Dr. Grady Early, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, taught math and computer science at Texas State University for 29 years, serving briefly as interim chair of the newly-formed Computer Science department. After retirement, Early began researching his family history and gained some familiarity with various research tools: ancestry, familysearch, newspapers, San Marcos Record archives, findagrave and many more. This made it easy for him to segue into the histories of non-family members, which is how he began to write a story about Southwest Texas Normal in San Marcos, also known as San Marcos Normal, which is now Texas State University. This series will highlight the first staff at Southwest Texas Normal.
The 1907 Pedagogue described Thomas Green Harris in this way: “Harris (dear fossil) is a live spelling book. It is spoken in his action, and told in his look.”
Harris was born in 1854 on a farm in Monroe County, Tenn. His childhood education was gained in local Monroe County schools, followed by A.B. and A.M. degrees from what is now Carson- Newman University in Jefferson City, TN.
