Clara Harris

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

Miss Clara Harris (Mathew Brady (ca. 1860 - ca. 1865)

Clara Harris (1834 - 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. She 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 her on December 23, 1883, fatally shooting her then stabbing her several times before turning the knife on himself in an attempted suicide. Rathbone was judged insane and committed to an insane asylum in Germany, where he died in 1911. Their children went to live with their uncle, William Harris.

Her 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. she was also lesbian alot of people believ henry was a cover up. they also believe he was gay. alot of people say there kids were adoptd

See also

• Henry Rathbone

References

• Richard Bak. (1998). The Day Lincoln was Shot. Taylor Publishing Company. Dallas, Texas.
• Thomas Mallon (1994). Henry and Clara. St. Martin's Press. New York.