Harrison family
Encyclopedia
History of the United States
The history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776, although its territory was inhabited by Native Americans since prehistoric times and then by European colonists who followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus starting in 1492. The...
. Most famously, this family produced numerous Governors of Virginia
Governor of Virginia
The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....
(serving during both the Colonial era and after independence), as well as two U.S. Presidents
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
: William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
and Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
.
The family has a longer recorded heritage in politics, however. Their earliest notable ancestor is the thirteenth century Baron Robert II de Holland, also an ancestor to James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
, Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, and Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
.
Among the First Families of Virginia
First Families of Virginia
First Families of Virginia were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They originated with colonists from England who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsburg, and along the James River and other navigable waters...
, they came to the Colony of Virginia in 1630 when Benjamin Harrison (the first of many to bear that name) left England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for the Americas.
His son, Benjamin Harrison Jr., fathered Benjamin Harrison III
Benjamin Harrison III
Benjamin Harrison III was an early member of the Harrison Family of Virginia, serving as the colony's Attorney General, Treasurer, and Speaker of the House of Burgesses.-Biography:...
, who fathered Colonel Benjamin Harrison IV
Benjamin Harrison IV
Benjamin Harrison IV was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, the son of Benjamin Harrison III, and the father of Benjamin Harrison V, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the fifth Governor of Virginia...
in 1693. His son is known in modern times as Benjamin Harrison V
Benjamin Harrison V
Benjamin Harrison V was an American planter and revolutionary leader from Charles City County, Virginia. He earned his higher education at the College of William and Mary, and he was perhaps the first figure in the Harrison family to gain national attention...
, a signer of the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
and a Governor of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. For the next two centuries the Harrisons would play some role in American political history.
When John Trumbull
John Trumbull
John Trumbull was an American artist during the period of the American Revolutionary War and was notable for his historical paintings...
was painting his Declaration of Independence
Trumbull's Declaration of Independence
John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence is a 12-by-18-foot oil-on-canvas painting in the United States Capitol Rotunda that depicts the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence to Congress...
, he had no portrait of Benjamin Harrison V to work with. Benjamin Harrison VI was said to have resembled his father, so he was painted instead. Benjamin Harrison VI was brother to General and President William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
, who was the father of John Scott Harrison
John Scott Harrison
John Scott Harrison was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio and the only man to be both the son and the father of U.S. Presidents. His father, William Henry Harrison was the 9th President in 1841; and, his son, Benjamin Harrison, was the 23rd President from 1889-1893...
, an Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
congressman. John Scott Harrison was the father of President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
and is the only person to be both the son and the father of a U.S. president. President Benjamin Harrison was named after Benjamin Harrison V and John Scott Harrison's brother, Dr. Benjamin Harrison VII, making President Benjamin Harrison the eighth member of his family to bear that name. Since the other seven are less historically prominent, he is usually known simply as Benjamin Harrison, even though Benjamin Harrison VIII is technically correct.
By marriage the Harrisons are related to the Lee family
Lee family
The Lee family of the United States is a historically significant Virginia and Maryland political family, whose many prominent members are known for their accomplishments in politics and the military. Through the past few hundred years it was believed that Colonel Richard Lee of Virginia descended...
, the Washington family, and the Randolph family
Randolph family
The Randolph family is a prominent Virginia political family, whose members contributed to the politics of Colonial Virginia and Virginia after it gained its statehood. They are descended from the Randolphs of Morton Moreton, Warwickshire, England. The first Randolph to come to America was Henry...
.
Plantation, namings
Berkeley PlantationBerkeley Plantation
Berkeley Plantation, one of the first great estates in America, comprises about on the banks of the James River on State Route 5 in Charles City County, Virginia. Berkeley Plantation was originally called Berkeley Hundred and named after one of its founders of the 1618 land grant, Richard Berkeley...
in Charles City County, Virginia
Charles City County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,926 people, 2,670 households, and 1,975 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile . There were 2,895 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...
, the site in 1619 of the first Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
in what is now the United States, was long the seat of the Harrison family. Nearby along Virginia State Route 5 and the Virginia Capital Trail
Virginia Capital Trail
Virginia Capital Trail is bicycle and pedestrian trail between Williamsburg, Jamestown and Richmond in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States...
, the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge
Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge
The Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the James River between Jordan's Point in Prince George County and Charles City County near Hopewell, Virginia. The bridge carries vehicle traffic of State Route 156, and is owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation...
, a major drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
across the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
, is named in honor of Benjamin Harrison V
Benjamin Harrison V
Benjamin Harrison V was an American planter and revolutionary leader from Charles City County, Virginia. He earned his higher education at the College of William and Mary, and he was perhaps the first figure in the Harrison family to gain national attention...
, a signer of the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
and Governor of Virginia. The U.S. Army Fort Benjamin Harrison
Fort Benjamin Harrison
Fort Benjamin Harrison was a U.S. Army post located in suburban Lawrence, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis. It is named for the 23rd United States President, Benjamin Harrison. Land was purchased in 1903, with the post being officially named for President Harrison in honor of Indianapolis being...
near Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
was named for President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
, who was born in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
but is descended from the Harrison family of Virginia.
Family tree (partial list of politically noteworthy persons)
- Reverend Dr. James Blair (1656–1743), born in Scotland, Highest ranking representative of the Church of EnglandChurch of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
in the Colony of Virginia as Commissary of the Bishop of LondonBishop of LondonThe Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
; he helped found and became First President of the College of William and MaryCollege of William and MaryThe College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
in 1693, married Sarah Harrison, daughter of Benjamin Harrison Jr. (II). - Philip Ludwell (II) (1672–1726) married Hannah Harrison, daughter of Benjamin Harrison II. (Ludwell was the son of Philip LudwellPhilip LudwellPhilip Ludwell of Richneck Plantation in James City County, Virginia is best known for being governor of the British Colony of Carolina from 1691–94. From a base in the coastal port city of Charleston, he was governor of the entire Colony of Carolina...
, the Royal Governor of the Colony of Carolina, which was the predecessor of the State of North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.) - Peyton RandolphPeyton RandolphPeyton Randolph was a planter and public official from the Colony of Virginia. He served as speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses, chairman of the Virginia Conventions, and the first President of the Continental Congress.-Early life:Randolph was born in Tazewell Hall, Williamsburg, Virginia...
(1721–1775), Brother-in-law of Benjamin Harrison V, Delegate to the Continental Congress from VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
1774–1775. - Benjamin Harrison VBenjamin Harrison VBenjamin Harrison V was an American planter and revolutionary leader from Charles City County, Virginia. He earned his higher education at the College of William and Mary, and he was perhaps the first figure in the Harrison family to gain national attention...
(1726–1791), Brother-in-law of Peyton Randolph, Delegate to the Continental Congress from Virginia 1774, member of the Virginia General AssemblyVirginia General AssemblyThe Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
1776, Governor of Virginia 1782–1784. - John Cleves SymmesJohn Cleves SymmesJohn Cleves Symmes was a delegate to the Continental Congress from New Jersey, and later a pioneer in the Northwest Territory. He was also the father-in-law of President William Henry Harrison .-Early biography:He was the son of the Rev...
(1742–1814), Father-in-law of William Henry Harrison, Justice of the New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Supreme Court 1777–1787, Delegate to the Continental Congress from New Jersey 1785–1786, Justice of the Northwest TerritoryNorthwest TerritoryThe Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
Supreme Court 1788–1802.- Carter Bassett HarrisonCarter Bassett HarrisonCarter Bassett Harrison was a politician from the U.S. state of Virginia. He was the son of Benjamin Harrison V, a member of the Continental Congress and signer of the American Declaration of Independence, and the brother of William Henry Harrison, the ninth President of the United States.Harrison...
(1752–1808), Son of Benjamin Harrison V, member of the Virginia General Assembly, U.S. Representative from Virginia 1793–1799. - Edmund Jennings Randolph (1753–1813), Nephew of Peyton Randolph, Delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention 1776, Attorney General of Virginia 1776–1782, Delegate to the Continental Congress from Virginia 1779–1782, Governor of Virginia 1786–1788, Virginia House Delegate 1788, Attorney General of the United States 1789–1794, U.S. Secretary of State 1794–1795.
- Beverley RandolphBeverley RandolphBeverley Randolph was an American politician from Virginia. He served as the eighth Governor of Virginia from 1788 to 1791....
(1754–1797), Nephew of Benjamin Harrison V, Governor of Virginia 1788–1791. - Burwell BassettBurwell BassettBurwell Bassett, Jr. was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1787 to 1789, and the Virginia Senate from 1794 to 1805.-Biography:...
(1764–1841), First cousin of William Henry Harrison, Virginia House Delegate 1787–1789 and 1819–1821, Virginia State Senator 1794–1805, U.S. Representative from Virginia 1805–1813, 1815–1819, and 1821–1829. - William Henry HarrisonWilliam Henry HarrisonWilliam Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
(1773–1841), son of Benjamin Harrison V, Secretary of the Northwest Territory 1798–1799, U.S. Congressional Delegate from the Northwest Territory 1799–1800, Governor of Indiana TerritoryIndiana TerritoryThe Territory of Indiana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1800, until November 7, 1816, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Indiana....
1801–1812, U.S. Representative from OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
1816–1819, Ohio State Senator 1819–1821, candidate for Governor of Ohio 1820, U.S. Senator from Ohio 1825–1828, U.S. Minister to Gran ColombiaGran ColombiaGran Colombia is a name used today for the state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1831. This short-lived republic included the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru and northwest Brazil. The...
1828–1829, candidate for President of the United States 1836, President of the United States 1841.- John Scott HarrisonJohn Scott HarrisonJohn Scott Harrison was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio and the only man to be both the son and the father of U.S. Presidents. His father, William Henry Harrison was the 9th President in 1841; and, his son, Benjamin Harrison, was the 23rd President from 1889-1893...
(1804–1878), son of William Henry Harrison, U.S. Representative from Ohio 1853–1857. - Carter Harrison, Sr.Carter Harrison, Sr.Carter Henry Harrison, Sr. was an American politician who served as mayor of Chicago, Illinois from 1879 until 1887; he was subsequently elected to a fifth term in 1893 but was assassinated before completing his term. He previously served two terms in the United States House of Representatives...
(1825–1893), grandnephew of Benjamin Harrison V, U.S. Representative from IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
1875–1879, Mayor of Chicago, Illinois 1879–1887 and 1893; candidate for Governor of Illinois 1884.- Alvin SaundersAlvin SaundersAlvin Saunders was a U.S. Senator from Nebraska, in the United States, as well as the governor of the Nebraska Territory for most of the American Civil War.-Education:Saunders was born in Fleming County, Kentucky...
(1817–1899), father-in-law of Russell Benjamin Harrison, grandfather of William H. Harrison, delegate to the IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
Constitutional Convention 1846, Iowa State Senator 1854–1856 and 1858–1860, delegate to the Republican National Convention 1860 and 1868, Governor of Nebraska TerritoryNebraska TerritoryThe Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebraska Territory was created by the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854...
1861–1867, U.S. Senator from NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
1877–1883. - Benjamin HarrisonBenjamin HarrisonBenjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
(1833–1901), son of John Scott Harrison, candidate for Governor of IndianaIndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
1876, U.S. Senator from Indiana 1881–1887, President of the United States 1889–1893.- Russell Benjamin HarrisonRussell Benjamin HarrisonRussell Benjamin Harrison , also known as Russell Lord Harrison, was the son of United States President Benjamin Harrison and Caroline Harrison.-Life:...
(1854–1936), son of President Benjamin Harrison, son-in-law of Alvin Saunders, father of William H. Harrison, U.S. Representative from Wyoming, Indiana Representative 1921–1925, Indiana State Senator 1925–1933. - Carter Harrison, Jr.Carter Harrison, Jr.Carter Henry Harrison, Jr. served as Mayor of Chicago . The City's 30th mayor, he was the first actually born in Chicago....
(1860–1953), son of Carter Harrison, Sr., Mayor of Chicago, Illinois 1897–1905 and 1911–1915; delegate to the Democratic National Convention 1916, 1920, 1932, and 1936.- William H. HarrisonWilliam H. Harrison (Wyoming Congressman)William Henry Harrison was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. representative from Wyoming.-Political career:...
(1896–1990), son of Russell Benjamin Harrison, grandson of Alvin Saunders and President Benjamin Harrison. Indiana State Representative 1927–1929, WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
State Representative 1945–1950, U.S. Representative from Wyoming 1951–1955, 1961–1965, and 1967–1969, candidate for U.S. Senate from Wyoming 1954.
- William H. Harrison
- Russell Benjamin Harrison
- Alvin Saunders
- John Scott Harrison
- Carter Bassett Harrison