Bits & Pieces of the puzzle

Who was Edward Mordecai Harris?  Edward Mordecai Harris (1835-1902) was born, raised and died in Brunswick County Virginia.  He was the son of John Sterling Harris and Southey Huff.  In 1857 he married Mintoria Francis Davis (1839-1884) daughter of Edward Davis and Francis A. Hicks.  Together they had three daughters and six sons.  Both are buried in the family cemetery at the end of state route 660 in Brunswick County near the Gaston Lake.

In 1887 Edward married Martha Chestina Bradley ( ? - 1899) a widow from Warren County, North Carolina.  There were no children by this union, however it is interesting to note that two of Martha's sons by her previous marriage, married two of Edward's daughters.  Martha is buried in the Bradley Family Cemetery in Warren County.

Edward attended the College of William and Mary during the mid-1850s.  In early 1861 the Brunswick County Court appointed Edward as one of 28 special policemen in the county to quell any civil strife because of the treat of Civil War.

When the war started, Edward enlisted in the "Brunswick Guards", Company A, Fifth Virginia Infantry Battalion and fought in the seven days battles near Richmond, Virginia.  At the end of the first year the Fifth Virginia was disbanded and Edward was reassigned to the "Mattapony Guards", Company H, 53rd Virginia Infantry Regiment.  Edward was wounded, discharged and sent home, but he later re-enlisted in the "Nottoway Troop", Company E, Third Virginia Calvary and served until the end of the war.

Edward has decendents currently living throughout Virginia And North Carolina particularly Brunswick and Mecklenburg Counties.