Elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1957. Lived in Wayne & Brantley Counties, Georgia
William (Bill) Brantley Harris, born in Wayne County (now Brantley), on April 30, 1913, was the son of Noah Thomas Harris and Clifford Amanda Highsmith, and brother to Ira Conrade, Maude Alma (Cleland) , Solena Marian (Steedley) , and Dorothy Mae (Steedley). On May 14, 1932, he was married to Mary Laura White, daughter of Jim White and Emma Conner, of Wayne (now Brantley County, Georgia.
To Bill and Mary were born three children:
(1) Franklin Delano, born March 4, 1933, and died June 18, 1940, in Brantley County, Georgia. He was buried at New Hope Cemetery at Hickox, Georgia.
(2) Barbara Jean , born February 7, 1935, in Brantley County, Georgia. She was married on March 4, 1955, in Nahunta, Georgia, to Edward Jackson Chancey, son of Joe and Pearl Morgan Chancey.
(3) James William (J. W.), born November 1, 1936, in Brantley County, Georgia. He was married on September 6, 1961 to Edna Grace Lee, the daughter of Dewey Lee.
Bill Harris was considered one of the most influential, and public minded citizens in Brantley County, and was respected throughout the south Georgia area. He obtained his education in the public school system of Brantley County, and worked with his father on the farm as a young man. After his marriage, he continued to farm occasionally and later worked as a foreman with the Milton Manning Company "harvesting pine stump wood," a product used by the Hercules Powder Company to manufacturer explosive powder. This occupation moved his family to Homerville, Georgia, Hilliard and Callahan, Florida. During World War II, he worked in a "war-time essential" job with J. A. Jones Construction Company in Brunswick, Georgia, building war-time Liberty Ships.
Shortly after World War II (1948), Bill Harris made his entry into the Brantley County business community; first building and operating a new Gulf Oil Service Station on the southwest corner of Cleveland Blvd and Florida Avenue in Nahunta. In 1956, he also operated a franchise Western Automobile Associates Store in Nahunta, and simultaneously entered the grocery business. In 1960, Bill Harris expanded his grocery business and moved into a larger building which previously housed the R. E. A. offices, immediate west of the old Knox Hotel. On dedication day, he commenced operating the first "Self Service Grocery Store in Nahunta." The store was the largest of it's kind in the county, and offered the public a full line of fresh meat, fresh produce, staple grocery supplies, farm animal feeds, and provided year-round financing (credit) for many local farmers. Later in his life Bill Harris established a "chicken farm " egg-business, housing approximately 20,000 chickens. After his retirement from the automotive servicing and grocery business, Bill Harris operated the chicken business full time basis for a short while.
Bill Harris was a member of the Democratic Political Committee in Brantley County, and served on the city council in various capacities. In 1956, he answered the public call and was elected by the people to serve in the Georgia House of Representatives in 1957, succeeding Joseph Barney Strickland, who was elected to the State Senate. During his very first year of office, Bill Harris was compelled to resign from his seat in the legislature due to health reasons, but continued to be active in Georgia's democratic political agenda. J. Floyd Larkins from Hoboken, and son of John Knox Larkins was appointed as his replacement, and served the remainder of the term.
Bill Harris was a devoted family man, showing compassion and support for both his father and brother, Conrade, during the latter years of their lives. He and his wife, Mary were faithful members of the First Baptist Church of Nahunta, where he served as a deacon, and many other official capacities. He was also a member of the Masonic Lodge, and Lions Club in Nahunta.
William Brantley Harris, while experiencing a successful business life, died at the young age of 65, on December 16, 1978. Mary Laura White, his wife survived him for 14 years and died at Baptist Village in Waycross, Georgia, on April 23, 1992. Both Bill and Mary are buried at the New Hope Cemetery at Hickox, Georgia, in Brantley County, among other members of their extended family. (Information provided by J. W. Harris, a son)