James Harris was born Dec. 18, 1842 near Griffin, Georgia. He was the son of Zachariah and Mary Elizabeth cariker Harris.
He enlisted in Co.I, 33rd Regiment of the Alabama Infantry May 9, 1862 at Ozark, Alabama. His brothers, Henry, John and Thomas also fought in the Civil War. Henry and Thomas were prisoners' of war and John was killed during this conflict.
He married Mary Jane Dowling in 1868. She was the daughter of Fletcher and Caroline Martin Dowling. Jim, as he was called, and Mary Jane Harris had eleven children. They were: Louisa, Ara Menta, Zachariah, Fletcher, Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie), Lillie, Ellen D., Nora Pearl, Martha, John and Ethel. Louisa and Ara Menta died at a young age and are buried at Old Claybank in Ozark.
Jim (James) Harris had seizures. A medicine for seizures was advertised in a magazine for $5.00. The family ordered the medicine and after Mr. Harris took it, he never had seizures again. The name of the medicine and the company that it was ordered from were lost.
Zachariah, FLetcher, Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie), Martha, John, and Ethel moved to Geneva County in the early 1900's. They all lived in the Union Community just north of Slocomb. Martha and Ethel later moved to Slocomb.
Zachariah Harris married Era Elma Andrews and they have four sons: William Ernest (born in Ozark, Dale Co. in 1900), James Ralph, Henry Grady, and Harry Harris. Zachariah and Era Elma Harris moved to the Slocom area about 1901. Ralph, Henry and Harry Harris were born about two miles south of Slocomb off Hwy. 103 N. in the Union Community.
Zachariah's father and mother, Jim and Mary Jane, joined the family about 1902. This was the start of the Harris family in the Slocomb area.
Submitted by Era Jo Harris Holmes, P. O. Box 181, Slocomb, Al 36375