When Sarah Margaret Elvira Harris was born on 18 November 1890, in Avalon, Ellis, Texas, United States, her father, Richard Asa Harris, was 26 and her mother, Amanda Melvina Buchanan, was 26. She lived in Ellis, Texas, United States in 1890 and Deer Creek Township, Custer, Oklahoma, United States in 1900.
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Under the direction of Governor Jim Hogg, Texas filed a lawsuit against John D. Rockefeller for violating state monopoly laws. Hogg argued that Standard Oil Company and Water-Piece Oil Company of Missouri were engaged in illegal practices like price fixing, rebates, and consolidation. Rockefeller was indicted, but never tried in a court of law; other employees of his company were convicted as guilty.
A landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities if the segregated facilities were equal in quality. It's widely regarded as one of the worst decisions in U.S. Supreme Court history.
By 1921, Tulsa was a booming city with a population of over one hundred thousand, with ten thousand African Americans in the Greenwood District. Crime rates in Tulsa soared and vigilantism was present. An incident occurred with Dick Rowland, an African American shoe shiner, and Sara Page, a white elevator operator. Reports claim Rowland stepped on Page’s foot and she let out a scream. The newspaper reported Rowland attempted to rape Page. Rowland was arrested and white vigilantes demanded the sheriff to hand over Rowland for lynching. An armed group of African American men went to the courthouse to aid in protecting Rowland from the mob. The group was turned away and a shot was fired between the white and African American groups, which ignited a riot. While buildings in Tulsa were burned, a major effort by whites focused mainly on the Greenwood District which was burned to the ground and many were shot. Over 30 people were killed and many were injured in the riots.
English (southern England and south Wales): from the personal name Harry + genitival -s. This surname is also established in Ireland, taken there principally during the Plantation of Ulster. However, in some cases, particularly in families coming from County Mayo, Harris can be an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hEarchadha. This surname is also very common among African Americans.
American shortened and altered form of Greek surnames begining with Cha(r)-, such as Chasandrinos (variant of Kassandrinos, a habitational name from the Kassandra peninsula of Chalkidiki), and various patronymics from the personal name Charalampos (see Charos ). In North America, the surname Harris may possibly also originate from a transferred use of the Greek personal (given) name Charis or Harris (shortened forms of Charalampos) as a surname (i.e. as a replacement of the original surname).
Americanized form of various like-sounding Jewish surnames.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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