Capt. L. O. Harris

Indianapolis Star, Dec. 25, 1909, p. 4

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WIDELY KNOWN AS WRITER

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FORMER TEACHER OF JAMES WHITCOMB EXPIRES AFTER A BRIEF ILLNESS AT HOME AT GREENSBURG

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GREENSBURG, Ind., -- Dec. 24.-- (Special)

--Capt. Lee O. Harris, 70 years old, a distinguished educator, writer and poet, is dead at his home in this city. He was ill only a short time.

Mr. Harris began teaching school in 1858 and some of Indiana's prominent and noted men were his pupils. Among them is James Whitcomb Riley, the Hoosier poet.

Mr. Harris had written poems since his boyhood and many of his poems and stories have been published.

He had been the superintendent of the schools of Hancock County and helped to found the Home and School Visitor, a publication devoted to literature and education. He was its editor for several years.

Volunteer in Army.

When Ft. Sumtet fell and Abraham Lincolm called for volunteers, Mr. harris was one of the first of the young men of this country to answer the call, enlisting in Company I, Eighth Indiana Infantry.

At the end of the term he entered the service again in Company G, Fifth Indiana Calvary, in which he received a second Lieutenant's commission. He also served in the One Hundred and Forty-Eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry as first lieutenant of Company C.

He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, was a high degree Mason and a member of the Knights of Pythias.

Mr. Harris's fame as a writer, educator and poet was state-wide. Many of his works have given to the world thoughts of a brilliant mind and a vivid fancy. He gave much to the world and demanded but little, being content with his books and work. He leaves a widow and one daughter.

One of  Lee O. Harris' poems can be found here.