Henry Harris is my 4xgreat-grandfather. He was born 15 May 1781 in Greensville County, Virginia to Absolom Harris (1752-1824) and Elizabeth Lowe Tarver Harris (1749-1784), but then, the names of his parents vary with the sources. To complicate matters further, he marries 1) Mary Elizabeth Harris, his cousin. Both of them descend from Revolutionary War soldiers, probably several of them. Our (we descendants of Martha Jane Slaton DuBois) connection is: Henry Harris Slaton DuBois<Martha Jane Slaton<Nancy Harris<Henry Harris.
There was a time when I thought I had the Harris genealogy down, cold. I “published” a web page which impressively touted many sources. Then, a few years ago, I was asked to take down much of what was on the website because, after DNA results were gotten, some of my ancestors were allegedly no longer my ancestors.
So, here is what I am fairly certain of: Henry Harris was born of the date and place above, and he married 1) Mary Elizabeth Harris (both her maiden and married name), and 2) Mary Sasnett. He moved to Hancock County, Georgia, and thereafter, Meriwether County, Georgia where he is buried and where his will was probated giving a sizable estate to his heirs, both children and grandchildren. One of the named grandchildren was Martha Slaton who married Dr. Rufus DuBois, parents of my grandfather Rev. Henry Harris Slaton DuBois.
Henry Harris was the progenitor of many politicians, lawyers and judges and at least one governor, and certainly a lot of slave-owning wealthy families. It is very possibly from him or his son-in-law John Slaton that I have a DNA connection with several people descended from enslaved ancestors.
“Back in the day,” meaning, mostly, the 1960s-80s, being descended from this man was honorable. He was included in many lineages presented to and accepted by the Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution, along with his first and second wives, all three of whom were descended from Revolutionary War soldiers, all Patriots.
It is when you go back into his and his wife Mary Elizabeth Harris’ lineages where it becomes murky. So many people of the same name married so many other people of the same name, over and over. It is very likely Henry or his wife’s ancestors were in Jamestown, Virginia very early on, possibly pre-dating the Mayflower. Jamestown was settled in 1607, while the Mayflower did not arrive in New England until 1620. Just sayin,’ in case you wish to one-up those snooty Mayflower descendants. But who is counting?
There is a PhD thesis on “The Five Thomas Harrises of Henrico County” where the writer demonstrates that already in the 17th century county were five distinct Thomas Harrises. He proves this through land records, wills, and such, and concludes that it is impossible to untangle them. My conclusion is that one or two of them, if not more, are “ours.” But who are not said to be our ancestors are those descended from Captain Thomas Harris who came to Jamestown in 1613 and who is the second son of Sir William Harris of royal lineage. Why not? DNA evidence, apparently.
There is a “Harris Project” started maybe thirty years ago where all persons named Harris and those related argued for years who descended from whom, but when DNA started being traced, I was one who was contacted by a serious DNA researcher to take down my impressive web pages because they were not supported by the DNA. Or, at least, some of the pages were not. Problem for us both is that it is impossible to take them down. Oh well.
There is another problem for those who have fancy lineage charts dating to the early- to mid-19th century and going back to Charlemagne or at least Sir William Harris. You know who you are… (I got my very impressive looking one from the University of Virginia library’s private collection. I had to wear white gloves to handle the original.)
In the Victorian-era South, it was fashionable to have charts done of one’s ancestors. A well-known genealogist, for sizeable sums allegedly, produced books and charts seeming to connect his wealthy clients back to royalty. However, in the late 20th century, he was found to be a fraud, inventing some of his “proof”. So many people relied on his information that they did not preserve their own family records such as Bible records. This is a problem because, thanks to Sherman’s infamous march to the sea, many, many courthouses were destroyed, and along with them, land and probate records which could have proven what many wished to know.
The result of the fraud was that scores of people had their DAR lineages decertified and they were left to proving lineages on their own, which many or most cannot do. So, if you are a DuBois descendant, you likely should put away those fancy lineage charts. And you won’t get into the DAR or SAR unless you have Mary Eleanor Warford, Lois Thompson Warford, or Hubert B. Warford as a parent. They have more easily certifiable Rev. War Patriots.
Does anyone still care about this?
I will say this about Henry Harris: he looks mighty handsome in his portrait.
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