J. E. Harris is a native of Cedar county, his birth having occurred in Center township upon the Harris homestead, March 29, 1861. He is at present living upon a splendid farm of one hundred and sixty acres in section 10, Inland township, and is carrying on general farming and stock-raising, making a specialty of shorthorn cattle. He is a son of W. F. and Mary (Bolton) Harris, early settlers of Cedar county, having come here in 1860.
W. F. Harris was born in Virginia. For several years he lived there, and then moved with his family to Tennessee, where he grew to manhood and married Mary Bolton, native of that state. She was reared in Tennessee and died in1885, in Wilton, Iowa. It was in 1860 that W. F. Harris and his wife came to Cedar county and eight years later he bought his first land. Later he removed to Scott county, Iowa, and for five years resided there, subsequently returning to Cedar county. At present he lives in Dallas county, Iowa.
J. E. Harris was one of a family of eight children and is the only one now residing in Cedar county. His boyhood days were spent in this and Scott county and he received his education in the district schools. At the age of twenty-one years he began farming for himself, renting land in Clinton county. He was very successful in his work, owing to a rugged constitution and an ability to work hard and manage well, and soon accumulated considerable money. He later returned to Cedar county and purchased a good farm of one hundred and sixty acres in section 10, Inland township, where he carried on general farming, giving special attention to the breeding of shorthorn cattle.
Upon the 14th of October, 1886, Mr. Harris was united in marriage to Miss Anna Belle Wharton, a daughter of the early settler of the county, the late James Wharton, Jr., whose biography appears in another portion of this work. To this union there were born five children: Paul, Gail, Don, Joyce and Pearl, all of whom are living with their parents.
Independent in his political beliefs, Mr. Harris has never cared for office, although he has given of his time to the public schools, serving as director several terms. A quiet, industrious man, he has made his way by strict attention to his own affairs and the employment of his natural talents for farming and stock-raising. He is well thought of in the community in which he lives and is one of the representative citizens of the county.
