Wiley P. Harris
Wiley P. Harris | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Deputy from Mississippi to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States | |
| In office February 4, 1861 – February 17, 1862 | |
| Preceded by | New constituency |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 4th district | |
| In office March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855 | |
| Preceded by | Albert G. Brown |
| Succeeded by | William Augustus Lake |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wiley Pope Harris November 9, 1818 |
| Died | November 9, 1891 (aged 73) Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Education | University of Virginia Transylvania University |
Wiley Pope Harris (November 9, 1818 – December 3, 1891) was a U.S. representative and delegate to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States from Mississippi.
Biography
[edit]Born on November 9, 1818, in Pike County, Mississippi, Harris attended the common schools and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He graduated from the law department of Transylvania College, Lexington, Kentucky, in 1840.[1] He was admitted to the bar in 1840 and commenced practice in Gallatin, Mississippi. He was Circuit judge of the second district from 1844 to 1850 and served as member of the State constitutional conventions in 1850, 1861, and 1890.
Harris was elected as a Democrat U.S. Representative to the Thirty-third Congress (March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855).[2] He declined to run for another term in Congress and resumed the practice of law in Jackson, Mississippi.
During the buildup to the American Civil War, Harris, a staunch secessionist, was elected as a delegate to the Mississippi state secession convention in January, 1861.[2] He was then chosen by the convention to serve as one of Mississippi's delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States in 1861.[3] Harris was an active member of the Provisional Congress, but chose not to stand for election to the first regular session of the Confederate Congress, leaving his seat in 1862.[2] He then returned to the practice of law in Jackson, and took part in the Mississippi constitutional convention of 1890. He died the following year on December 3, 1891, and was interred in Greenwood Cemetery.
References
[edit]- ↑ Memorials of the life and character of Wiley P. Harris, of Mississippi. Jackson, Mississippi: Clarion Printing Estab. 1892. p. 36. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
- 1 2 3 Warner, Ezra J.; Yearns, W. Buck (1975). Biographical Register of the Confederate Congress. Louisiana State University Press. pp. 110–111. Retrieved April 10, 2026.
- ↑ Harris, Gideon Dowse (1914). Harris Genealogy. Columbus, Mississippi: Keith Printing Co. pp. 58. ISBN 1298495261.
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External links
[edit]- United States Congress. "Wiley P. Harris (id: H000256)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Wiley P. Harris at Find a Grave
- Wiley P. Harris at The Political Graveyard
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1818 births
- 1891 deaths
- People from Pike County, Mississippi
- Democratic Party United States representatives from Mississippi
- Signatories of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States
- Signatories of the Constitution of the Confederate States
- Mississippi lawyers
- Transylvania University alumni
- People of Mississippi in the American Civil War
- 19th-century Mississippi state court judges
- 19th-century American lawyers
- 19th-century United States representatives
- Burials at Greenwood Cemetery (Jackson, Mississippi)
