Raymond Benjamin Harris (1838-1910) was born at Palmero, Bryan County, Georgia, and studied medicine in the Savannah Medical College, graduating in 1859. Very soon thereafter the Civil war broke out, and he went into the Confederate service as a surgeon in the Fifty-seventh Georgia Infantry, and remained throughout the four years of the war. After the war he practiced medicine in Liberty County until 1876, then in McIntosh County, and found a still larger field for his abilities when he relocated to Savannah in 1884.
Harris continued active practice for twenty years until 1904. He was an active member of the Georgia and American Medical Associations, and was distinguished for his professional and public services to the community and the state. Harris also took some part in politics, and in October of 1880 was elected to be a member of the Georgia State Senate, having a very small majority over both his opponents. After his removal to Savannah he served two terms from 1889 to 1895 as an alderman and was also a member of the board of sanitary commissioners. While alderman he was instrumental in building the crematory and the quarantine station, and also sat as chairman of the public health committee.
From the guide to the Harris, Raymond B. Diary, 1859-1873, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)
