John Harris (1596–1648) of Lanrest,

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; ) is an ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) east of Bodmin. Th ...

in Cornwall and of Radford in the parish of

Plymstock Plymstock is a commuter suburb of Plymouth and former civil parish in the English county of Devon. Geography Situated on the east bank of the River Plym, Plymstock is geographically and historically part of the South Hams. It comprises the ...

in Devon, was an English gentleman who was elected four times as a Member of Parliament for

in Cornwall, between 1628 and 1644. He supported the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

side in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Origins

Harris was the second son of John Harris (1564- June 1623) of Lanrest in Cornwall, Recorder (or Steward) of the Borough of West Looe in Cornwall ( established in 1574) and MP for West Looe in Cornwall in 1614, by his wife Joane Harte, daughter and sole heiress of Robert Harte of Plimston in the parish of Stoke Climsland in Cornwall. His younger brother was Robert Harris (d.1655), Major General of the King's infantry in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, buried at

Tywardreath Tywardreath (; , meaning "House on the Beach" (or Strand)) is a small hilltop village on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, about north west of Fowey. It is located in a sheltered spot overlooking a silted-up estuary opposite ...

in Cornwall, where he "lies interred under a marble monument" inscribed as follows:
:''"In Memory of Robert Harris, Esquire, sometime Major-Generall of his Majesties forces before Plymouth, who was buried here under, the 29th day of June, 1655, and of Honnor Harris, his sister, who was likewise heer under-neath buried, the 17th day of November, 1653"''. :''"Loyal and stout, thy crime this, this thy praise,"'' :''"Thou'rt here with Honour laid, tho' without Bayes."''

Inheritances

John Harris was the heir of his childless elder brother Christopher Harris (1590–November 1623) of Lanrest, a Member of Parliament for West Looe in 1621. John Harris was also a great-nephew and sole heir of Sir Christopher Harris (c.1553-1625), MP for

in 1584, of Radford in the parish of

in Devon.

Career

In 1628, Harris was elected Member of Parliament for

and sat until 1629 when King Charles I decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. In April 1640 Harris was re-elected MP for Liskeard in the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks. After 11 years of per ...

. He was re-elected for Liskeard in the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

in November 1640 until he was disabled from sitting in January 1644 for supporting the King.

Marriage

In 1630 he married Elizabeth Johnson (d.1637), a daughter of Emorb Johnson of Bridge in the parish of

South Petherton South Petherton is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, located east of Ilminster and north of Crewkerne. The parish had a population of 3,737 in 2021 and includes the smaller village of Over Stratton and the hamlets of C ...

in Somerset and of Bonham in Wiltshire. She died in childbirth in 1637, having produced one surviving son: * John Harris (died 1677), a Member of Parliament for

after 1660 and the

Restoration of the Monarchy Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state. This may refer to: *Conservation and restoration of cultural property **Audio restoration **Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property **Film restoration ** Image ...

.Basil Duke Henning ''The House of Commons, 1660-1690''
/ref>

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, John 1596 births 1648 deaths People from Liskeard Cavaliers Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648