John Richardson Harris (October 22, 1790 – August 21, 1829) was an early settler of Mexican Texas and the namesake of
Harris County, Texas
Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas; as of the 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston, ...
. He founded the town of
Harrisburg, Texas and Harris County, Texas is named in his honor.
Family life
John Richardson Harris was born on October 22, 1790 to John and Mary (Richardson) Harris in
Cayuga, New York
Cayuga is a village in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 549 at the 2010 census. The village derives its name from the indigenous Cayuga people and the lake named after them.
The village of Cayuga is in the western part ...
. After serving in the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...
, he married Jane Birdsall, and they took residence near
Waterloo, New York
Waterloo is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 7,338 at the 2020 census. The town and its major community are named after Waterloo, Belgium, where Napoleon was defeated.
There is also a village called Waterl ...
. Their first sons were born there: DeWitt Clinton Harris and Lewis Birdsall Harris. The family migrated to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri in 1819, where Mary Jane Harris and John Birdsall Harris were born.
Gone to Texas
Harris prepared to locate to Texas at the urging of
Moses Austin
Moses Austin (October 4, 1761 – June 10, 1821) was an American businessman and pioneer who played a large part in the development of the lead industry in the early United States. He was the father of Stephen F. Austin, one of the earliest ...
. To prepare for this gamble, he resettled his family in upstate New York. In 1823, he sailed his boat from
to Buffalo Bayou, where he scouted locations for a trading post.
Harris was granted a
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
of land at Buffalo Bayou on 16 August 1824. He contracted for a town plat of Harrisburg in 1826, while he established a trading post and a grist mill there.
[ John Richardson and David Harris founded a second trading post at Bell’s Landing, Texas.][
]
Death and legacy
Harris started building what was the first steam saw mill in Texas. With machine belts needed to complete the project, he sailed to New Orleans. He arrived amidst a yellow fever epidemic and died there on August 21, 1829.[
In 1833, two parties filed claims on the John Harris Richardson estate. Wilson and William Plunkett Harris claimed the real estate and equipment as their own. John Richardson Harris’s widow, Jane Harris, and DeWitt Clinton Harris arrived in Texas for the first time to make a competing claim. In 1836, Augustus Chapman Allen and ]John Kirby Allen
John Kirby Allen (1810 – August 15, 1838), was a co-founder of the city of Houston and a former member of the Republic of Texas House of Representatives. He was born in Canaseraga Village, New York (the present day hamlet of Sullivan in the ...
approached the Harrises to make a bid on the Harrisburg site, but ownership of the property had still not been settled. By 1838, Mary Jane Harris and her family constructed a house on that property and reorganized the town in order to sell lots.[
Harris County, Texas was named for John Richardson Harris.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, John Richardson
1790 births
1829 deaths
Ship owners
Mexican businesspeople
American city founders