Sion Harris

Sion Harris ( 1811 – April 25, 1854) was an Americo-Liberian politician. An emancipated slave, he emigrated to Liberia in 1830 and engaged in a string of adventures, most notably thwarting an attack on the Heddington mission by a Loma army in 1840. He later served in Liberia's House of Representatives.

Biography Harris was born in Knox County, Tennessee, in 1811. His daughter, Martha, married Harris. Gotorah was shot by Harris during the assault, prompting the attackers to retreat. Gotorah's half-buried body was later found in the vicinity by Liberian militiamen. His corpse was decapitated, and the head was presented to Governor Thomas Buchanan. Harris was widely praised for his actions.

Harris returned to the United States in 1841 to retrieve his brother and several of Erskine's relatives (this was done in part to fulfill Erskine's dying wish). En route from Washington, D.C., to Tennessee, Harris extolled the qualities of Liberia to crowds of free blacks. He met with several members of East Tennessee's abolitionist community, among them Ezekiel Birdseye and John Caldwell. In October 1841, he delivered a speech to over a thousand attendees at a camp meeting in Maryville organized by Isaac Anderson.

In August 1853, Harris was elected to one of Montserrado County's seats in Liberia's House of Representatives. A few months into his term, on April 25, 1854, however, he was killed when he was struck by lightning during a violent thunderstorm.