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Citation:  [Identification of Item], Lewis Birdsall Harris Papers, MC066, San Jacinto Museum of History, Houston, Texas.

Creator Sketch:

Lewis Birdsall Harris was born in Waterloo, New York on July 1, 1816, the third child of John R. Harris and Jane Birdsall.  When his mother left New York for Texas in 1833, he remained at the home of his grandparents until the spring of 1836.  Although he arrived in Texas on April 21^st, he quickly joined the Texian Army.  Harris later held government positions as a clerk for both Andrew Briscoe and DeWitt Clinton Harris and served in the military including participating in the Somervell Expedition.  In 1849 Harris joined the rush for California.  He eventually settled in Sacramento, where he served as county clerk. 

Lewis B. Harris was a prolific correspondent and wrote frequently to his relations in New York and Texas.  He maintained a journal from 1836 to 1842 describing his journey from New York to Texas and his life in Texas.   Harris married Jane E. Wilcox in 1846.  In 1854, he married Amanda C. Dell, and had two children: Lewis B. Harris, Jr. and Gordon B. Harris.  Lewis B. Harris died in San Diego, California, on June 12, 1893.

Bibliography:

“HARRIS, LEWIS BIRDSALL.”  The Handbook of Texas Online.

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/HH/fha87.html

"Journal of Lewis Birdsall Harris, 1836 - 1842," Southwest Historical Quarterly 25 (July, October 1921, January 1922).

Scope and Content Note:

Financial documents, correspondence, and legal papers briefly record the life of Lewis Birdsall Harris.  Statements of account (4) and tax receipts (2) document Harris's financial transactions.  Of interest are 3 records concerning the rental and eventual purchase of Mary, a 24 year old black woman, by Henry F. Fisher in 1849, the year Harris left Texas for California.  Correspondence includes 2 letters received by Harris, one from his nephew J. S. Birdsall in Oregon in 1871asking for financial assistance.  Three letters written by Harris from California in 1851 are addressed to "friends" -- probably his Texas relatives.  Legal documents include 2 records signed by Harris as county clerk in Harrisburg County and a deed to lots in Harrisburg sold to Harris by Johnson Hunter.

Archivist's Note:

Other related papers from the Adele Briscoe Looscan Collection include the John R. and Jane B. Harris Papers, the Harris Family Papers,  Mary Jane Harris Briscoe Papers, the DeWitt Clinton Harris Papers, the William Plunkett Harris Papers, the Abram and Emily Van Tuyl Papers, the Andrew Briscoe Papers, the Parmenas Briscoe Papers, and the Adele Briscoe Looscan Papers. 

All photographs are located in the Adele Briscoe Looscan  Papers.  There is a excellent daguerrotype of Lewis Birdsall Harris and Mary Jane Harris Briscoe.

LEWIS BIRDSALL HARRIS PAPERS, 1838-1871 (Bulk:  1838 - 1849)

Manuscript Collection:  MC066

Size:  19 items

Boxes:  n/a

Inventory