Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Harris, John

HARRIS, John, Indian store-keeper, b. in Pennsylvania in 1716; d. in Harrisburg, Pa., 29 July, 1791. He was the founder of Harrisburg, and for many years the principal store-keeper on the frontier; and at his house two notable "council-fires" were held with the Indians of the Six Nations and other tribes. At the first, 8 June, 1756, Gov. Morris, with his council, was present; and at the second, 1 April, 1757, the deputy of Sir William Johnson, his majesty's deputy of the affairs of the Six Nations, met the representatives of the Nations and many of their warriors. Mr. Harris had the confidence of the Indians. At a conference of Gov. Hamilton with them, 23 Aug., 1762, they asked that "the present store-keepers may be removed and honest men placed in their stead," and selected John Harris. Said the chief, who addressed the governor, "I think John Harris is the most suitable man to keep store, for he lives right in the road where our warriors pass, and he is very well known by us all in our Nation, as his father was before him." Harris's house, built in 1766, near Harrisburg, is still standing.