Dates: 1870-1876; 1881.

Biography:

F. J. Harris

F. J. Harris was born in Mississippi on August 16, 1846. He was probably Felix J. Harris, son of John and Onie Adaline Harris of Tippah County, Mississippi. The Harris family, including children Cornelius L. (b. ca. 1841), Caroline E. (b. ca. 1844), Susan A. (b. ca. 1846), Mary A. (b. ca. 1849), and Samuel (b. ca. 1852), resided in Tippah County and were engaged in farming.

During the Civil War, F. J. Harris enlisted as a private in the Second Regiment, Mississippi Calvary, in Tippah County. However, the date of his enlistment is uncertain. Harris took an oath of allegiance to the United States government in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, on March 31, 1865, and subsequently returned to Mississippi.

Harris married S. L. E. Hobson of Mississippi on January 5, 1865. The couple had six children: Lee Anderson (b. October 14, 1866), Kittie Angelia (b. October 10, 1867), John O. (b. April 6, 1869), Felix E. (b. March 6, 1872), Sarah (b. December 18, 1873), and Adda “Addie” Emma (b. August 26, 1875). Harris and his family were residing in Benton County, Mississippi, and engaged in farming in 1880. Active in Benton County politics, Harris was elected as a justice of the peace on November 4, 1879, and as a district supervisor on November 4, 1879. F. J. Harris died on August 26, 1911.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection consists of an account book of F. J. Harris of Tippah and Benton counties, Mississippi, which contains individual account entries, genealogical information, writings, and drawings. The individual account entries date from 1870 to 1881 and suggest that Harris may have operated a plantation store. The entries are arranged by the name of each worker and note the date that work commenced, the wage agreed upon for the work, and the amount of time worked. The entries also record cash and commodities, such as cotton seed and tobacco, which were advanced to each worker. Some of the early entries relate to O. A. Harris and may concern the management of her property in Tippah County.

There are two pages of genealogical information that are in reverse order from the remainder of the account book. They appear to be in the same hand as the account entries. These pages contain birth, marriage, and death information about Harris and his wife and children. The writings consist of an untitled sermon, notes on selected Bible verses, and quotations from unknown sources. The sermon and the notes are in a different hand than the quotations. The pen-and-ink drawings appear on the inside front cover of the account book and were perhaps done by a child. It is uncertain if the images represent real people.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Account Book. 1870-1881. 1 bound volume.

Box 1