Edward Harris (Irish judge)

Sir Edward Harris (1575–1636) was an English-born judge and politician in Ireland, who sat in the Irish House of Commons; he is now remembered mainly as the grandfather of Valentine Greatrakes, the noted faith healer .

Family and early career

He was born at Cornworthy in Devon, eldest son and heir of Sir Thomas Harris (died 1610) and his wife Elizabeth Pomeroy (died 1634). His father rose from a rather obscure background to hold the rank of serjeant-at-law; his mother belonged to the prominent local family who gave their name to the village of Berry Pomeroy. He entered Middle Temple in 1598 and was called to the bar in 1599.

In Ireland

In 1608 he was sent to Ireland as Chief Justice of Munster. From the beginning of his career in Ireland he was a close associate and personal friend of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, who after emigrating from England in 1588, quickly became the dominant magnate in Munster. As Lord Cork's nominee, Harris sat in the Irish House of Commons in the Irish Parliament of 1613–15 as one of the two members for Clonakilty, a borough newly created at Lord Cork's initiative as part of his political "empire" in the south of. Ireland.

Harris received a special grant of land for his "extraordinary services to the Crown" in 1617 and a knighthood in 1619. In 1623 he was appointed a judge of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland). He was Treasurer of the King's Inn in 1632.

He died in County Cork in 1636 and was buried in Kilcredan cemetery, near Ladysbridge. It seems likely, from the later inscription on the impressive tomb which his mother had erected in 1610 to his father's memory in Cornworthy Church, that he was reinterred at Cornworthy. A memorial (now very badly damaged) to Edward and his first wife Elizabeth can still be seen in what remains of Kilcredan church, which is now a ruin.

Marriage and descendants

He married firstly Elizabeth Fowell, who died in 1622, and secondly Jane Bussey, daughter of John Bussey of Heydour, Lincolnshire, and widow of Sir Richard Waldron (died 1617) of Farnham, County Cavan. His second marriage brought him a considerable addition to his wealth, including a stud farm at Farnham.

By his first wife he had seven surviving children, including his heir Sir Thomas Harris the younger of Cornworthy. His daughters included Phillipa, who was the first wife of the prominent Anglo-Irish politician Sir Robert Tynte of Youghal, ancestor of the Tynte baronets of Wicklow, and Mary Greatrakes.

Elrington Ball describes him as a man who acquired "both wealth and friends" in Ireland; he was given to ostentatious display of his riches, and often wore a valuable jewel on a gold chain.

Valentine Greatrakes

Harris' daughter Mary (died c.1656) married William Greatrakes (c. 1600 – 1643), and was the mother of the celebrated faith healer Valentine Greatrakes.

Valentine Greatrakes

References

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