William Harris

William Harris (c. 1652 – 17 October 1709), of Hayne, Devon, was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1690 and 1709.

Early life Harris was the eldest son of Christopher Harris of Hayne, Devon and Kenegie in Gulval, Cornwall and his wife Elizabeth Trott, daughter of Martin Trott of Langridge, Devon. While nothing is known about his educational background, on 12 May 1682 he and three other men (including John Tredenham) were granted a patent for a new device to drain water out of mines, in particular the Cornish tin mines. On 4 October 1685, he married Jane St Aubyn daughter of John St Aubyn of Clowance, Cornwall. In 1687, Harris succeeded to the estate of Hayne on the death of his father who had inherited it the previous year from his cousin, Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet, of Stowford.