Household #150: Harris, George

Back to the 1900 Census & Household Index

In the 1900 Barney census, George Harris headed a 3-person household. The table below preserves the exact names, relationships, ages, birthplaces, and occupations recorded for the household.

Household Snapshot

George Harris headed a 3-person household in the 1900 Barney census with 1 spouse or marital partner and 1 child.

George Harris's listed occupation was Farmer.

All listed household members were reported as born in Georgia.

Newspaper and Public-Record Trail

This section flags public-record leads separate from the census table. The detailed discussion stays in the family narrative, research status, and source citations below.

1900 Census Household

Children and Later Trails

This section is reserved for later-life child evidence. No later spouse, death, burial, obituary, probate, separate household, or descendant-line identification has been added here yet from direct records.

Family Narrative

George L. Harris appears in the 1900 Barney enumeration as a young farmer with his wife Cora and infant daughter Ruby L. The household reported that George and Cora had been married two years, matching the surviving Sumter County marriage record for G. L. Harris and Cora Tomlison/Tomlinson dated 20 January 1898.

The later census trail appears to follow the same family from Barney into Quitman, Brooks County. George is enumerated as George L. Harris in 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950, generally as a farmer or retired/unable-to-work farmer. The records show two daughters in the household line: Ruby/Rubie L. Harris and Mabel/Maybell I. Harris, later wife of Russell W. Emerson/Emmerson. In 1930 and 1940, Mabel, Russell, and their son Henry Harris Emerson were living with or near George and Cora. Ruby/Rubie moved to Winter Garden, Orange County, Florida, where the 1940 and 1950 censuses list her as an unmarried public-school educator/principal. A Florida county marriage record and the Florida marriage index place her marriage to William Fred Roper in Citrus County, Florida, on 30 December 1951. The Orlando Sentinel published the marriage notice two days later, identifying Rubie Harris as the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Lee Harris of Quitman. Later records identify her as Rubie H. Roper of Winter Garden. She died in Orange County, Florida, on 23 January 1998 and was buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Gotha, Orange County.

George's earlier placement is better supported than before but still not fully resolved. The Valdosta Daily Times obituary says George Lee Harris was born in Lowndes County, Georgia, and was a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Harris. An 1880 Irwin County household lists George L. Harris, age eight, son of John and Liza Harris; this likely fits the obituary's father-name evidence and approximate age, but it should still be treated cautiously until a death certificate or other direct linking record confirms the mother and reconciles the Lowndes/Irwin/Brooks locality trail. Cora's 1880 Sumter County placement with W. M. and Sarah A. Tomlinson is plausible and supported by the marriage surname, but direct parentage should remain cautious until tied by a record beyond name, age, and locality.

Connections to Other Barney Families

• Wife: Cora Tomlinson/Tomlison Harris.
• Children documented in the census and obituary trail: Ruby/Rubie L. Harris Roper and Mabel/Maybell I. Harris Emerson/Emmerson.
• Ruby/Rubie L. Harris married William Fred Roper in Citrus County, Florida, on 30 December 1951; the 1 January 1952 Orlando Sentinel notice adds the family context and Winter Garden connection.
• Grandchild documented in the household and obituary trail: Henry Harris Emerson/Emmerson, later Lt. Henry H. Emerson.
• Father of George: John Harris, supported by the Valdosta Daily Times obituary; possible mother: Liza Harris, based on the 1880 Irwin County census match.
• Possible parents of Cora: W. M. Tomlinson and Sarah A. Tomlinson of Sumter County, Georgia, based on the 1880 census match and Cora's marriage surname.

Open Research Questions

• George's 25 July 1952 death in Brooks County is supported by the Georgia Death Index and by two newspaper obituaries. A full death certificate is still needed for parent fields, birthplace detail, and informant evidence.
• The Valdosta Daily Times obituary gives the fuller survivor list: widow Cora Tomlinson Harris; daughters Mrs. Russell W. Emerson of Quitman and Mrs. W. Fred Roper of Winter Garden, Florida; and grandson Lt. Henry H. Emerson. It also says George was born in Lowndes County, was son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Harris, moved to Brooks County as a child, was a prominent farmer, and was buried in Oak Hill after funeral services at Quitman Baptist Church.
• Mrs. W. Fred Roper is now identified as Ruby/Rubie L. Harris by the Florida marriage records, the 1952 Orlando Sentinel marriage notice, and Ruby/Rubie's Winter Garden census, death, obituary, burial, and Social Security trail.
• Rubie's 1998 Orlando Sentinel obituary says she was born in Barney, Georgia, moved to Central Florida in 1925, taught for Orange County schools, lived on Lakeview Avenue in Winter Garden, and was survived by Emerson nephews and a Foster niece. This fits the George Harris household and the Mabel Harris Emerson branch.
• Cora's death is supported by the Georgia Death Index and FindAGrave marker image, but her full death certificate is still needed for parent fields and informant evidence.
• The Social Security Applications and Claims Index hit for George Walton Harris is treated as a non-match and should not be used for this household.
• The 1940 census race entry appears to have been recorded as Black/Negro with later corrections to White. All other listed records in this trail identify the family as White, so the 1940 entry should be noted as a discrepancy rather than used to reclassify the household.

Research Status

• Status: Strong census, marriage, death-index, obituary, cemetery-marker, and Ruby/Rubie Roper trail; not source-exhausted.
• Strengths: 1900 Barney household, 1898 marriage record, 1910-1950 census continuity, Georgia Death Indexes, FindAGrave marker images, the Valdosta/Orlando obituaries, and Ruby/Rubie's Florida marriage, census, death, obituary, burial, public-record, and Social Security trail give a coherent family line for George, Cora, Ruby/Rubie, Mabel, Russell Emerson, and Henry Harris Emerson.
• Remaining cautions: George's mother, Cora's parentage, and the full death certificates for George and Cora need direct-record confirmation.

Sources

• 1900 U.S. census, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, George Harris household; Ancestry collection 7602, record 52873455.
• Georgia marriage record, Sumter County, G. L. Harris and Cora Tomlison, 20 January 1898; Ancestry collection 4766, record 634667.
• 1910 U.S. census, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, George L. Harris household; Ancestry collection 7884, record 3199313.
• 1920 U.S. census, Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia, George L. Harris household; Ancestry collection 6061, record 7316909.
• 1930 U.S. census, Militia District 1199, Brooks County, Georgia, George L. Harris household; Ancestry collection 6224, record 19954697.
• 1940 U.S. census, Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia, George L. Harris household; Ancestry collection 2442, record 57380504.
• 1950 U.S. census, Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia, George L./Cara T. Harris household; Ancestry collection 62308, record 125062474.
• 1880 U.S. census, Irwin County, Georgia, John Harris household with George L. Harris; Ancestry collection 6742, record 12757471; used cautiously as a possible childhood placement.
• 1880 U.S. census, Sumter County, Georgia, W. M. Tomlinson household with Cora Tomlinson; Ancestry collection 6742, record 41026502; used cautiously as a possible childhood placement.
• Georgia Death Index, George L. Harris, died 25 July 1952, Brooks County, certificate 17380; Ancestry collection 5426, record 1076231.
• Georgia Death Index, Cora T. Harris, died 1 June 1957, Brooks County, certificate 13119; Ancestry collection 5426, record 1233525.
• FindAGrave memorials for George Lee Harris (#129867049) and Cora Tomlinson Harris (#129867026), Oak Hill Cemetery, Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia, with marker-photo screenshots showing George's dates (28 June 1872-25 July 1952) and Cora's dates (16 February 1876-1 June 1957).
• The Valdosta Daily Times, Valdosta, Georgia, 26 July 1952, page 5, “G. L. Harris Dies At 80 In Quitman” obituary image; confirms death, father-name lead, Lowndes County birth, Brooks County migration, wife, daughters, grandson, funeral, and burial.
• The Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Florida, 3 August 1952, page 8, “Mr. George L. Harris” obituary image; corroborates death, residence-history summary, wife Cora Tomlinson Harris, Mrs. W. Fred Roper lead, occupation, church, and birth/death details.
• 1940 U.S. census, Winter Garden, Orange County, Florida, Ruby Lee Harris, single public-school teacher; roll m-t0627-00604, page 82A, ED 48-54.
• 1950 U.S. census, Winter Garden, Orange County, Florida, Rubie L. Harris, single, principal, elementary school; N. Highland, roll 3384, page 73, ED 48-17.
• Florida county marriage record, Citrus County, Florida, Rubie Lee Harris and William Fred Roper, 30 December 1951; Ancestry, Florida, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1823-1982.
• Florida marriage index, Rubie Lee Harris and William Fred Roper, Citrus County, 1951, volume 1354, certificate 26827.
• The Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Florida, 1 January 1952, page 14, “Winter Garden Ceremony Unites Prominent Couple,” marriage notice for Rubie Harris, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Lee Harris of Quitman, and William Fred Roper of Winter Garden.
• The Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Florida, 29 March 1953, page 51, “For and About Central Florida Women,” profile of Rubie Roper of Winter Garden; corroborates her Quitman, Georgia origin, school career, and marriage to Fred Roper.
• Florida Death Index, Rubie H. Roper, White, age 97, born 28 February 1900, died 23 January 1998, Orange County, Florida.
• The Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Florida, 25 January 1998, page 31, obituary for Rubie H. Roper of Lakeview Avenue, Winter Garden; born Barney, Georgia; Orange County schoolteacher; moved to Central Florida in 1925; Baptist; DAR and UDC member; survived by Emerson nephews and Kathy Foster.
• FindAGrave memorial for Rubie Harris Roper (#161426603), Woodlawn Memorial Park, Gotha, Orange County, Florida, with marker-photo screenshot showing dates 28 February 1900-23 January 1998.
• U.S. Public Records Index entry for Rubie H. Roper, born 28 February 1900, 204 N. Lakeview Avenue, Winter Garden, Florida, ZIP 34787-2713.
• U.S. Social Security Death Index and Social Security Applications and Claims Index entries for Rubie H. Roper, SSN 264-24-6921, born 28 February 1900, died 23 January 1998, last residence Winter Garden, Orange County, Florida.
• Negative/non-match note: 1890 Georgia Property Tax Digest hit in Fayette County and Social Security Applications hit for George Walton Harris are not used as evidence for this household.

Volume 3 Audit Completion Note - June 14, 2026

All HH#101-HH#150 entries were rewritten into the established Volume 4 household-entry structure. The rewrite preserved the existing evidence language, converted direct-record gaps into "Sources Still Needed", and added standard 1900-household tables from the entry summaries. The tables are based on the existing draft extraction and should not be treated as a substitute for a fresh line-by-line census-image extraction where the entry itself says details are missing.

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