Joseph Smith Harris

Joseph Smith Harris
Joseph Smith Harris, aged about 55.
Born	(1836-04-29)April 29, 1836 East Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States
Died	June 1, 1910(1910-06-01) (aged 74) Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Residence	United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	surveyor, civil engineer, railroad executive
Notes
Great-grandson of Persifor Frazer.

Joseph Smith Harris (April 29, 1836 – June 1, 1910) was an American surveyor, civil engineer, and railroad executive. Largely self-taught, he worked on several projects for the U.S. government, including the Coast Survey of the Mississippi Sound in 1854–56 and the Northwest Boundary Survey of 1857–61. He worked his way through a considerable number of adventures to become president of the Reading Railroad, which he brought back from its 1893 bankruptcy.

Joseph Smith Harris was born on the family farm in East Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania; the house has burned down, but the barn and springhouse still stand on what is now the Chester Valley Golf Club. His father, Stephen Harris (September 4, 1798 – November 18, 1851), was the local physician; his mother was Marianne Smith (April 2, 1805 – March 12, 1890). Stephen Harris' brothers (Joseph's uncles) included Thomas Harris and John Harris, who became career military officers. Joseph's paternal grandfather, William Harris (1757 – 1812), had been an army officer in the American Revolutionary War and thereafter, as well as a member of the state legislature. His great-grandfather (on his mother's side) was Persifor Frazer, a figure in the Revolution who had some prominence in Chester County.

When Joseph was a youth, his father, Stephen, realized that he was dying and that his untimely death would likely leave his family destitute. Looking to prolong his life and leave his wife with a means of supporting herself, in 1850 Stephen Harris sold his farm and moved his family to Philadelphia. His place as the local physician was taken by Septimus Augustus Ogier. In time, the family opened a boarding house, one of the few business occupations available to respectable women of the time. Stephen's death did indeed leave his family short of money, but his children were able to finish high school. Joseph attended Philadelphia's Central High School, graduating in 1853, as did his older brother, also named Stephen.