Early History of George Henry Abbott Harris

Transcribed by Scott Hinckley, April 2020

I need to start with George’s parents. His father James Harris was born in 1793. He was one of 6 children and he was 7 years old when his father died. He was raised by a very pious mother who he said would “rejoice even in tribulation”. This upbringing had a clear effect on James and he is said to have “maintained a faithful adherence to the doctrine..”. His early life was associated with a travelling Methodist preacher and James agreed to be a local leader of those that gathered with the Methodist preacher, a Rev. John Smith.

They met in an upper room for years and when a local gentleman (Wm Shippery Esqr.) agreed to fund a building, James became the builder and led in the building of a “Wesleyan Chapel”. While James wanted to be a preacher, health and other reasons did not permit it, yet he was a chapel steward, prayer leader and a class leader. In 1849 James died in the Asiatic cholera that swept through England. It is said that while he was dying he wanted his love to go to his brother and children but his last words were said to be, “Tel my dear George I go unto my Father’s and Grandfather’s God”.

To understand this context, George was a convert to the “Mormon” church and knowing his father was a pious man wrote to him with his testimony. From George’s diary :

“Being bab. On the 6^th Sept & getting a strong testimony I thought shure Father would believe my testimony, so I wrote him a long letter & showed him how he had been worshiping a God without body parts or passion, While I had found a God of revelation. He showed the letter to the Rev. T. Beard & asked what he should say in reply. Beard said “don’t answer it, make out as tho’ U never received it or your son wil show the answer to some of ther Elders & they cut us up finely, hence it must have made some impression in the old Man’s Mind.”

Eliza Rawlings was George’s mother. She was born in 1791 in Marigion, Cornwall, England. They married in 1822. It is said she had a meek and peaceful disposition and was religious in nature. “She took great delight in the worship of her Heavenly Creater…”. When her oldest son could not find work and joined the military she was greatly distressed and offered to sell her feather bed to release him. Money was borrowed and he was released. George Henry was the last of seven children born to this marriage.

George Henry tells the story of his name this way. “I shall call him George, said dad. I shal never call him George said Mom, I shall cal him Henry. I shal never cal him Henry said the old man. Father never called me Henry. Mother never called me George but on hearing either name especially about meal time, I was all attention.”

He tells one story that will be near and dear to my brother Ron and me. He tells of his cousin Tom throwing a rock trying to hit his brother but it hit him and cut both his lips causing massive bleeding which his mother had to assuage. In his old age he said the mark was still quite visible. My brother and I both have scars on our foreheads from each other throwing rocks that just happened to hit us in the forehead and with blood streaming down our faces getting patched up by mother.

When his brother Abraham caught small pox and had a mild case his mother had him sleep in the same bed so he would catch it also. It was a way of inoculating the other children so they would not get a worse case later. Once when laid up with inflammation of the bowels and thinking he was going to die a peddler told his mother to give him a mixture of water and “oil of Peperment” which when taken immediately relieved his stomach ailment.

In his youth he attended all the Wesleyan Methodist church meetings as his father was the prayer leader. His conversion was not as strong as his fathers as he notes he saw a little hypocrisy between the Sunday activities of the ministers and the weekdays when they stayed at his father’s house. At age 12 his father’s cousin paid for his and his next other brother to go to high school. One day when he had an egg in his school sack he broke the egg hitting a classmate over the head with the sack which ruined the books inside. As a result the headmaster commenced “…to stripe my bretches pretty lively”.

One of his older brothers was learning his father’s trade and another, John was at sea. When he would come home and tell the tales of the sea and with money in his pocket, it caused George Henry to want to go to sea. To do that he was encouraged to study navigation and went to a different school. While there he sat next to another student who would later be his captain. His parents bound him as an apprentice for five years on a coaster schooner the Tryphena. (I will let those with an interest test their memories of where that name originates and its meaning).

In the summer of 1849 George Henry was at home and still attending church. The Rev Beard visited with him and cautioned him about backsliding from Methodism. He states that he was still earnest in his prayers and he did not pay cards nor drink with the other sailors. He was praying for tangible proof of his acceptance by God when he met two Welshmen who were helping to unload his ship. He noticed they had a poor dinner (lunch) and gave them meat and soup. From his own words…

“They looked grateful and said God bless you. The words seemed to go thro’ me and I said I wish he would. They said He shal make known to U the truths of the everlasting gospel. They told me I had been praying to the wrong God, the one who had not ears, without body or parts and that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had revealed his gospel and called upon all to repent.”

He was unable to talk to them more or to go with them to a meeting that night. He prayed fervently to God to allow the ship to go to Newport on the next voyage, where they had not been for years. He wanted to go see Tobias Dalling to had been converted to Methodism by his father but who had joined the Latter Day Saints and who was “derided by my erring Father as a fanatic and a fool.” By the hand of God they went to Newport on the next trip.

On September 5^th John and William Dalling came on board and preached “Mormonism” to George Henry. The next night he obtained shore leave and went to another sermon and was baptized after the meeting and confirmed. He was 18 years 9 months old. This is when he wrote his father the letter mentioned earlier. His father passed away on the 24^th of September.

He was unable to obtain shore leave and it was not until April 1850 that he received word his mother was ill. He hurried home and was able to see her on the 27^th of April. He was with her when she passed away on May 7, 1850. To end the year, George Henry was ordained a priest on December 31, 1850.

George Henry had finished his five years indentures and was thus able to sign on as a sailor. In February 1851 he signed on the Tuna of Finland and made his first trip to Gibralter. “Some of the best coffee I ever had was in Gibralter, at 1cents per glass. It was made after the Turkish style, 1 teaspoonful of white sugar, in a heavy tumbler of cream, then boiling coffee: it was simply rich.” From Gibralter he sailed to Denmark and took leave from the ship. He spent time in Copenhagen for about a month and went to church meetings and met with Apostle Eratus Snow. Out of money he signed on with the Brig Elvira of Liverpool and sailed to Russia.

On October 2, he was injured during a heavy gale and broke his left collar bone. His bone was set by a skilled doctor and he was paid with a “foot plug of Tobacco”. He stayed with a Mormon family and on the 20^th he was singing a hymn with them. The song talked of gifts and blessings and he desired that he should be administered. He was then anointed with oil and then had 3 lay hands on him and prayed for his healing. He immediately felt “the Spirit of the Lord descend thro’ their hands, upon and thro’ my head.” He called on the doctor who examined him and said it was sound but that it must be the power of the devil.

The song was “The God that others worship is not the God for Me”

The God that others worship is not the God for me.

He has no parts nor body &cannot hear nor see

But I’ve a God that reigns above-A God of power & of love-

A God of revelation Oh that’s the God for me,

Oh that’s the God for me, Oh that’s the God for me!

A church without a prophet is not the church for me.

It has no head to lead it, in it I would not be.

But I’ve a church not made by man, cut from the mountain without hand

A church with gifts and blessings, Oh that’s the church for me.

Oh that’s the God for me, Oh that’s the God for me!

(For verses 3-6 please see the end of this story)

During October and November George Henry participated in several church meetings, assisted missionaries, gave blessings and performed the baptisms of Andrew Ireland, Christina Mitchel, Wm McCewan, Wm Gibson Burns and Uphemia Mitchel. During this time, he received a letter from his brother Abraham “with numerous slanderous authors extracts”.

On December 2, 1851 he boarded a train to Glasgow and signed on the Camilla Steamship and went to Liverpool. He spent the next month getting ready to depart for the United States. He spent considerable time with his sister visiting other churches and then comparing the difference between “Man-made religions and that of Gods”.

On January 4^th he attended the Liverpool conference and listened to Apostles John Taylor and F. D. Richards. On January 7 he boarded the ship Kenebeck (Kennebeck) but due to bad weather the ship did not depart until January 10, 1852.

(The next installment will include the trip to Utah)