A marker of the store reveals the struggles of a widow and her baby, left to do the work of a man.
Her husband, William Harris, was born in 1720 in England and died after 1742 at Fort Frederica on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia. The couple came to Georgia in one of Oglethorpe’s early voyages. In 1737, General Oglethorpe granted William Lot No. 136 in Savannah.
Each charity colonist was allowed 50 acres of land, five acres for a house and a garden in the Town where he lived, and 45 acres for farming outside of the Town. William Harris was granted 45 acres outside of Savannah.
Also, William Harris was granted 50 acres outside the Town of Frederica, where we know that he resided. General Oglethorpe’s policy granted each “fighting man” 50 acres of land for life. Presumably, William was a soldier garrisoned at Frederica.
The land granted to William Harris at Frederica was “on the Road to the North End, crossing Military Road from the Fort. The former Road also led straightway out of the fork easterly from the Town into the farm area.” In other words, it was one of the first streets to cross the main street, practically adjacent to the fort. This is confirmed by the existing marker site of Anne Harris’s store. The land also included the land known as the Garden Area.
From the book, A List of Early Settlers of Georgia by Coulter (From Europe, on their account): “Will Harris, Lot 126, Savannah, granted April 1737. Anne, wife of her husband’s death, and her son became inmates of Lot 68 with her mother, Ann Cassell Cole Salter. Lawrence Mellichamp possessed it before; they deserted on June 3, 1736. Dead 1737. Will, son, born in the Colony.”
Ann Harris had a son, William, and she and her son became “inmates to Lot 68” in Savannah. This same type of situation no doubt gave her title to her lot in Frederica.
The above accounting confirms that William Harris paid for his passage from England to Savannah.
William Thomas’ fate did lie with the Spanish, who continually threatened settlers. Gen. Oglethorpe periodically sent his troops into the wilderness to battle small bands of invaders. However, on July 5, 1742, the situation escalated when a Spanish fleet was spotted off the shores of St. Simons Island. Thus, on July 7, General Oglethorpe and a company of Scottish Highlanders (recruited from the highlands of Scotland to protect the Colony) attacked. This battle was known as the Battle of Bloody Marsh and occurred on the island. It is evident then that William Harris fought in this battle, which is where he died because shortly afterward, Gen. Oglethorpe granted his widow, Ann Harris, the town lot in Frederica for the use of herself, her orphan son, and her mother.
The garrison at Ft. Frederica was abandoned by General Oglethorpe in 1749 when he returned to England.
Ann Harris remained in her store on the island with her young son and mother (Ann Coles), but it was only a matter of time before the Town fell into ruins, and the families moved to the rice plantations in Liberty County. The widow Harris married Daniel Demetre and removed him to his plantation in Liberty County, known as “Bethany.”
Her infant son, William Thomas Harris, b. 1738 Savannah, died June 1786, Liberty Co., Ga.
Notes__A genealogical study of the families of Harris, Coles, Salter, and Demetre was traced by Jeannette Holland Austin.
Sources: Colonial Deeds of Georgia; Coloial Georgians by Jeannette Holland Austin; Colonial Deeds of Georgia; Wills and estates of Ann Harris and William Thomas Harris, et al.