Willis Banks Harris

Notes:

Jeptha Vining Harris graduated from the University of Georgia in 1836. He was commissioned a Second Lt. in the Georgia Militia in 1839. Jeptha moved to Mississippi about 1840, buying and first living on what is still known as the Harris Place, near Billups Gate. He later moved to Columbus, Mississippi.He was a member of the Mississippi Legislature in 1855-56.

He was appointed Brigadier General of the Mississippi Militia at the outbreak of the Civil War and commanded the 4th Brigade of Mississippi Reserves. He was called into active service in 1863 and led the Mississippi troops through the campaign, ending with the surrender of Vicksburg. A monument in the National Park at Vicksburg is erected on the spot where General Harris and his soldiers made a valiant stand.

-- Wayne D. Lanier

Jeptha married Mary Oliver Banks about 1841. Mary was born on 10 Jul 1826 in Elbert County, GA; died on 5 Nov 1901. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Jeptha graduated from the University of Georgia with first honors of his class in 1804. He was a Trustee of the University from 1832 to 1856. He lived at one time in Oglethorpe County, Georgia; later moved to Athens, Georgia, where he lived and practiced law for many years. Jeptha accumulated a large fortune and some years before his death he reitred from the practice of law and bought a handsome country home near Marietta, Georgia, where he lived until his death in 1856, He was General of the State Militia and was widely know all over the state. He married on October 11, 1804, Sarah Hunt of Elbert County; she was born June 15, 1789 and died in Madison, Georgia. This couple had 12 children, six sons and six daughters. Every child lived to adulthood, married and each raised a family.
(Elbert County Census - 1830, p. 126, Jeptha Vining Harris)

Jeptha married Sarah Carter Hunt on 11 Oct 1804. Sarah was born on 15 Jun 1789; died in 1871 in Madison, Morgan County, GA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: 1803, Georgia; Member of Georgia Legislature

Notes:

Walton Harris (1739-95) served in the army and while absent from his home in Georgia it was burned by the British. His wife and children were forced to take refuge in a hay stack. He was born in Brunswick Co., Va.; died in Green Co., Ga.
(DAR)

Walton Harris was about 21 years old when he married Rebecca Lanier. She was about 16. He moved from Brunswick County, Virginia to the celebrated fisheries on the Yadkin in North Carolina; thence he moved to Wilkes County, Georgia, and settled in that part of the county that was afterward cut off to form a part of Greene County. He lived near the Skull Shoals on the Oconee River in Greene County, GA.

He was a captain under General Nathaniel Greene. Captain Harris was made a prisoner at the battle of Augusta. After the war Walton Harris drew lands in Georgia for his services. He was granted 400 acres of land in Wilkes County in 1785. He became a member of the General Assembly of Georgia in 1783. At one time in the Georgia legislature (1803), four of the sons of Walton Harris were serving as representatives of the counties in which they lived.
(Harris Genealogy, pp. 56-7, by Gideon Dowse Harris.)

Walton married Rebecca Louise Lanier. Rebecca was born on 16 Dec 1747 in Brunswick County, VA; died on 4 Jul 1818 in Greene County, Georgia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]