William H. Harries

William Harries
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 1st district
In office March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893
Preceded by	Mark H. Dunnell
Succeeded by	James Albertus Tawney
Personal details
Born	William Henry Harries January 15, 1843 Dayton, Ohio
Died	July 23, 1921 (aged 78) Seattle, Washington
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Austis Dunbar, Hattie Dunbar
Residence	Hokah, Minnesota, Caledonia, Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota
Occupation	attorney

William Henry Harries (January 15, 1843 – July 23, 1921) was a Representative in the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota.

Early life

Harries was born near Dayton, Ohio. He moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin and enlisted as a private in Company B, Second Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry on April 18, 1861. He was wounded at the Battle of Antietam.^[1] He was commissioned captain of Company F, Third Regiment, United States Veteran Volunteers, General Hancock's corps, on December 21, 1864, and was honorably discharged on April 17, 1866.

Legal career

Harries graduated from the law school of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1868. He was admitted to the bar in 1868, and commenced practice in Hokah, Minnesota. He later practiced in Caledonia, Minnesota. He served as prosecuting attorney of Houston County, Minnesota from 1874 to 1878.

Political career

He was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second Congress and served March 4, 1891 to March 3, 1893. Harries was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1892 to the Fifty-third Congress. He was then appointed by President Grover Cleveland as collector of internal revenue for Minnesota and served from 1894 to 1898, residing in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Later years

He resumed his law practice in Caledonia, Minnesota in 1898. He served as president of the village of Caledonia and a member of its board of education,^[2] department commander of the Minnesota department of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1901, member of the board of trustees of the Minnesota Soldiers’ Home in 1903, secretary of the board 1907 to 1911, and commandant of the home 1911 to 1918. Harries died in Seattle, Washington on July 23, 1921, and is interred in Evergreen Cemetery, Caledonia, Minnesota.

Personal life

Capt. Harries married Austis L. Dunbar in 1870,^[3] and after she died he married her sister Hattie Hadley Dunbar in 1882.^[4] Hattie subsequently died in 1895.^[5] The father of these two sisters was William F. Dunbar, the first state auditor of Minnesota.^[6] The eleven children of these two marriages are Mary Lucretia, Anna Belle, Ethelind, Paul W., Anstice, Hattie, George, Alice, Beth Bernice, Edna Beatrice, and Donald Dunbar.^[7]

References

1. T. Christianson, Minnesota, The Land of Sky-Tinted Waters, A History of the State and Its People, V.II, p 321-22 (The American Historical Society, Inc., 1935)
2. T. Christianson, Minnesota, The Land of Sky-Tinted Waters, A History of the State and Its People, V.II, p 321-22 (The American Historical Society, Inc., 1935)
3. Harries Family Genealogical Records
4. Harries Family Genealogical Records
5. T. Christianson, Minnesota, The Land of Sky-Tinted Waters, A History of the State and Its People, V.II, p 321-22 (The American Historical Society, Inc., 1935)
6. T. Christianson, Minnesota, The Land of Sky-Tinted Waters, A History of the State and Its People, V.II, p 321-22 (The American Historical Society, Inc., 1935)
7. Harries Family Genealogical Records

External links

• William H. Harries at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress