This website is a tribute to my mother, Marie Flora Harris, her siblings, Donald, Darrold, Lillian,  Arvie and Floyd and her parents, Albert Edward Harris and Rosella Arvilla Johnson.

My mother, Marie, was born in Dresser, Wisconsin, on July 12, 1919.  She was the fourth of six  children born to Albert and Rosella.  She was very excited to start grade school and convinced her  mother to send her a year early at 5 years old.  Later in life, my Aunt Lillian remarked that my  mother was quick to learn everything she put her mind to.  After Marie graduated from high school,  she decided to follow her big sister, Lillian, and Lillian's husband, Neal LaRue, to the Pacific  Northwest.  Once she was settled in Tacoma, Washington, she decided to go to secretarial school so  that she could get a good job.  Her first job was working in the office of a local lumber company  in Tacoma.  There were more things to do in Tacoma besides work, though.  It's been told, that she  first met my Dad, Lucien Landry, at the South Tacoma Roller Rink.  I can just imagine them skating  around the rink, hand-in-hand. They married in 1942 and built a home in the Oakland area of  Tacoma.  My mother continued to work for awhile to help build the nest egg, but then news came of  an expectant baby.  In 1944, my brother, Wayne, was born.  Well, that changed life a bit.  Then in  1946, I came along.  After that, they apparently decided that was enough--the nest was full.  To  pursue one of her interests, Mom joined the Oakland Garden club early on and became quite good at  flower arranging.  For many an occasion, she made beautiful flower arrangements for our table and  corsages and boutonnieres for special family events.  When Wayne and I were in our teens, Mom  decided it was time to start using her work skills again.  Since she had an ability to make  beautiful flower arrangements, she first tried her hand working part-time at the local florist.   Soon she decided full-time work was even better and she landed a job working for Laura Shacklett's  accounting and tax business.  Laura just happened to be Neal LaRue's sister.  When Neal and my  mother's sister, Lillian, were first married in 1936, they came to Tacoma so that Neal could work  for Laura's husband, Jess Shacklett.  Jess had a construction business, and at that time,  construction was booming in the Northwest.  Mom worked for Laura for many years until Laura retired  from the business.  Now, armed with more skills and experience, my mother started working for the  Pierce County Auditor's office.  She worked there for a few years until she retired at age 65. Now  it was time to do more of the things that my Mom and Dad loved, like traveling in their "Fifth  Wheel."  They took many trips to places all over the United States, Canada and Mexico.  They even  spent a few months making a trek around the perimeter of the U.S in the Fifth Wheel.  And of  course, there were airplane trips, too, with tour groups to Asia and a cruise to Alaska with  family.  My mother was an integral part in shaping who I am today.  She was a great teacher and  role model.  She passed away in 2000 and I miss her dearly.

My Grandfather, Albert Harris, was born on September 8, 1886, in Wessington, South Dakota, to  Michael Harris, Jr. and Mary Parr.  When Albert was 15 months old, tragedy struck the family.  A  house fire took the lives of Albert's mother and six of his siblings.  Albert, his eldest sibling,  Lilly, his father, Michael, and his mother’s brother survived the fire.  After the fire, Albert's  father moved the family to Indiana.  In 1888, his father remarried to Clara Hooks.  In the 1900  U.S. Census, the Harris family is found living in Indiana.  At the time, the family consisted of  Albert, his father, Michael, his step-mother, Clara, and his two half-sisters, Pearl and Bessie.   Sometime before November, 1902, the family moved to Wessington, South Dakota where, Albert's half- brother, Michael Alexander Harris, was born. 
     
      My Grandmother, Rosella Johnson, was born February 19, 1891 in Castalia, Iowa, to Lillian  Harvey and William Johnson.  The family moved to Wessington, South Dakota, around 1909 when Rosella  was about 18 years old.  It was here that she met her future husband, Albert Harris.  It is unclear  when exactly in time that happened, because at some point Albert's father, Michael, took the  family, including Albert, to Medicine Hat, Alberta, to homestead new land.  The Michael Harris  family is listed in the 1911 Canadian Census with an immigration date of 1906.  Rosella kept a  picture postcard collection from the early 1900's that contained correspondence among family.  Some  of the cards were between Rosella and Albert.  One of the post cards I found was dated October,  1909, and was sent by Rosella from Wessington, South Dakota, to Albert in Medicine Hat, Alberta.   Other cards indicated that Albert had returned to Wessington after 1909.  So they met sometime  before October, 1909.  Rosella and Albert were married in 1911 and moved soon thereafter to  Medicine Hat to homestead.  I imagine it was a difficult living.  Their first son, Donald Richard  Harris, was born in Medicine Hat.  Around 1915, Rosella and Albert gave up the homestead and moved  to Dresser, Wisconsin, where other family lived and where the rest of their children were born.  In  1934, Albert died of an infection from a burst appendix, leaving Rosella to bring up their children  alone.  The two eldest children, Donald and Darrold, worked at the Trap Rock Quarry to help support  the family.  My mother, Marie, and her older sister, Lillian, did housekeeping for two different  families.  In January, 1936, Lillian married Neal LaRue and they moved to Tacoma, Washington.  My  mother, Marie, moved out to the Northwest next.  Then in the summer of 1937, Donald, Darrold and  Arvie moved out looking for work.  At that point, only Rosella and her youngest, Floyd, remained in  Dresser.  In the fall of 1937, missing her family, Rosella sold the family home, packed up, and  moved to the Northwest with Floyd to be with the rest of the family.  After a brief time helping  run a family ice cream parlor business in Elma, Washington, Rosella moved to Tacoma, Washington,  where she spent the rest of her life living near her family.  She passed away at 97 years old on  November 7, 1988.

On the Johnson side of the family, I found that my great grandfather, William Johnson, was  born in Norfolk, Ontario, Canada in 1855.  His father, Robert Johnson, emigrated from Ireland where  he was born in 1818.  However, on the 1910 U.S. Census, it states that although he was born in  Ireland, his mother and father were born in Scotland.  That means we are Scottish on that side of  the family, not Irish.  Now on the Harvey side, the side of Rosella's mother, I've traced the  family back to the early 1500's and they came from England.

Now to the Harris side of the family.  I've been able to trace the family back to the mid- 1700's in the state of Maryland.  My third great grandfather, Thomas Harris, was born in Maryland  in 1766.  There is hearsay that the Harris family came from the Isle of Man.  That's an island  between Ireland and England. Upon reading the history of the Isle of Man, I found that it has been  inhabited throughout history with different ethnic groups such as English and Irish.  Now,  that 'hearsay' of the Harris family coming from the Isle of Man has not been verified.  It is also  said that Thomas' wife, Nancy Ann Walters, was German. That statement has not been proven either.   I found a couple of clues, however, on the 1911 and 1916 Canadian Censuses as to the family's  heritage.  The Canadian Censuses at that time asked for ethnicity or race.  On the 1911 Canadian  Census, the Michael Harris family stated their race as German.  On the 1916 Canadian Census,  however, they stated that they were Irish.  Now that's confusing.  On the 1911 Census, perhaps the  German race was listed because Michael Harris' grandmother, Nancy Walters, was German, or maybe his  second wife, Clara Hooks, was German and so they just listed the family as German.  This is purely  speculative.  By 1916 however, because of World War I, it was becoming unpopular to be known as  German, so perhaps the family thought it better to list themselves from the heritage of the Thomas  Harris side of the family, which perhaps is Irish.  Again, this is speculative, but intriguing.  If  any of you, out there, have any other clues, I would appreciate the information.  I will keep  searching for answers.

     I invite you to spend time reviewing the history of the family in more detail.