Homage to Joe

Anyone with a connection to the Hooper/Harris lines needs to pay homage to Joseph Smith Harris (1836-1910). Harris was first cousin to our Mary Harris and nephew to Campbell Harris, and he was the one who so faithfully documented her weight (220 lbs). Hey, that's my great-great-great grandmother you were talking about!

Harris wrote two detailed genealogy histories of the Harris family, both of which have previously been discussed. They are here and here. I am SO grateful to have these detailed, interesting histories of ancestors who-- without these documents-- would be unknown and forgotten forever. Thank you so much, Joseph Smith Harris.

Seeing the detailed works on family history that Harris authored, I assumed he didn't do much with his time, other than work on family genealogy. Well that couldn't be further from the truth! Take a look at his Wikipedia page and you will agree that Harris can be forgiven for his snarky comments about his cousin Mary.

And here's a very brief biography of Harris' professional life:

Joseph S. Harris was a railroad surveyor and topographer, a land surveyor, an astronomer, and a mathematician, during the period 1853 to 1870. He was employed by the North Pennsylvania Railroad, the Kentucky Geological Survey, the U.S. Coast Survey, and the U.S./Canadian Northwest Boundary Survey prior to the Civil War. During the Civil War he advised Admirals Farragut and Porter, and General Butler for the New Orleans campaign. After the war he was a civil and mining engineer for coal mines and railroads in Pennsylvania, later he became an executive officer for numerous railroads, including the Central Railroad of New Jersey.

This passage is from the U.S. Army Military History Institute Carlisle Barracks where a copy of the "Autobiography of Joseph Smith Harris" is held. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that Joe's autobiography is available online or elsewhere.