, was a native of the Old Dominion, and was of English origin. He was a man of learning, and was deeply interested in the cause of education. Pleasant James Harriss attained his growth in Georgia, and remained there until eighteen years of age, when he came to Arkansas with his parents. He remained under the parental roof until twenty-one years of age, and in 1853 was married to Miss Phillaclea Ann Hudson, a native of Georgia, born in 1833. Their seven children are named as follows: Antoinette (wife of Ed Skinner), Emma (wife of Cal. Skinner), Jimmie A. (wife of Thomas Skinner), Anna (wife of Matthew Hayes), Thomas, Robert and Susan. Mr. Harriss enlisted in the Confederate army in February, 1862, Company C, Nineteenth Arkansas Regiment Infantry, and served all through the war. He was in the siege of Vicksburg, was taken prisoner at that place, but was immediately paroled and came home. He has been a resident of this county since 1849, and a resident of his present farm since the war. This is located two and a half miles southwest of Waldo, and is a fine place. Mr. Harriss is a member of the Farmers’ Alliance, and he and wife are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. Politically he has ever been a Democrat, and Buchanan was the first President for whom he cast a vote. The parents of Mrs. Harriss, John R. and Martha E. (Banks) Hudson, were natives of Virginia, the father born in 1805, and the mother in 1815. The parents emigrated to Arkansas, and landed at Camden, Ouachita County, in February, 1849. The father died in Columbia County, Ark., in July, 1882, but the mother is still living, and is a worthy member of the Methodist Protestant Church. Their family consisted of six sons and five daughters, of whom Mrs. Harriss is the eldest. She remained in Georgia until fifteen years of age, and then moved with her parents to Arkansas.

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This family biography is one of 106 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Columbia County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Columbia County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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