Merriman Colbert Harris (July 9, 1846 – May 8, 1921) was a Missionary Bishop of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

, elected in 1904, who was active in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Japan. Google Books website, ''Japan's Modern Prophet: Uchimura Kanzô, 1861-1930'', by John F. Howes
/ref>

Birth and family

Merriman was born July 9, 1846, in Beallsville, Ohio, the son of Colbert and Catherine Elizabeth (Crupper) Harris. Merriman married Flora L. BestHymn Time website, ''Flora Lydia Best Harris, 1850–1909''
/ref> on October 23, 1873, in

Meadville, Pennsylvania Meadville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,050 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Meadville is withi ...

. They had two daughters, Florence and Elizabeth.

Military service and education

Merriman served for three years as a soldier in the 12th Ohio CavalryCase Western Reserve University website, ''12th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry''
/ref> in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

(1863–65), attaining the rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

. Following the end of the war, he attended the Washington Academy in Ohio, and the Harlem Springs Seminary. He then attended Scio College, earning the B.A. degree (1873) and the M.A. degree (1877) from

Allegheny College Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college in Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1815, Allegheny is the oldest college in continuous existence under the same name west of the Allegheny Mountains. It is a member of the G ...

Ordained ministry and missionary service

Merriman entered the ministry of the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Annual Conference of the

in 1869, serving as a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

and a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

. He was sent to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in 1873 and was stationed at

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

on the northern island of

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

. During his first stay in Japan, his converts included Kanzo Uchimura, Inazo Nitobe, and Akira Sato. Flora Harris helped to found the Iai Joshi Women's Academy in Hakodate. She also carried out translation work, as well as writing over 30 hymns. He left Japan in 1892, and established Japanese missions on the Pacific Coast of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in areas with large numbers of Japanese emigrants. He became the Superintendent of Japanese missions in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, in 1886. He also served as Superintendent of all

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...

Methodist Japanese missions, including the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

, in 1890. During this period, Yosuke Matsuoka was one of his converts.

Episcopal ministry

Merriman Colbert Harris was elected a Missionary Bishop by the 1904 General Conference of the M.E. Church. He was assigned

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and Japan, where he remained until his death. As a Missionary Bishop he served with distinction. He was twice decorated with the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

by the

Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

. In 1919, ten years after the death of his first wife, Flora, he remarried his late wife's first cousin, Elizabeth Best, and lived within the grounds of Aoyama Gakuin, in a home given to him by his Japanese converts. He died May 8, 1921, in

Aoyama, Tokyo is a neighborhood in Tokyo, located in the northwest portion of Minato, Tokyo, Minato Ward. The area is known for its international fashion houses, cafes and restaurants. refers to the area on the north side of Aoyama-dori (Aoyama Street) betw ...

and his grave is at the Aoyama Cemetery.

Selected writings

*Address: ''Japanese Buddhism,'' San Francisco, 1887. Typed, in '' Methodist Bishops' Collection.'' *''Christianity in Japan,'' 1907.ABE Books, ''Christianity in Japan''
/ref> *''Save Korea,'' Quarterly-Centennial Documents, 1910. *Contributor, Japan Proverbs. *Statement in ''Competent Witnesses on Korea as a Mission Field,'' Korea Documents, with others.

References

* Leete, Frederick DeLand, Methodist Bishops. Nashville, The Methodist Publishing House, 1948. * Methodism: Ohio Area (1812–1962), edited by John M. Versteeg, Litt.D., D.D. (Ohio Area Sesquicentennial Committee, 1962). * Price, Carl F., Compiler and Editor: Who's Who in American Methodism, New York: E.B. Treat & Co., 1916. * The National Cyclopædia of American Biography, Volume XIV. New York, James T. White & Company, 1910. * The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Bishop Harris, 73, Weds: M. E. Missionary Weds Late Wife's Cousin; Bride, 53, Is Old Friend," Philadelphia, Nov. 13, 1919. {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Merriman Colbert Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church Union army soldiers People from Beallsville, Ohio 1846 births 1921 deaths Methodist writers Methodist missionaries in Japan American Methodist missionaries Methodist missionaries in Hawaii American expatriates in Japan Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure Burials at Aoyama Cemetery

Birth and family

Military service and education

Ordained ministry and missionary service

Episcopal ministry

Selected writings

See also

References