Clara Harris

For the 2002 murder culprit, see Clara Harris (criminal).

Clara Harris (1834^[1] - December 23, 1883) was an American socialite.

Biography

From left to right: Henry Rathbone, Clara Harris, Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth.

Clara Harris was the daughter of U.S. Senator Ira Harris of New York.

She and her fiancé, Major Henry Rathbone, were friends of Abraham Lincoln and were present at his assassination. Harris married Rathbone on July 11, 1867. By an unusual familial inter-connection Harris was actually Rathbone's stepsister, as her father had married Rathbone's mother. Harris had three children and in 1882, her husband was appointed U.S. Consul to the Province of Hanover (Germany), where the family relocated. Her husband's mental health deteriorated and he murdered Harris on December 23, 1883. Her children went to live with their uncle, William Harris.

Harris' grave was destroyed in 1952 after being abandoned and unattended since her death in 1883.

Her eldest son, Henry Riggs Rathbone (1870–1928), was a U.S. Congressman from Illinois.

See also

	Biography portal
	American Civil War portal

• Henry Rathbone

References

1. ^ The Lincoln Assassination Encyclopedia

• Richard Bak. (1998). The Day Lincoln was Shot. Taylor Publishing Company. Dallas, Texas.

Persondata
Name	Harris, Clara
Alternative names
Short description	American murder victim
Date of birth	1834
Place of birth
Date of death	December 23, 1883
Place of death