Representative Daniel Mathias Harris View All Years
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Daniel Mathias Harris
Audubon County
Born at Dayton, Ohio, on the 21st of July, 1821, his parents being John Harris, a cabinet-maker, and Rebecca Booher. His father was a native of Massachusetts, his mother of Pennsylvania. Both died in the same month when he was in his ninth year, leaving him thus early to take care of himself. He lived in different families in Dayton until fifteen years of age; then went to Williamsport, Murray county, Tennessee, and sold goods until 1851, when he commenced the study of law and read for three years, and was admitted to the bar at Exira, Audubon county, Iowa, in 1854. He practiced first in Panola, Guthrie county, where he commenced in 1862 the publication of the Guthrie county "Ledger," a democratic paper, conducting it in connection with his law practice until June, 1868, when he disposed of the paper and removed to Missouri Valley. Here he started the "Harrisonian"; in 1871 sold out, went to Independence, Kansas, and published the Kansas "Democrat"; disposed of it the next year and returned to Iowa; located at Exira, the town which he had founded sixteen years before, and started the "Audubon County Defender"; disposed of his interest in this journal in 1873, and established the "Cap-Sheaf" at Atlantic, Cass county; published it until 1874, when he returned to Missouri Valley, took charge of the "Times," the democratic organ of Harrison county. Since 1870 journalism has been his main business. He is an able writer, and very influential in his party. He is a self-taught man, very intelligent, very communicative, and a good converser. While in Audubon county Mr. Harris served as county judge three terms. He represented the twenty-sixth district, composed of Guthrie, Audubon, Shelby and Harrison counties, one term in the general assembly, and served in the regular session of 1860, and also in the extra session of 1861. He was a candidate for lieutenant-governor on the democratic ticket with Judge Mason in 1866, and a Presidential elector on the same ticket in 1868, receiving the full strength of the party vote in both cases, but having no chance for success in this strongly republican state. Mr. Harris is a Master Mason, an Odd-Fellow, and very active in the order of Good Templars. His heart is in every good cause, tending to the social and moral improvement of society, and he is most esteemed where best known. His wife was Miss Minerva M. White, of Tennessee; married on the 26th of July, 1841.
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