Harris was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in September 1842, by Milton Stow, near Nauvoo, Illinois.
After being driven with other Latter-day Saints from Nauvoo in 1846, he resided temporarily in St. Louis, Missouri, until 1850, when he went to Kanesville, Iowa, and then to Utah.
[2] Harris became known as an experimental horticulturist and planted many trees from other parts of the United States which were thought at the time to be inhospitable to Utah's climate.
A monument in Harris's honor was erected by descendants and Harrisville citizens on September 27, 1955, on the 105th anniversary of his arrival in Weber County.
[4][5] Harris married Georgiana Maria Aldous January 18, 1855; she died October 30, 1858, leaving a son Emer, born August 6, 1856.