John Maupin Harris

John and Henrietta Simpson Harris were the proprietors of Westport's popular Harris House hotel on the northeast corner of Westport Road and Pennsylvania. John Harris was born in KY in 1795. He arrived in Westport in 1832 by covered wagon and bought the hotel in 1846 from A. B. H. McGee. Henrietta Harris was known for her delicious southern cooking and for her disapproval of dancing. The Harris family home, built in 1855, originally stood on the southwest corner of Westport Road and Main Street. It was moved in 1922 to 40th Street and Baltimore and is now the home of the Westport Historical Society.

1. 24 on the walking tour

• Updated from Find A Grave Memorial via daughter Sarah Ann Behan (born Harris) by SmartCopy: Oct 2 2015, 3:18:20 UTC

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Son of Margaret Maupin and John Harris, Sr., grandson of John and Frances Dabney Maupin was born 4 Dec 1795 in Madison Co. KY. He died 7 Aug 1874, in Westport (now Kansas City, MO). His wife's name was Henrietta, born 2 Feb 1804, d. 24 Apr 1881. They are both buried in Union Cemetery in Kansas City, MO. John and Henrietta Harris came to the town of Westport on 9 Nov 1832, with four children, Mary Frances, b. 1827; John b. 1828; Julia A., b. 1829 and Josephine, b. 1832. Susan, b. 1834 and Elizabeth, b. 1840 being born in Missouri. John Harris became a successful business man in Westport, building and managing the famous "Harris House Hotel". He also built a fine house - one he called in his Will ""The Mansion House"". It is a home of commanding dignity which has been restored and is now under the ownership and guidance of the Westport Historical Society. The only son of John and Henrietta Harris was killed in the Civil War, unmarried. All of the daughters married prominent men in Westport and they with their families had an influential part in the growth of the Kansas City area. The oldest daughter, Mary Frances married Seth Ward, a Kentuckian by birth who made his fortune in the West in fur trading and from the gold fields. Settling in Westport he bought 442 acres on the outskirts of town and built a fine 10 room home which is still occupied today. It is this Seth Ward for whom the famous ""Ward Parkway"" in Kansas City is named for it was from his estate that 90 acres was deeded to the city for the parkway. It is a road like no other in Kansas City, a showplace of large, beautiful homes with lawns, shrubs and trees making it a showplace of the city. Josephine, third daughter of Henrietta and John Harris, married Col. Charles E. Kearney, an important man in the history of Kansas City. Their daughter, Julia Kearney, married Frank C. Wornall another pioneer family of Kansas City whose home has been restored and for which a street is named, Wornall Road. After the death of John Harris in 1873, daughter Josephine and her husband Charles Kearney with their children moved into the Harris Home to care for her mother, Henrietta. Under the guidance of the Westport Historical Society the Harris Home is beautifully restored and open to the public. The Harris Home is of special interest to this writer because Margaret Maupin Harris, is a sister to my ancestor, Cornelius Maupin who married Mourning Harris, who was an aunt of John Harris.

Data added @ The Story Gabriel and Marie Maupin by Dorothy Maupin Shaffett, 2000

References

• Mary Goode in North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000. The Kinnears and their kin : a memorial volume of history, biography and genealogy, with Revolution. Page 483. < AncestryImage >