The John Harris Family

By Ottis Noland Lake

In 1800, Tyre and Betsy Harris lived in North Carolina, where their son, John, was born. In 1831, they wrote from Wilson County, Tennessee, to John and family in Fayette County, Alabama, that although Tyre had a prosperous school worth $175 a year, the crops were bad and they were "in the spirit to move" and planned to build a boat and sail down the river that fall. This 86-year-old letter was printed in the Banner here in 1917. It was folded to make the letter and envelope all the same piece of paper. Whether Tyre and Betsy moved is not known, but John and Amelia and family were in Mississippi around 1835. Their final move, to Texas, was in 1845.

John Harris was a Baptist deacon, lay speaker, charter member of Rocky Springs Baptist Church and donor of six acres of land for the church and cemetery.

Samuel P. Harris was born in Cherokee County in 1845. During the Civil War, he served in Co. C, 11 Texas Infantry. On December 12, 1866, he married Mary Elizabeth Neal. He was a Mason and Baptist minister. Churches he served include Rocky Springs, Pleasant Grove and others in Anderson County until his death in 1909.

Zettie Harris was born August 28, 1887, and married Woodard Noland in 1905. He was a building contractor by trade and they were charter members of Sunset Avenue Baptist Church. He died in 1970, and Zettie still lives in Jacksonville.

Their daughter, Ottis Noland, was born here and married Cortus Lake. She belongs to the Baptist Church, Order of the Eastern Star, Business and Professional Women's Club and for twenty years has been associated with nursing home care of the elderly. Three of their four children now live here.

DeWald and Phyllis Keller Lake have two sons, DeWald, Jr. and David Quinn. He is a graduate of Landig College of Mortuary Science, served four years in the U. S. Air Force during the Korean War, attended Lon Morris, Jacksonville Baptist, and Tyler Junior College, is a member of the Christian Church, Civitan Club, Masonic Lodge, is president of Cherokee County Association for Retarded Children and is administrator of Sunset Care Center.

Joan married Hubert T. Treadwell, Jr. They have four children: Hubert Thomas III. Robin Elaine, Anthony Scott and Carl Timothy. Hubert is wholesale distributor of Enco products in Cherokee County. They are members of First Methodist Church.

Nancy married Joe Cruse, Jr., Baptist minister and schoolteacher. Together with their children Joe III, Karen, Elizabeth Jane, John and Cindy, they are known as "The Singing Joe Cruse Family," being television personalities and recording artists working in the field of evangelism.

David and Shirley Hill Lake reside in Tyler with their children, Joel and Jonathan. He is an attorney as well as owning and being directly involved in the operation of two nursing homes. He holds degrees from Baylor University, Southwestern Seminary and Southern Methodist University.

Six generations of Harris' have lived in and around Jacksonville and all exemplify "the spirit to move"—forward always in their chosen fields.

Sunset Nursing Home here is operated by Mrs. Ottis Noland Lake, a descendant of John Harris and daughter of Woodard and Zettie Harris Noland.