George E. Harris

{{Infobox officeholder

| image = File:GeorgeEHarris.jpg

| caption = Harris, {{circa}} 1860–1875

| order1 = 16th

| office1 = Attorney General of Mississippi

| term_start1 = January 4, 1874

| term_end1 = January 1878

| governor1 = Adelbert Ames
John M. Stone

| predecessor1 = Joshua S. Morris

| successor1 = Thomas C. Catchings

| state2 = Mississippi

| district2 = 1st

| term_start2 = February 23, 1870

| term_end2 = March 3, 1873

| preceded2 = vacant (secession)

| succeeded2 = Lucius Q. C. Lamar

| birth_name = George Emrick Harris

| birth_date = {{birth date|1827|1|6|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Orange, North Carolina, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age |1911|3|19|1827|1|6}}

| death_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.

| resting_place = Oak Hill Cemetery
Washington, D.C., U.S.

| party = Republican

| spouse = {{marriage|Harriet Seton McAllister|||reason=died}}

| children = 7

| allegiance = {{flag|Confederate States}}

| branch = {{army|CSA}}

| rank = Lieutenant colonel

| battles = American Civil War

}}

George Emrick Harris (January 6, 1827 – March 19, 1911) was an American lawyer, Civil War veteran and politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Mississippi from 1870 to 1873.

Early life

George Emrick Harris was born on January 6, 1827, in Orange County, North Carolina. He moved to Tennessee and later Mississippi. He attended common schools and studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1854.{{Cite web |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/H000238 |title=Harris, George Emrick |work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress |access-date=2023-12-21}}

Career

Harris practiced law. He entered the Confederate States Army and served as lieutenant colonel until the close of the Civil War.

= Political career =

Harris was elected district attorney in 1865 and re-elected in 1866. Upon the readmission of the Mississippi to representation in the Union, he was elected as a Republican to the Forty-first and Forty-second Congresses and served from February 23, 1870, to March 3, 1873.

He succeeded Joshua Morris as the second Republican Mississippi Attorney General from 1873 to 1877 and was the last Republican elected to the position until the election of Lynn Fitch in 2019.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-weekly-mississippi-pilot-republican/133436271/https://www.newspapers.com/image/895103366/?match=1&terms==election%20results%20joshua%20morris%20attorney%20general

He wrote books on legal subjects.

= Death and burial =

Harris married Harriet Seton McAllister, daughter of Ward McAllister. They had seven children, including George McAllister. His wife predeceased him.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-call-and-post-noted-mi/137165677/ |title=Noted Mississippian is Dead at Age of 84 |date=1911-03-26 |newspaper=The San Francisco Call |page=33 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2023-12-21}}{{Open access}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-washington-post-will-of-mrs-h-s-h/137165830/ |title=Will of Mrs. H. S. Harris Filed |date=1906-02-04 |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2023-12-21}}{{Open access}}

Harris died on March 19, 1911, in Washington, D.C. At the time of his death, he lived at the Ruppert Home for the Aged and Indigent.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-washington-times-statesman-leaves-im/137165747/ |title=Statesman Leaves Imaginary Estate to Ruppert Home |date=1911-06-15 |newspaper=The Washington Times |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2023-12-21}}{{Open access}} He was interred in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.