The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and
Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 939 

BURT L. HARRIS.

For fourteen years Burt L. Harris has been connected with important ranching
interests in Yakima county. His long experience in the live stock business has
been one of the causes of his success which he has achieved along that line and
he is, moreover, interested in other enterprises, being interested in financial
and commercial institutions.

Mr. Harris was born in Stella, Nebraska, May 1, 1875, his parents being Isaac
and Rosie G. Harris, both of whom removed from the state of Illinois to Nebraska
in the '60s, being numbered among the honored pioneers of the latter state.
There the father gave his attention to the live stock business, attaining
considerable success, and he was popular in the community, in which he had made
many friends during his long residence.

Mr. Harris of this review was reared under the parental roof and from his
parents received his first lessons in regard to life's duties. He acquired his
education in the schools of the neighborhood and after laying aside his
textbooks entered upon the same line of business in which his father was
engaged, assisting the latter in his live stock interests. He so continued for
nearly twenty years, but in 1904 conceived the idea of making removal to the far
west, having heard many favorable reports of the opportunities and advantages
presented to a young man in the state of Washington and particularly in Yakima
county. He at first located upon a ranch on the Moxee, where he remained for
some time, but later acquired a large property on the reservation and this has
remained the headquarters of his live stock interests ever since. In the conduct
of his business he has utilized progressive methods and now has about four
hundred head of beef steers and also raises a valuable hay crop upon his
property. He is a trustee of the Yakima Trust Company, his business ability and
good judgment being readily recognized by his co-directors of the institution.
He is also connected with the Pasco Union Stock Yards, of which he is a
director, and is president of Harris Brothers, Inc., which firm he founded in
partnership with his brother, George W. Harris, who is representing the family
in war activities, being connected with Red Cross work in Europe.

On June 25, 1913, Mr. Harris was united in marriage to Miss Nevene Pelham, a
native of Indiana and a daughter of J. M. Pelham, who became a resident of
Pasco, Washington, in 1910. He was connected in an official capacity with the
Northern Pacific Railroad and was respected by his superior officers and
esteemed by those who worked under him, all recognizing in him an able and loyal
official. To Mr. and Mrs. Harris has been born a son, Guy Pelham.

Mr. Harris has always taken a laudable part in the further upbuilding of his
county and the particular section in which he lives and is ever ready to give of
his time and means in order to promote objects which he considers worthy and
useful. Since coming here he has made many friends and is particularly well
known in the local blue lodge of Masons, of which he has become a member, while
he is also a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Both he and his
wife are a welcome addition to the younger set of the neighborhood in which they
reside and there are many who enjoy the open-hearted hospitality of their
pleasant home.

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Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in January 2008 by Jeffrey L. Elmer.
Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.