The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
Author: Timothy D. Mallory
The Revolutionary War Patriot, Capt. William Harris, (Amos, Joseph, John) was born Nov. 7, 1731 in North Yarmouth, Cumberland County, Maine, and died Apr. 10, 1824 in New Gloucester, Cumberland County, Maine. He married Mary Bradbury Nov. 19, 1755 in North Yarmouth, daughter of Moses Bradbury, Sr. and Abigail Fogg. She was born abt. 1738 in North Yarmouth, and died Nov. 25, 1817 in New Gloucester. His father Amos Harris died Apr. 18, 1776 during the Rev. War.
Children of William Harris and Mary Bradbury are: Amos, born Jan. 28, 1757 in North Yarmouth, married Isabel Parsons; John, bapt. Feb. 5, 1759, married Mercy Haskell in 1784; Moses (also Rev. War), born abt. 1761, New Gloucester, married in 1782 to Betsey Hersey, and died Jun. 28, 1789 in Minot; Dorcas, bapt. Oct. 20, 1771; David, born Jul. 20, 1774 in New Gloucester, died May 16, 1849, and married Abigail Haskell, Jul. 10, 1794; William, married first Joanna Bacheldor in 1784, and second Rachel Johnson, Dec. 17, 1808 in North Yarmouth; Simeon, born abt. 1775 in New Gloucester, married Ruth Green; Jacob, bapt. Oct. 14, 1776, died 1844; Enos, born Aug. 28, 1778, married Nancy Gower in 1803; Mary, born abt. 1768, married John Waterman in 1785.
Capt. Wm. Harris was a Selectman in the Town of New Gloucester. He purchased property in 1763 and his sons assisted in preparing the land for living and farming. Since formerly residing in North Yarmouth during the Indian Wars, he was well acquainted with the wilderness of Maine, and the surrounding towns. In his role as Selectman, he played an active role in the formation of the church and the incorporation of the town. He served on the Committees on Safety and Correspondence for New Gloucester in Sept. 1774, and attended meetings with Col. William Allen and Capt. Isaac Parsons.
Capt. William Harris attended to the powder house in New Gloucester, keeping replenishments for the minutemen to be well prepared. At the outbreak of the Rev. War, he was 44 years old, and a well-trained soldier. His pioneering style upbringing and experience with the French and Indians made him the ideal candidate to lead a company of troops.
He served as a Captain of the New Gloucester Company, 4th Cumberland County Regiment; return dated Brunswick, Aug. 29, 1776; detachment detailed for defense of Falmouth, agreeable to order of General Court of Sep. 3, 1779 for the Rev. War. The soldiers of the 4th Regiment mustered-in from the towns of Windham, New Gloucester, and the old township called New Boston, with the settlements back thereof, and the settlements back of Royalston. He died at the remarkable age of 92 years and seven months. His descendants at the time were ten children, more than seventy grandchildren, and about 107 great-grandchildren. A family memorial was published in 1911; see “Maine Families and Their Genealogies: The Harris Family of New Gloucester” -- Lewiston Evening Journal newspaper, Apr. 15, 1911. No gravestone has been found, but certainly this Patriot is deserving of a U.S. Veterans Affairs memorial grave marker in the future.
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