Nathaniel Edwin Harris (January 21, 1846 – September 21, 1929) was an American lawyer and politician, and the
61st Governor of Georgia.
Early life
Harris was born in
Jonesboro, Tennessee
Jonesborough (historically also Jonesboro) is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Tennessee, in the Southeastern United States. Its population was 5,860 as of 2020. It is "Tennessee's oldest town".
Jonesborough is part of the ...
on January 21, 1846 to Edna (née Haynes) and Alexander Nelson Harris.
[ ] His father was a physician and Methodist minister.
He moved to
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
during the
American Civil War to escape
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''U ...
troops. At the age of sixteen, he joined the infantry of the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
and served until the end of the American Civil War eventually becoming an officer in the
16th Virginia Cavalry Regiment. After the war, he returned to his family's home in
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to t ...
; however, they soon moved to
Bartow County, Georgia
Bartow County is located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,901, up from 100,157 in 2010. The county seat is Cartersville.
Traditionally considered part of northwest Georgia, ...
. In 1867, Harris attended the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
(UGA) in
Athens, was a member of
Chi Phi
Chi Phi () is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest of these organizations was for ...
fraternity and the
Phi Kappa Literary Society
The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and is one of the few active literary societies left in America. Founded in 1820, the society continues to meet every academic ...
, and graduated in 1870 with a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree. In 1889, he became a UGA trustee and served on that board until his death.
After graduating college, Harris taught school for two years, studied law, and gained admittance to the state bar. He moved to
Macon, Georgia
Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Ge ...
in 1873. He joined with future UGA chancellor
Walter Barnard Hill to form the law firm of Hill and Harris. From 1874 to 1882, he also served as the Macon city attorney.
Personal life
Harris married Fannie Burke of Macon in 1873. He later married Hattie Gibson Jobe of
Elizabethton, Tennessee
Elizabethton is a city in, and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of both t ...
in 1899. He had seven children with his first wife, including General
Walter A. Harris.
[ ]
Political life and the formation of the Georgia Institute of Technology
Harris was elected to the
Georgia House of Representatives
The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...
in 1882 as a representative of
Bibb County and was reelected through 1885. His campaign platform when running was the establishment of a technological college. As a state representative in 1882, Harris introduced the bill to establish the
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
(originally called the Georgia School of Technology until assuming its current name in 1948).
That bill was approved by the
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...
on October 13, 1885, after failing to pass through the legislature in 1883 and again in 1884. Harris received public support in this matter from
Henry W. Grady
Henry Woodfin Grady (May 24, 1850 – December 23, 1889) was an American journalist and orator who helped reintegrate the states of the Confederacy into the Union after the American Civil War. Grady encouraged the industrialization of the Sou ...
and
John Fletcher Hanson.
The bill called for Governor
Henry Dickerson McDaniel
Henry Dickerson McDaniel (September 4, 1836 – July 25, 1926), was the 52nd Governor of Georgia from 1883 to 1886.
Early life
Henry Dickerson McDaniel was born on September 4, 1836 in Monroe, Georgia to Ira McDaniel. Ira McDaniel was one o ...
to appoint a five-member commission to select the location of the new school and organize it. Harris was named to that group as chairman alongside
Samuel N. Inman from Atlanta as the treasurer,
Oliver S. Porter from
Newnan, Georgia
Newnan is a city in Metro Atlanta and the county seat of Coweta County, Georgia, about southwest of Atlanta. Its population was 42,549 at the 2020 census, up from 33,039 in 2010.
History
Newnan was established as county seat of Coweta Cou ...
,
Edward R. Hodgson Sr. from Athens, and Judge
Columbus Heard from
Greene County, Georgia
Greene County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,915. The county seat is Greensboro. The county was created on February 3, 1786, and is named for Nathanael ...
.
Meeting in Atlanta on October 19, 1886, the committee took 23 separate ballots amongst themselves before selecting
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
for the school's location over Macon, Milledgeville, Athens and
Penfield. Harris, Hodgson and Inman voted for their cities of residence on every ballot with Porter and Heard voting for Atlanta on the last ballot to give that city a majority. Harris was named the president of the school's Board of Trustees, and he served in that position the rest of his life.
Elected to the
Georgia Senate
The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia.
Legal provisions
The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia Ho ...
from 1894 to 1895, Harris then served as judge of the Superior Court of the Macon Circuit from 1912 until his resignation in 1915 to successfully run for
Governor of Georgia
The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legis ...
. He was sworn in on June 26, 1915, and served until 1917 being the last governor of Georgia born outside the state of Georgia. During his tenure, Harris was noted for signing
Prohibition into state law. He returned to his Macon law practice after his gubernatorial term and served as Pension Commissioner of Georgia from 1924 to 1925 in addition to being president of the Electoral College of Georgia.
Harris was a first cousin of
Alfred Alexander Taylor and
Robert Love Taylor
Robert Love "Bob" Taylor (July 31, 1850March 31, 1912) was an American politician, writer, and lecturer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served three terms as the 24th governor of Tennessee, from 1887 to 1891, and again from 1897 to 1899, a ...
, both of whom were
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
men from, and Governors of, Tennessee.
Death
Harris died at his summer home in
Hampton, Tennessee
Hampton is an unincorporated community and Census-designated place in Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Located a few miles southeast of Elizabethton and northwest of Roan Mountain, Hampton is surrounded on all sides by the Unaka Mountai ...
on September 21, 1929
and was buried in
Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon.
See also
*
History of Georgia Tech
References
External links
Georgia State Archives Roster of State Governors''Georgia Governor's Gravesites Field Guide (1776–2003)''*[http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/cgi-bin/ebind2html.pl/reed_c07?seq=92 ''History of the University of Georgia'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949, pp.893,895–899,1205–1213]
Hugh J. Rowe, "Old Families of Athens", The Athens’ Banner Sunday, March 9, 1913
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Nathaniel Edwin
Democratic Party governors of Georgia (U.S. state)
Democratic Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators
Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives
Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges
Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers
Confederate States Army officers
University of Georgia alumni
Georgia Tech people
Methodists from Georgia (U.S. state)
1846 births
1929 deaths
People from Jonesborough, Tennessee
People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War
19th-century American politicians
20th-century American politicians