Charles Harris (1772 – March 17, 1827) was a British-born lawyer who emigrated to the United States. He served two-and-a-half terms as mayor of Savannah, Georgia. He was also a slave owner. Savannah's

Harris Street Harris Street is the main thoroughfare in the Inner West suburbs of Pyrmont and Ultimo in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It runs from the northern tip of the Pyrmont peninsula to Broadway in the central business district. Harris Stree ...

is named for him, as is

Harris County, Georgia Harris County is a County (United States), county located in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia; its western border with the state of Alabama is formed by the Chattahoochee River. As of the 2020 United St ...

Life and career

Harris was born in England in 1772 to William Harris, a barrister and first cousin to

Lord Malmesbury Earl of Malmesbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1800 for the diplomat James Harris, 1st Baron Malmesbury. The son of the grammarian and politician James Harris, he served as Ambassador to Spain, Prussia, Russia ...

, and Elizabeth Dymock. After being educated in France, he emigrated to the United States at the age of sixteen, settling in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, where he studied law under

Samuel Stirk Samuel Stirk (1756 – 1793) was an English attorney from Savannah, Province of Georgia, in the 18th century. He was a lieutenant colonel of the Georgia Militia and a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. By the time of his death, aged 36 o ...

. He opened is own practice in 1793. In 1798, he married Catherine McCauley McIntosh, youngest daughter of

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

hero Lachlan McIntosh. They had three known children: Sarah Elizabeth (1809), Catherine Virginia (1811) and McIntosh (1814). Sarah died at the age of 20 or 21, Catherine died aged four, and McIntosh after eighteen days. After serving as an alderman in 1801, Harris served as mayor of Savannah from 1802 to 1804 and from 1807 to 1808, two-and-a-half terms in total. He was also twice elected to the Judgeship of the Eastern Circuit, but declined on both occasions. Catherine died in 1815, aged 35 or 36, which partly precipitated Harris' semi-retirement from public affairs. After the Savannah fire of January 1820, which destroyed all properties between

Bay Street Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial services industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James Stree ...

and

Broughton Street Broughton Street is a prominent street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located between Congress Street to the north and State Street to the south, it runs for about from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the west to East Broad Stre ...

and between Jefferson Street and

Abercorn Street Abercorn Street is a prominent street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located between Drayton Street to the west and Lincoln Street to the east, it runs for about from East Bay Street in the north to Harry S. Truman Parkway (State Rout ...

, he offered his property as a shelter for those made homeless.

Death and legacy

Harris died on March 17, 1827, aged 54 or 55. He is interred in the Lachlan McIntosh family vault in Savannah's

Colonial Park Cemetery Colonial Park Cemetery (locally and informally, Colonial Cemetery) is a historic cemetery located in downtown Savannah, Georgia. It became a city park in 1896, At the time of his death, Harris owned seven slaves and kept another seventeen at his plantation on Skidaway Island. Savannah's

was named for him, as is

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Charles 1772 births 1827 deaths English emigrants to the United States Politicians from Savannah, Georgia Mayors of Savannah, Georgia British slave owners