1834 April 4
Candiate - Logan Presbytery

1835 April 4
Licensed by Logan Presbytery

1837 September 23
Ordained by Logan Presbytery

Harris.--Report of Committee on Deceased Ministers, Mackinaw Presbytery:

Your Committee on Deceased Ministers report that on this morning (March 26) the Rev. Alexander Chapman Harris, an aged and esteemed minister of Mackinaw Presbytery, after protracted affliction, died peacefully at his late residence in McLean county, Ill.

Resolved, 1. That we bow in submission to the divine will, realizing that "the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away."

2. That in the death of Brother Harris this presbytery and the whole Church have lost a true friend and brother in Christ, whose warm heart ever beat in sympathy with all the great Christian enterprises, and expecially the enterprises of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

3. That in this affliction and bereavement we are admonished to work while it is day, to do with our might what our hands find to do, and to watch for souls as those who must soon give an account of our stewardship in this Church.

4. That a copy of this report be furnished the family of the deceased; also to the CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN and the St. Louis Observer for publication.
J. G. WHITE, Ch'n,
D. VANDEVENTER,
A. H. MCKENZIE.

[Source: The Cumberland Presbyterian, April 21, 1887, page 8]

Harris.--The Rev. Alexander Chapman Harris was born December 27, 1808, in Warren county, Ky., and died in McLean county, Ill., March 26, 1887. He was the son of the Rev. William Harris, one of the fathers of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He belonged to a large and remarkable family. There were in the family twelve sons and five daughters, all of whom lived to have families of their own. The subject of this notice was a man of many distinguishing virtues. From his earliest childhood he was a favorite in the home and in the community on account of his many amiable traits of character. He grew to manhood before he became a Christian. In 1832 he made a profession of faith in Christ in Russellville, Ky. Soon after, he placed himself under the care of Logan Presbytery as a candidate for the holy ministry. He rode the circuit a number of years, and was very successful in revival work. In 1838 he was married to Mary Norflete, of Somerset, Ky., with whom he lived in great happiness until his death. They had five sons and two daughters. Four of the five sons preceded their father to the land of rest and eternal joy. In 1865, at the close of the civil war, he left Kentucky and made his home in Illinois, where he was always active and abundantly useful in the cause of God. It would be difficult to mention a virtue that he did not possess in a high degree. He was gentle and kind, tender and loving in all the relations of life. He had a sublime faith in the word of God. He did not know what it was to doubt the goodness and mercy of the Father of all mercies. His generosity was unlimited, and his charities were bounded only by his possessions. The poor never appealed to him in vain. Scores of poor people found in him a counselor and a ready helper and sympathizer. He was always ready to give encouragement and to lend a helping hand. To those in distress he was always as the strong man's staff. In times of sickness, trouble, or sorrow he was looked to by his friends far and near. Everybody had confidence in his integrity and piety, and hence when wicked men died in his community he was certain to be called in to give counsel in the dying hour. He was a very indulgent and devoted husband and father. He, perhaps, was more devoted to his Church than to any thing else on earth. In a service of more than fifty years he was never absent from church unless kept away by something over which he had no control. In Illinois he lived five miles from the church, and during the winter seasons, when the roads were impassable for vehicles of any kind, he would walk to church. This he did many times after he had passed threescore and ten. He loved all men, and in his associations with them never lost an opportunity to speak a word of cheer. He loved righteousness and hated iniquity. He joined Christians of every name and order in promoting the cause of Christ. He loved, above every thing else, to hear of a revival of religion. For more than fifty years he was an ardent friend of temperance and sobriety. In his last days he took great delight in the triumphs of the temperance cause. He often said that he was ready to go home whenever the Lord wanted him. Then he would add, "But I would like to be permitted to see the cause of temperance triumphant before I am called away." In his last illness he was singularly calm and confident. No man ever met death with a sublimer faith and nobler courage. He grew in grace until the change came. His last days were indeed his happiest and his best days. His last night on earth was the grandest scene in his long and noble life. When his sorrowing family were all bathed in tears and choking with sobs he asked to have the Scriptures read in family worship, and then to retire for the night. He left the earth as if he had been starting on a short journey to meet loved friends. No man ever lived a truer, purer, or more faithful life. By his death earth is made poorer and heaven richer and more attractive.       M.

[Source: The Cumberland Presbyterian, August 4, 1887, page 98]