HARRIS HOUSE ON BAYLOR CAMPUS NAMED FOR NAT HARRIS, HUSBAND OF MAGGIE GREER

MAGGIE GREER WANTED TO GO TO COLLEGE AWAY FROM HOME SO SELECTED BAYLOR COLLEGE IN WACO, TEXAS. THERE, SHE MET NATHANIEL HARRIS AND MARRIED HIM.

Here are some related photos.

Nat Harris was born 25 August 1875 in Raymond, Mississippi and came to Texas as a youth. He attended Baylor University for a Bachelors and Masters, Yale University for another Masters, and George Washington University for his law Degree. He taught at Baylor University Law School beginning in1922 and described lawyers as "unbonded agents of humanity" He later described his terminal illness and soon to come death as " For me it is a great adventure".

Obituary of Nat Harris.....

Judge Nat Harris, 73, prominent Waco attorney for many years died Sunday at the home of his daughter, Mrs. E. G. Marion of 3128 Parrott Avenue following along illness.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 2:30 pm at the Austin Avenue Methodist Church, Dr. A. Norman Evans, officiating, burial in Oakwood Cemetery.

Born near Raymond in Hines County, Mississippi, Judge Harris moved to Waco in 1892. He graduated from Baylor in 1900, took his MA degree form Yale in 1902 and his LLM degree from George Washigton Univeristy in 1905.

He returned in 1905 to Waco to become assistaant to Pat M. Neff, who at that time was prosecuting attorney of this county. He was elected Justice of the peace in 1906.

He taught Constitional Law at the Baylor Law School from 1923 until his retirement in 1943.

Surviving are four children, Mrs. Marion, Mrs. Sam H. Amsler, Jr. of Waco, Nat Harris, Jr. and Thomas Greer Harris both of Austin, one brother Martin Harris of San Antonio; two sisters Mrs. Edgar McLendeon of Junction and Mrs. Roberta Jones of Mineral Wells; and six grandchildren.

Taken from the Waco News Tribune 20 Dec 1948.

In Memoriam..... Nat Harris

Judge Nat Harris was born in Raymond, Mississippi, on August 25, 1875. His early youth was spent there. Always and everywhere he reflected the State of his origin, in that he was the embodiment of traditional Southern virtues --- fastidious in dress --- courtly in manner -----chilalrous in disposition --- a generour host----- a boon companion ----teller of good stories-----quick of temper--- family man ----patriot----friend of God.In youth, he came to Texas. His early interest vocationwise was in carpentry.
Baylor men, here and yonder, have heard him say, with a twinkle in eye, how he ruined a good carpenter when he decided to abandon that calling for the law. The change was a fortunate one for bench and bar, as the law became the beneficiary of his talents. In a larger sense, he never ceased to be a carpenter. He spent his life as an active practitioner, always adding a principle of law whenever possible to the jurisprudence of Texas. As a teacher he was always the architect of human souls. As such, he lives "again and far away in the stuff of other men's lives.

He was educated in Baylor Preparatory, Baylor University (A.B. 1900, M.A. 1901), Yale University (M.A. 1902), George Washington University (LL.B. 1904, LL.M. 1905) His undergraduate and graduate records as a student and as a leader were enviable. Throughout life he maintained an active interest in secondary and university education. He appreciated the force and the power of a trained intellect. He had respect and admiration for a mind that could select from the maze of legal decisions a consistent line of authority. He did not tolerate loose thinking by others or himself. He once paid a judgment against a client because he felt that if he had handled the case differently the verdict would have been favorable.

Baylor became one of the absorbing interests of his life. He began teaching law in Baylor Law School with its reorganization in 1822. He taughter withour interruption until the law school was closed on account of the war in 1943. He taught a great variety of subjects, such as Constitutional Law, Equity, Corporations Personal Property, and Legal Biobliography. He had unbending ideas as to the importantance of the lawyer and his obligations to the social order. Who could forget his description of the lawyer as the "unbounded agent of humanity"? Through his teaching was laid the foundation of that detailed familiarity with the law so potently reflected in his arguments in the trial and appellate courts, in his matchlees briefs, and in the solidity of his judgments on points of law to his inquiring and troubled clients. He had an unquenchable love for the teaching of the law, which requires in evenly mixed proportions the learning of the scholar and th eunderstanding necessary to lead the student.

In the field of Constitutional Law he found the path, above all other legal footways, upon which he delighted to walk. I must confess some difficulty in cataloguing his attitude toward the more recent interpretations of the Constitution of the United States by the Supreme Court. You will vividly recollect his admiration for Chief Justice Marshall. It was Marshall who viewed the Constitution as a broad charter of government, "intended to endure for ages to come, and, consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs". Nevertheless, he was a rugged individualist. Indeed, his ruggedness was his chief characteristic. His face reflected the granite of which he was made. As an individualist, he believed in the individual and his rights. As a Mississippian and as a Texan, he believed in the reserved power of the States. He resented some of the interpretations of the Supreme Court sustainingthe invasion by the Federal Government of fields formerly thought to have been reserved to the States. Accordingly, he spoke warmly of Roger B. Taney. In any event, he had an abiding faith in the power of reason and he was skeptical of generalizations contained in opinions, unanchored to the facts of the particular case. His views were matters of vital moral conviction. In their defense, he dedicated the full resources of his ever-expanding intellect. Complete conformity of opinion is reserved to robots. Out of the clash of opposing views do we approach truth. And so there was room in the thinking of this sincere, independent, and forthright man for the concept that he might be wrong.

He began his practice at Waco in 1906. After assuming his teaching duties at Baylor he carried on concurrently a heavy teaching load with an active private practice. He reoresented large financial interests, corporate and individual. He also represented with equal zeal those of small means.He served as Justice of the Peace, member of the Board of Commissioners of the city of Waco, and as special judge of the 54th Judicial District of McLennan County. City politics in Waco have always been highly controversial. As a candidate for City Commissioner, Judge Harris declred well in advance of the election and without any hedging, the beliefs that were his with respect to the highly controversial issues of the campaign.
And the people, contrary to the usual political concept, elected him by an overwhelming vote.

No verbalizing on the career of Judge Harris can reflect the esteem in which he was held by his brethern of the Methodist Church, his brethern in the Waco

Bar, the "young gentlemen" whom he taught through the swiftly succeeding years, or by his family. He had a serenity which reflected the happy family life he shared with his wife, their two sons, two daughters, and the grandchildren.

In a visit with him near the end he spoke of the fact that he must soon make the long journey. I asked him if he was frightened by that prospect. With a quiet and almost casual negative, he added "For me, it is a great adventure. The judge went "on his great adventure" on Decemebr 19, 1948. Baylor men have been enriched by his touch. Baylor men will draw upon his strength in all of their tomorrows.

This was written by Sam Darden who was an attorney at law, Waco, Texas;


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