Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2014 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= USGenNet Data Repository NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== Biographical Review of the Leading Citizens of Hampden County, Massachusetts Pub. Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston - 1895 [9-11] DANIEL LESTER HARRIS, whose reputation as a civil engineer extended over the United States, but especially throughout New England, was born at Providence, R.I., February 6, 1818. His earliest ancestor in America was THOMAS HARRIS, who crossed the Atlantic in company with ROGER WILLIAMS and others, including a brother, WILLIAM HARRIS, in the ship "Lyon," which sailed from Bristol, England, late in December, 1630, and reached Massachusetts early in the February following. THOMAS HARRIS was one of those who aided ROGER WILLIAMS in founding the town of Providence. He was active in the colony from an early period, his name first appearing in the records under the date August 20, 1637. The line of descent is as follows: THOMAS HARRIS, JR., only son of THOMAS, Sr., a surveyor and treasurer of the city of Providence; RICHARD, second son of THOMAS, JR.; JONATHAN, a son of RICHARD; ABNER, eldest son of JONATHAN; WILLIAM, fourth son of ABNER; ALLEN, eldest son of WILLIAM; DANIEL LESTER, son of ALLEN. In 1800 ALLEN HARRIS moved with his parents from Smithfield, R.I., to Plainfield, Conn. He received a good education, and after teaching for two winters took a position as clerk in a mercantile house. On May 7, 1816, he was married to HART LESTER, a daughter of Colonel TIMOTHY LESTER, of Shepherd Hill, Plainfield. A year later he moved to Providence, R.I., and entered mercantile busi- ness, but in 1820 returned to Connecticut, where for many years he was engaged in manufacturing business. MRS. HARRIS died on August 24, 1826; and MR. HARRIS formed a second marriage later with ALMIRA VAUGHN, of Plainfield. In 1840 he sold his interest in the factory and in 1843 moved to Worcester, where he became a commission mer- chant, in which business he continued until his death in 1864. In manner he was courteous and dignified. In disposition firm and reliable. His patriotism was strongly manifested during the Civil War, during which, although seventy years of age, he enlisted in the State Guard, doing escort duty on more than one occasion. His natural fondness for antiquarian research and genealogical study led him to preserve with the greatest care the original deeds and papers of his ancestors. He was High Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, and Postmaster in Connecticutt, all of which offices he filled honorably and satisfactorily. DANIEL L. HARRIS, son of ALLEN and HART (LESTER) HARRIS, was endowed with an energy and perseverance that might well be emulated by the young men of the present generation. Out of school hours he worked in the mill in order to secure a business education. He attended the Plainfield Academy, walking three miles night and morning, and afterward spent three years in the scientific depart- ment of the Wesleyan University of Middletown, Conn., from which he was graduated in 1838 with the degree of B. A. Perhaps it was a bit of heredity come down from the long-gone surveyor ancestor that manifested itself in MR. HARRIS'S decision to adopt civil engineer- ing as a profession. At all events, it certainly proved to be a line of work in which his natural ability found ample scope. He was employed on the Norwich & Worcester Road with the famous Scotch engineer, JAMES LAURIE, whom he also accompanied in 1839 on one of the early surveys of the Erie Railway in the then wild region of Allegany and Steuben Counties in New York. From 1840 to 1843 he was assistant civil engineer on the Albany & Troy line; and in the latter year, coming to Springfield to survey the proposed route to Hartford, he decided to settle here. His scientific knowledge and accurate work soon ranked him among the leaders of his profession in the Connecticut valley, his industry and capacity rendering him fitted to fill the wider and more important position of railroad president, and the more profitable one of railroad contractor and bridge builder. He associated himself with AZARIAH BOODY and AMASA STONE, who were already famous in that line of work, the firm name becoming BOODY, STONE & HARRIS. This firm purchased the right to build the "Howe Truss Bridge" for all New England and the Canadas, building among others the bridges for the Connecticut River Railroad, New London & Northern, Springfield & Hartford, and New York & Harlem. They built the first iron bridge in the country, at Seakonk, on the Boston & Providence Road, and the truss roofs over the passenger depots at Boston, Rochester, Springfield, Albany and Troy. In his various enterprises DWIGHT BRIGGS, WILLIAM BIRNIE, JOHN ROSS, SIDNEY DILLON, M. CLYDE, and R. F. HAWKINS were also associated. In 1855, upon the resignation of CHESTER W. CHAPIN, MR. HARRIS was elected to succeed him as President of the Connecticut River Rail- road, an office which he filled admirably for the period of twenty five years, notwithstanding all of his other business; for he had a thorough practical knowledge of railroading, combined with rare executive ability. Ex-President CHAPIN remarked of him, "He had few equals in his work, and no superior." Early in the year of 1859 MR. HARRIS received an offer from the Russian government to go to St. Petersburg, make an examination, and report upon the condition and safety of the bridges of the St. Petersburg & Moscow Railroad. He accepted; and so just and thorough was his work that the Czar, in recognition of his probity and efficiency, presented him, in addition to his salary, with a valuable jewel. MR. HARRIS was also appointed, by PRESIDENT GRANT, a Government Director on the Union Pacific Railroad, and served in this capacity for one year. It was at his suggestion that the Eastern Railroad Association was formed for the protection of patents, and to this for twelve years he gave conspicuous service. While office-holding in itself presented no allurements to him, in public life he gained honorable distinction, keeping constantly in view the public need, serving with credit in the State legislature of 1859, 1863, 1864, and 1869. With a discernment that was almost prophetic, he opposed the building of the Hoosac Tunnel, clearly foreseeing the financial failure of the projected plan. MR. HARRIS possessed the art of presenting his point of view clearly and per- suasively either in private or public debate, and was a fearless advocate of what he considered was for the public good, regardless of the opinions of others. In politics he was a Republican; and in the early days of the party he and his partner, MR. BRIGGS, rendered some efficient ser- vice in their efforts to save Kansas to the free States, using their office at one time as a depot for the arms designed for the Kansas settlers. During the thirty-six years of his residence in Springfield he was actively interested in all that concerned the city, and in 1860 he filled the office of Mayor. In 1872 he was elected on the first Board of Water Commissioners, and took a prominent part in their investigations which led to the choice of Ludlow Reservoir for the water supply. In 1875 he became a member of the Common Council for Ward Four; and for three years he rend- ered valuable services, pointing out the necessity of restrictions in taxation and expenditures, and warning against the deprication of values, which he foresaw with a clearness of vision that seems to have been a gift. In 1848 MR. HARRIS joined the Congregational church; but he was not sectarian in his feelings, being a liberal supporter of the Wesleyan University, which was his Alma Mater. He was deeply in- terested in the Springfield Library, and was at the time of his death President of the City Library Association. His extensive travels in his own and other countries made him a cosmopolitan in tastes as well as interests, and his large liberality and public spirit made him a citizen whose death has been a very general loss. His marriage with HARRIET O. CORSON, of Canastota, N.Y., was a happy one, and was blessed by the birth of eleven children, four of whom died young. MR. HARRIS died July 11, 1879. The fine steel portrait of MR. HARRIS which appears on an ad- joining page is a faithful presentment of his physical personality, and as such will be to many of the readers of this volume a welcome and interesting addition to the memoir given above. [note: The image of the portrait, mentioned above, was of such poor quality that it can not be presented with this transcription.] =========================================================================== If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access more of our growing collection of FREE online information by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/ ===========================================================================