Born seven miles west of
Massillon, Ohio, Harris attended the common and select schools,
Washington College (Pennsylvania), Norwalk (Ohio) Seminary, and
Western Reserve College, then at
Hudson, Ohio. He studied law. He was
admitted to the bar in 1849 and commenced practice in
Columbus, Ohio. He moved to
Bucyrus, Ohio, the same year and continued the practice of law. He became law partner of
Josiah Scott from 1850 to Scott's death in 1879, except that time Scott was on the
Ohio Supreme Court. He served as mayor of Bucyrus 1852, 1853, 1861, and 1862. Deputy United States marshal in 1861. He served as president of the
Ohio State Bar Association in 1893 and 1894. Harris was elected as a
Republican to the
Fifty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1895 - March 4, 1897). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1896 to the
Fifty-fifth Congress. He engaged in the practice of law in
Bucyrus, Ohio, until his death there January 15, 1905. He was interred in Oakwood Cemetery. Harris was married September 15, 1853 to Mary Jane Monnett, who died in 1888, with two sons and two daughters surviving her. ==Sources==