The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1254479
The Press-Dispatch Local Wednesday, June 3, 2020 A- 3 Lifetimes of Care Since 1870 NICK HARRIS HENSON, 6TH GENERATION HARRIS UNDERTAKER In 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant lead a nation still healing from the Civil War, a nation that had not yet witnessed the invention of the electric light or telephone. It was a time before the historic events of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday gunfighting at the O.K. Corral and General Custer making his last stand at Little Big Horn. Although we feel far removed from a time so long ago, 1870 held one milestone which provides continuity for us today here in Pike County. As was the custom of the day, a young cabinet maker named Nick Harris responded to a growing need in the Otwell community by building coffins and offering the service of a new profession emerging in America: the undertaker, one who undertakes care of the dead to relieve the burden of grieving families. In 1890, growth of the undertaking business led Nick to move his family from the rural Lemmon Creek Church area into Otwell and, with son, Orace, he formally established under the name of N. Harris & Son Furniture and Undertaking. Although Orace would soon relocate to Petersburg, N. Harris & Son would continue with the assistance of Orace's sister, Miss Grace Harris. Declining health would eventually bring Nick to close the business and retire in 1912, but he took assurance knowing his son Orace would continue providing services for the people of Otwell. Nick Harris died in 1927, and is buried at Otwell Cemetery with his wife, Martha, son, Ovid, daughters Grace and Essie Harris, Flora Bell Scraper, and Fay Ayers. Although Harris Funeral Home presently resides in Petersburg, we proudly remember and share our Otwell origins. In 1900, Orace D. Harris moved his family to Petersburg. Well-trained and experienced under the watchful eye of his father, Orace purposed to build upon Nick's care of the Otwell community by extending the family trade to include the North section of Pike County. Aer arriving in Petersburg, the 25-year-old Orace first sought to fulfill a strong sense of civic duty instilled in him while working alongside his father, and responded by seeking the Democratic nomination for Pike County Coroner. Following the party nomination, he went on to win the election in November of 1900. Immediately aer assuming office, Orace partnered with George Scraper, of Petersburg, to establish Scraper & Harris Undertakers and Furniture on Main Street on January 11, 1901. Over the next few years, he shared the partnership with several other people. In 1915, Fred Brenton and Orace separated the business, with Fred assuming the furniture trade. Because of a trend in the United States aer the turn of the century, funerals and wakes had begun moving out of the home and into formal funeral parlors. Leaving behind his strong furniture- making roots, Orace focused his attention solely on funeral directing, as undertaking was now being called. With sons Owen and Lee, Orace established his business with the name it still carries today, O.D. Harris & Sons. In 1922, Orace purchased a large home at the corner of 7th and Walnut, knowing it would provide greater accommodations and dignity for the families under his care, more so than the antiquated Main Street establishments of the past. Following years of service and dedication to the community as both the Undertaker and county Coroner, Orace died in 1941, and was the first of the Harris family to be buried at Walnut Hills Cemetery in Petersburg. Nick Harris Orace D. Harris Above: ree generations of Harris undertakers are pictured in front of the newly- purchased home of O.D. & Sons in 1922. Le to right: Orace, Nick, Lee and Owen. Right: An ad from 1901 when Orace Harris and George Scraper established Scraper and Harris Undertakers and Furniture. Above: Nick Harris with his horse-drawn funeral coach. Below: An advertisement for N. Harris & Son from approximately 1899.