Flanagin, Harris, 1817-1874

Harris Flanagin was born in New Jersey on 3 Nov. 1817. He moved to Greenville, Ark., then the county seat of Clark County, and began practicing law. In 1841 he served as deputy sheriff of Clark County. In 1842 Flanagin was elected state representative and served for two years. He was again elected to public office in 1848 and served in the state senate for the next two years. Flanagin married Martha E. Nash of Washington in 1851. They had three children: Duncan, Nash and Laura. Following Arkansas's secession from the Union in 1861, Flanagin was selected as a representative from Clark County to the Constitutional Convention in Little Rock where he took an active role in forming the new state constitution. Flanagin joined the Second Arkansas Mounted Rifles and was commissioned a captain. The company traveled to Missouri and saw a great deal of active service after that time. Following the battle of Elk Horn, Flanagin was made a colonel. Flanagin was elected governor of Arkansas in 1862. As governor, Flanagin moved the state government to Washington in Sept. 1863 following the capture of Little Rock. At the end of the war, he received a presidential pardon but remained disfranchised until 1873. In 1874 Flanagin became a member of the Constitutional Convention and was selected chairman of the Judicial Committee. While in Little Rock working to form the new constitution, he contracted a severe cold and returned to Arkadelphia a very sick man. He died 23 Oct. 1874.