newspaperman, politician, b. London, England. He migrated to the U.S. in 1850, and to Wisconsin in 1855, settling at the present site of Sturgeon Bay. He held local offices in Door County, and in 1862 with Myron H. McCord (q.v.) founded the Door County Advocate in Sturgeon Bay. McCord soon left the paper, and Harris served as editor or co-editor (1862-1875). A Republican, he was state senator (1864- 1865), and for many years served as personal secretary to U.S. Senator Philetus Sawyer (q.v.). Harris was one of the chief promoters of the Sturgeon Bay and Lake Michigan ship canal which was completed in 1881. His son, ARTHUR TIMOTHY HARRIS, b. Sturgeon Bay, was for many years connected with the newspaper business. He worked as a printer from 1884 to 1910, and in 1910 was one of the incorporators of the Door County Publishing Co. This firm published the Door County Democrat, with H. J. Sanderson as editor (1910-1917). In 1917 the firm acquired the Door County Advocate (then edited by Frank Long), and in 1918 suspended publication of the Democrat. Harris was one of the contributing editors of the Advocate from 1918 to 1945. F. L. Holmes, et al., eds., Wis. (5 vols., Chicago, 1946); H. R. Holand, Hist. of Door Co. (2 vols., Chicago, 1917); Peninsula Hist. Re-view, 2 (2) 1928; Sturgeon Bay Door Co. Advocate, Feb. 2, 1889; J. Harris Papers.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Joseph Harris Papers for details.

View newspaper clippings at Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]