Merrill W. Harris

Merrill W. Harris (May 10, 1894 – May 3, 1967), was a Vermont businessman and politician who served as President of the Vermont State Senate.

Merrill W. Harris
President pro tempore of the Vermont State Senate
In office
1951–1953
Preceded byAsa S. Bloomer
Succeeded byCarleton G. Howe
Member of the Vermont Senate from Washington County
In office
1949–1953
Serving with Mildred M. Hayden, Donald W. Smith
Preceded byWillsie Brisbin, Carroll L. Coburn, Mildred M. Hayden
Succeeded byMildred M. Hayden, Gerald R. Fitzpatrick, H. William Scott
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Montpelier
In office
1965–1967
Preceded byDorothy Shea
Succeeded byDavid F. Hoxie (District 9-1)
In office
1944–1945
Preceded byWebster Evans Miller
Succeeded byBirney Hall
In office
1939–1941
Preceded byEdward Leo Heney
Succeeded byWebster Evans Miller
Personal details
Born(1894-05-10)May 10, 1894
Montpelier, Vermont
DiedMay 3, 1967(1967-05-03) (aged 72)
Montpelier, Vermont
Resting placeGreen Mount Cemetery, Montpelier, Vermont
Political partyRepublican
SpouseGenevieve B. Damon (m. 1920–1967, his death)
Children1
OccupationInsurance company executive
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
BranchUnited States Army
Years of service1917–1919
RankCorporal
UnitCompany F, 101st Ammunition Train, 26th Division
WarsWorld War I

Biography

Merrill Wallace Harris was born in Montpelier, Vermont on May 10, 1894.[1] He was educated in Montpelier, and graduated from Montpelier High School in 1912.[2]

Harris enlisted for World War I in May 1917. He served in Company H, 1st Vermont Infantry, which was federalized as Company F, 101st Ammunition Train, a unit of the 26th Division. Joining the Army at Fort Ethan Allen in Colchester, Vermont, Harris served in France and attained the rank of Corporal before being discharged at Fort Devens, Massachusetts in April 1919.[3]

In 1923 Harris joined Montpelier's Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company.[4] He rose through the executive ranks as special agent, adjuster, secretary and treasurer, and became the company's President in 1938.[5][6] Harris later served as Union Mutual's chairman of the board of directors.[7][8]

Harris was also a Vice President and member of the board of directors of the Montpelier Savings and Trust Company.[9][10]

A Republican, Harris represented Montpelier in the Vermont House from 1939 to 1941. He served again in the Vermont House from 1944 to 1945.[11]

Harris served in the Vermont Senate from 1949 to 1953, and was Senate President pro tem from 1951 to 1953.[12][13][14]

Harris was elected to the Vermont House again in 1964. In 1965 he was elected Majority Leader, the first time Vermont's House Republicans formally appointed an official spokesman. (From the founding of the Republican party in the 1850s until demographic and other changes in the 1960s, Vermont had been a one party (Republican) state, so there was no need for parties to offer competing agendas.)[15]

Harris was reelected to the House in 1966, but resigned in 1967 because of failing health.[16]

Merrill Harris died in Montpelier on May 3, 1967.[17] He was buried in Montpelier's Green Mount Cemetery.[18]

References
  1. U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 Record for Merrill Wallace Harris. Retrieved July 1. 2012
  2. Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont Legislative Directory, 1939, page 484
  3. U.S. Army Adjutant General, Roster of Vermont Men and Women in the World War, entry for Merrill Wallace Harris, 1919, page 570
  4. Index Publishing, Cyclopedia of Insurance in the United States, 1958, page 939
  5. A. M. Best Company, Best's Insurance News, Volume 39, 1938, page 501
  6. A. M. Best Co., Best's Insurance Reports, Issue 43, 1942, page 980
  7. A.M. Best Company, Best's Insurance Reports, 1965, page 785
  8. Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company Annual Statement, Bennington Banner, January 26, 1955
  9. National Survey, Vermont Year Book, 1965
  10. National Survey, Vermont Year Book, 1967
  11. United Press International, Merril W. Harris Obituary, Bennington Banner, May 4, 1967
  12. Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont Legislative Directory, 1949
  13. Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont Legislative Directory, 1951
  14. Vermont State Archives and Records Administration Archived April 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Presidents Pro Tempore of the Vermont Senate Since 1870, 2011, page 6
  15. North Adams Transcript, GOP Elects House Leader, January 18, 1965
  16. United Press International, Rep. Harris Resigns, Bennington Banner, January 3, 1967
  17. Social Security Death Index, entry for Merrill W. Harris. Retrieved July 1, 2012
  18. Vermont Death Records, 1909–2008, entry for Merrill W. Harris. Retrieved July 1, 2012
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