William Harris ( colonist ) William Harris ( 1757 – 1812 ) was a farmer , soldier , and member of the Pennsylvania legislature . He was the father of two other American military men . Early life . William Harris was born October 7 , 1757 , on his parents ' farm in Willistown Township in the Province of Pennsylvania . His father , Thomas Harris ( 1722 – 1799 ) , had immigrated from Ireland about 1745 . His mother , the former Elizabeth Bailey ( 1726 – 1799 ) , also an immigrant from Ireland , was the heir of her childless uncle , Alexander Bailey , owner of the farm . About 1760 , the family moved to nearby Grubb ' s mill , and about 1768 , they moved to neighboring East Whiteland Township in the Great Valley of Pennsylvania where , in 1770 , Thomas Harris bought a farm just inside the Welsh Tract . This farm was William Harris ' home for the rest of his life . Thomas and Elizabeth Harris had nine children , seven of whom — two sons and five daughters — lived to adulthood . Both sons , William and his older brother John ( 1753 – 1838 ) , participated in the American Revolution . Military service . William Harris joined the Pennsylvania militia at the age of 18 , as the Revolutionary War broke out . The first known mention of him appears in a memorandum book of Captain Persifor Frazer in the summer of 1776 , which calls him a sergeant . In March 1777 he was appointed a second lieutenant in Captain John Marshall ' s company of the State Regiment of Foot , Col . John Bull , commander . In time , he rose to the rank of captain . He is listed as captain of the 5th Company , 5th Battalion , of the Pennsylvania Militia for 1777 , and of the 4th Company , 4th Battalion for 1780 . His regiment was taken into the Pennsylvania Line of the Continental Army , and became the Thirteenth Regiment , which saw action in the battles of the Brandywine and Germantown and several minor engagements . Although records exist showing his involvement in a number of troop movements later in the Revolution , his battalion appears not to have seen any battles in the later years of the war . His name appears on a list of Chester County residents who applied to the government for reparations after the war was over . Harris was involved in the capture of Joseph Doane , a notorious highwayman and member of a family of robbers , in 1782 . Harris again saw service in 1794 , when the militia was called upon to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania . He served as captain of the eighth company of the Chester County regiment , and was the regimental paymaster . He continued his involvement with the state military organization for the rest of his life . In 1811 , he was commissioned brigadier general of the Second Brigade , Third Division of Pennsylvania troops . When the War of 1812 broke out , Governor Simon Snyder called up 14 , 000 troops , including Harris , but the new general died before the troops took the field . Legislative service . Harris was elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1779 , 1780 , 1810 , and 1811 . He served on the committee to arrange the procedures for the election of the state ' s president and vice - president in 1780 . He participated in the last session of the legislature before his death . Other activities . Although a lifetime farmer , Harris was actively involved in community affairs , and was especially interested in public education . He was instrumental in the founding of the Chester County academy . While in the legislature , he obtained an appropriation to build the school ' s buildings , and he donated the land on which they were built , which was a part of his farm . He is listed as a member of Masonic Lodge No . 59 , founded in East Whiteland in 1790 . He was also an elder of the Great Valley Presbyterian Church , which his family had joined upon leaving St . Peter ' s Church in the Great Valley during the Revolution because St . Peter ' s , an Anglican congregation , continued to say prayers for the King , as was required of Anglican clergy . He was buried at Great Valley Presbyterian after his death of a " lingering illness " on September 4 , 1812 . Marriage and children . Harris married Mary Campbell ( February 27 , 1752 – November 26 , 1837 ) , daughter of Rev . John Campbell ( 1713 – 1753 ) , a Presbyterian minister , and the former Mary Hubbard ( and stepdaughter of Richard Richison ) , on April 24 , 1780 . William and Mary Harris had seven children :