John Richardson Harris was born on October 22, 1790, in Cayuga, New York, the eldest son of John Harris and Mary Richardson. On May 13, 1813, he married Jane Birdsall (1791-1869), the daughter of Lewis Birdsall and Patience Lee. They lived in Waterloo, New York, and Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, and had four children - DeWitt Clinton, Lewis Birdsall, Mary Jane, and John Birdsall. After meeting Moses Austin in Missouri, John R. Harris decided to go to Texas in 1824, leaving his family to return to New York. He quickly gained title to over 4,000 acres of land within present day Harris County at the confluence of Buffalo and Bray's Bayous. With the help of Francis W. Johnson, he laid out the town of Harrisburg, Texas, and constructed a steam sawmill and gristmill. John R. Harris died suddenly of yellow fever on August 21, 1829, while in New Orleans purchasing equipment. His brothers, David, William Plunkett, and Samuel assumed control of his business ventures during the absence of his widow.
With her eldest son, DeWitt Clinton Harris, Jane Harris arrived in Harrisburg, Texas, in 1833. She quickly became a fixture in early Texas as innkeeper and hostess to the provisional government. Forced from her home during the Runaway Scrape, she sought safety in Anahuac and Galveston. She returned soon after the Battle of San Jacinto to find that the town of Harrisburg, including her house, had been destroyed by the Mexican Army. Shortly after the Texas Revolution, her remaining children - Lewis Birdsall, Mary Jane, and John Birdsall - joined their mother in Texas. From 1839 to 1849, Jane Harris owned stock in the Harrisburg Town Company. With a steady supply of patrons from the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railroad and steamboat routes, Jane Harris operated an inn in Harrisburg until her death on August 15, 1869.
The papers consist of two groups: the papers of Jane Harris and the papers of John R. Harris. Correspondence, financial and legal documents, and genealogical notes document the life of Jane Harris. Letters from her daughter, Mary Jane Harris Briscoe, (10) and grandson, Parmenas Briscoe, (7) describe their lives in Mississippi after the death of their husband and father, Andrew Briscoe in 1849. Later letters concern their move to Anderson Texas. Other family correspondence includes letters from Jane's son Lewis, brother Maurice L. Birdsall, and sister Eliza Van Tuyl. Correspondence sent consists of a single letter addressed to
Financial and legal documents detail the short life of John R. Harris. Accounts payable (4) and receivable (50) 1828-1829 record an active business selling merchandise to settlers. Promissory notes, drafts and receipts record the financial transactions of Harris and include several documents to Stephen F. Austin. Legal documents deal primarily with land acquisition in New York, Illinois, and Texas. The estate of John R. Harris consists of financial and legal documents. The majority of the financial documents are receipts. Among the legal papers in the estate of John R. Harris is a 76 page inventory of his estate, records of a land dispute between the heirs of John R. Harris and John Birdsall, David Burnet, and John W. Moore, 1838-1847, and a compromise dated June 5, 1838.
Other related papers from the Adele Briscoe Looscan Collection include the Harris Family Papers, Mary Jane Harris Briscoe Papers, the Birdsall Family Papers, Lewis Birdsall Harris Papers, the William Plunkett Harris Papers, the DeWitt Clinton Harris Papers, and the Adele Briscoe Looscan Papers. All photographs are located in the Adele Briscoe Looscan Papers.
Organized into two groups and seven series; arrangement is alphabetical and chronological.
None.
Open for research by appointment.
Copyright has not been assigned to the San Jacinto Museum of History. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Library Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Jacinto Museum of History as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Mr. and Mrs. George A. Hill, Jr., Houston Public Library, Annie Hume, 1939-1940.
Processed by Sandra Eileen Yates, 2002.
[Identification of Item], John R. and Jane Harris Papers, MC063, San Jacinto Museum of History, Houston, Texas.