Henry Schenck Harris

Henry Schenck Harris (December 27, 1850, Belvidere, New Jersey – May 2, 1902, Belvidere, New Jersey) was an American lawyer and Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey’s 4th congressional district for one term in the United States House of Representatives from 1881 to 1883. Born in Belvidere, the county seat of Warren County in northwestern New Jersey, he spent virtually his entire life in the community in which he would later build his legal and political career.

Harris attended the local common schools in Belvidere, receiving the basic education typical of mid-19th-century public instruction. Demonstrating academic promise, he continued his studies at Princeton College (now Princeton University), from which he was graduated in 1870. His education at Princeton, one of the leading institutions of higher learning in the country at the time, provided him with a classical and legal foundation that would shape his subsequent professional life.

Following his graduation, Harris read law in the traditional manner then prevalent in the United States, studying under established practitioners rather than attending a formal law school. He was admitted to the bar in 1873 and commenced the practice of law in his hometown of Belvidere. His abilities as an attorney were soon recognized, and in March 1877 he was appointed prosecutor of the pleas for Warren County, a significant county-level legal office in New Jersey responsible for conducting criminal prosecutions on behalf of the state.

Building on his legal reputation and local prominence, Harris entered national politics as a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-seventh Congress, representing New Jersey’s 4th congressional district. His term of service in the United States House of Representatives extended from March 4, 1881, to March 3, 1883. During this single term, he participated in the legislative process at a time of post–Civil War industrial expansion and political realignment, representing the interests of his New Jersey constituents in debates over economic, legal, and governmental issues. As a member of the Democratic Party representing New Jersey, Henry Schenck Harris contributed to the legislative process during this one term in office, participating in the democratic process and the governance of the nation during a significant period in American history.

Harris sought to continue his congressional career but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1882 to the Forty-eighth Congress. After his defeat, he returned to Belvidere and resumed the practice of law, reestablishing himself in the profession in which he had first gained public notice. He continued his legal work in Warren County, remaining an active figure in the civic and professional life of his community.

Henry Schenck Harris died in Belvidere, New Jersey, on May 2, 1902, at the age of 51. He was interred in Belvidere Cemetery, reflecting his lifelong connection to the town in which he was born, educated, practiced law, held county office, and from which he was elected to the United States Congress.