# Henry Harris (Silton)

Henry Harris (April 6, 1843 - January 6, 1914) was an English farmer, volunteer soldier, and officeholder in northern Dorset who served on the Sherborne Board of Guardians and represented the village of Silton on the Shaftesbury Rural District Council.

## Early life

Henry Harris was born in Stourton Caundle on April 6, 1843, to George Harris (1812–1885) and Elizabeth Spicer (1815–1888). His father and grandfather were prominent farmers in the Stalbridge area.
He was raised on the family farm at Rowden Mill in Stourton Caundle, where his father farmed 43 acres in 1851, and 300 acres in 1861. His father also served as Stourton Caundle parish overseer from 1846 to 1847, 1859–60, 1862–63, and 1871–74.

## Volunteer rifleman

Henry came from a family of volunteer soldiers. His father George Harris had served in the Dorset Yeomanry Cavalry from 1837 to 1841, his grandfather Daniel Harris had served in the Dorset Militia from 1799 to 1802, and his great-grandfather Joseph Northover had served in the Dorset Militia from 1775 to 1778. His grandfather was a 1st cousin of rifleman Benjamin Randell Harris. Henry's brother Alban Harris (1845-1918) served as a Sergeant in the Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry from 1865 to 1891, and his uncle Robert Harris’ four sons fought in Ohio regiments in the American Civil War.
With tensions brewing between Britain and France, and the formation of the volunteer movement in 1859, Henry followed the tradition of his family and joined the Rifle Volunteers at the age of 17. He enrolled as a Private in the Blackmoor Vale Rifle Corps, located in Sturminster, on January 19, 1860.
When the Blackmoor Vale Corps was split into three subdivisions in the summer of 1860, Henry joined the 12th (Stalbridge) Rifle Corps. With the 12th Stalbridge Rifles, Henry participated in local shooting matches and the annual Dorset Rifle Battalion encampment, training to defend Britain from 1860 to 1869. He was awarded many prizes, including the Bronze County Medal in 1867 and the Silver County Medal in 1870.
Besides the many prizes won in rifle competitions, he became one of the top shots in Dorset, and represented the Dorset Battalion at the national shooting match in Wimbledon in 1867, 1868, and 1869, competing for the Sovereign's Prize. He was promoted to Corporal in 1869.
In 1870, he moved from Stourton Caundle to farm 120 acres in Semley, and he joined the 9th (Shaftesbury) Rifle Corps, which was the closest corps, and again shot at Wimbledon that summer. Henry left the rifle volunteers at the end of 1870.

## Local Office

Henry moved his family to Purse Caundle in 1876, and he served as the parish overseer in 1877 and again in 1884. From 1878 to 1884, he served as churchwarden of the parish and was a member of the jurist lists.
In 1883 he was elected to represent Purse Caundle on the Sherborne Board of Guardians, and that same year served as a meresman, marking the new parish boundaries.
When the family moved to Silton, Henry again served as a parish overseer from 1894 to 1895, 1896–97, and 1901–03. In 1910, he was elected as the Rural District Councilor for Silton, representing the parish on the Shaftesbury Rural District Council until 1913 when he resigned due to poor health.

## Later life

The Harris family moved from their farm in Purse Caundle to farm in Henstridge in 1886, and in the winter of 1890 they again moved to Silton, where Henry purchased Manor Farm.
Manor Farm, located beside St. Nicholas' Church and Wyndham's Oak, was part of the Zeals Estate, land owned by Colonel Edward Troyte-Bullock, Commanding Officer of the Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry. Henry farmed there until his death on January 6, 1914, and the Harris family continues to farm at Manor Farm to this day.

### Family

In 1875, in Stoke Trister, Henry Harris married Judith Susannah Parsons (1851–1928), daughter of Charles Parsons (1815–1875), a prosperous farmer from Horsington, Somerset, and Jane Gear (1817–1856). Charles Parsons was a distant cousin of Maj. John Parsons Peters.
The couple had thirteen children:
* Charles Henry Gear Harris (1875–1957) - served in the Dorset Yeomanry from 1896 to 1900. Married Sarah Roberts (1871–1942).
* Allan Harris (1877–1962) - served in the Dorset Yeomanry and fought in the Boer War. Married Ada Candy (1883–1936).
* Marion Maud Harris (1878–1954) - married Joseph Robinson (1873–1962).
* Florence Eugenie Jane Harris (1880–1952) - married Robert Roberts (1876–1956).
* Laura Susannah Parsons Harris (1881-) - married Edward Paul Mitchell (1877–1954).
* Edward Llewellyn Harris (1883–1970) - served in the Dorset Yeomanry from 1905 to 1909.
* Anna Winifred Harris (1884-) - married Herbert Harris (1884–1955).
* Helen Elizabeth Bowden Harris (1886–1960) - married Walter Thomas Lear (1879–1951) who had served in the Dorset Yeomanry from 1904 to 1909.
* Henry Harris Jr. (1888–1961) - served in the Dorset Yeomanry from 1916 to 1919 in the Sinai and Palestine campaign. Father of Henry Silton Harris.
* George William Harris (1890–1971) - served in the Dorset Yeomanry and was severely wounded at Gallipoli. Married Kathleen Tod (1906–2003).
* Constance Louise Mary Harris (1893–1973) - married James Robert Hannam (1890-) who had served with the Dorset Yeomanry at Gallipoli.
* Geoffrey Reginald Silton Harris (1894–1977) - served with the RNAS from 1917 to 1919. Married Lena Harris (1897–1982) and took over Manor Farm.
* Alban Edwin Harris (1896–1984) - served with the RNAS from 1916 to 1919. Married Gladys Miller (1903-).