Charles Boarman Harris
Charles Boarman Harris | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age Charles Town, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | January 2, 1942 (aged 84) |
| Occupation(s) | Physician, surgeon, bank president, school board president |
| Known for | First licensed medical practitioner in Pembina County, North Dakota; longest-serving physician in Pembina County |
Dr. Charles Boarman Harris (November 6, 1857 – January 2, 1942) was a prominent American physician and surgeon. As the grandson of Rear Admiral Charles Boarman, he was among the earliest pioneers to settle in Pembina, North Dakota, recognized as the first established community within the Dakota Territory. Harris holds the distinction of being the initial licensed medical practitioner to serve the wider population of Pembina County, fulfilling the role of county physician for close to six decades. By the time of his passing in 1942, he was acknowledged as North Dakota’s longest-tenured doctor and surgeon.
Early life and career
Harris was born on November 6, 1857, in Charles Town, Virginia. He was the son of Susan Martha (née Boarman) and Jeremiah Harris, a prosperous landowner and businessman. His maternal grandfather, Rear Admiral Charles Boarman, had a distinguished military career spanning the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War, and played a role in West Virginia’s separation from Virginia in 1861. During the American Civil War, Harris’ father served with the Confederate Army’s Ashby's Cavalry unit.
Raised on a farm near Bloomery in Jefferson County, Harris received his early education locally before pursuing medical studies at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore, where he graduated on March 3, 1880. Following graduation, he practiced medicine for a year and a half in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
Arrival in Pembina
Following the death of his father in 1881, Harris relocated to the Dakota Territory, with his widowed mother and siblings joining him a year later. On January 11, 1883, after traveling alone for four days equipped only with his clothing and medical instruments, he reached what is now known as Pembina, North Dakota.[1] Initially, he resided with the fort physician at Fort Pembina for one year since no doctor was available to serve the approximately 4,000 inhabitants across the Pembina-St. Vincent region. Subsequently, Harris launched his own medical practice, becoming Pembina County’s first licensed doctor.[2]
In Pembina, Harris met Catherine Jane Abrams, whose father George Abrams was a Canadian-born land agent serving as register of deeds at the local courthouse. The couple married on September 29, 1886, and together had eleven children; six—five daughters and one son—survived into adulthood: Gladys, Kathryn J., Pauline, Janette, George, and Mary Margaret Harris.[3][2]
Frontier doctor
Harris constructed his initial residence from lumber and lived simply with only a coal stove and hurricane lamps procured from the neighborhood general store.[1] As a young physician operating in the rural Upper Midwest, he contended with harsh climatic conditions, inadequate roads, and an absence of telegraph communication. Over nearly six decades of service, Harris made innumerable house visits and delivered upwards of 3,000 infants.[2]
He was an active participant in both the Grand Forks District Medical Society and North Dakota State Medical Society and maintained a strong foundation in contemporary medical research. In 1888, Harris was appointed as Pembina Health Officer—a position he held for almost fifty years—and also dedicated three decades to serving as county medical commissioner overseeing insanity cases.[3]
Later years
By the end of the 1890s, Harris had diversified his pursuits beyond the medical field. Beginning in 1895, he dedicated 25 years to leading the Pembina school board as its president. Additionally, he owned and operated multiple farms throughout Pembina County, where extensive wheat cultivation formed a major part of his revenue. His wife, Catherine, was actively engaged in community affairs, playing a key role in establishing public parks in South Pembina as well as the original Masonic park. In 1905, Harris launched a medical practice in a downtown office next to a pharmacy; this building is still part of what is now known as Pembina's "Spot Bar."
In 1911, Harris assumed the presidency of the Merchants Bank of Pembina, a position he held for more than fifteen years. He was also involved in several fraternal groups such as the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Degree of Honor Protective Association, Masons, and Yeomen.
On September 5, 1936, Charles and Catherine marked their 50th wedding anniversary with a large gathering at their residence attended by hundreds. Their surviving children and seven grandchildren were among those present. Harris maintained his medical practice well into his eighties until he passed away due to heart disease on January 2, 1942. At that time, he was recognized as the longest-serving physician still practicing in Pembina County.
In 2007, ten of their surviving grandchildren contributed a silver-level donation toward the Pembina Community Center Renovation project to honor the legacy of Charles and Catherine Harris. Local officials publicly acknowledged their family's longstanding civic involvement.