Harrison family of Virginia
The Harrison family of Virginia is an American family with a history that includes politics, public service, and religious ministry, beginning in the Colony of Virginia during the 1600s. Their descendants include a Founding Father of the United States, Benjamin Harrison V, and three U. S. presidents: William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison, and Abraham Lincoln.[a] Governors, legislators and mayors are found in the Harrison family, as well as leaders in religion, education, and medicine. Entertainer Elvis Presley is also in their number.
The Virginia Harrisons comprise two branches, both with origins in northern England. One branch was led by Benjamin Harrison I, who journeyed from Yorkshire by way of Bermuda to Virginia before 1633 and eventually settled on the James River at Berkeley Plantation; they are often referred to as the James River Harrisons. Successive generations of this part of the family served in the legislature of the Colony of Virginia, including Benjamin V. He also served in the Continental Congress, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and later was Governor of the Colony. This branch produced President William Henry Harrison, Benjamin V's son, and President Benjamin Harrison, William Henry's grandson, as well as another Virginia governor, Albertis Harrison.[b] Descendants of the James River family include two Chicago mayors and members of the U.S. Congress. Sarah Embra Harrison of Danville, Virginia launched a decades-long church ministry, the "Pass-It-On Club", in the midst of the Roaring Twenties.
The second branch of the Virginia Harrisons was led by Isaiah Harrison who immigrated to New England in 1687 from Durham, England. They settled in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in 1737. Isaiah was most likely the son of Rev. Thomas Harrison, who served as chaplain of the Jamestown Colony. Thomas was kindred to the James River Harrisons, though by 1650 he had returned to England and had a parish in London, before later moving to Ireland.
As members of the Virginia planter class, the early generations of the Harrisons were slaveholders. President Abraham Lincoln, who descended from the Shenandoah Valley family, was credited with measures to eliminate slavery in the nation, and with abolition following the Civil War, the Harrisons eventually abandoned the institution.
Also among the Valley Harrisons were founders of the Virginia towns of Harrisonburg and Dayton. Other family members included Elvis Presley, the "King of Rock and Roll", as well as educators who were active in the areas of linguistics and women's advocacy. A number of the Harrisons chose medicine, including urologist Hartwell Harrison, who in 1954 collaborated in the world's first successful kidney transplant, as the donor's surgeon.
English origin[edit]
Several genealogists indicate the first Harrisons were Viking warriors of Norse origin, and that they arrived in northeast England with Cnut the Great; others say they are of Celtic, Irish, and Scottish descent. Harrisons are indeed found in early Yorkshire and Durham, in northern England. Some in their number used the older spelling "Harryson" ("son of Harry"), although this mostly ended with their arrival in the New World.[3] Among the earliest family was Thomas Harrison (1504–1595) who was the
Mayor of York, England.[4]
The two Virginia Harrison lines share similar coats of arms, both issued in English heraldry. They feature helmets and shields emblazoned by gold eagles on a dark field with supporters. The arms of William Henry Harrison (1773–1841), of the James River Harrisons, are sourced to Yorkshire; they depict three eagles and are mentioned in the arms of "Harrison of the North", granted in England in 1574, as well as those of "Harrison of London", granted in 1613 with a pedigree dating from 1374. They are often referred to as the "Yorkshire arms". The crescent below the helmet denotes a second eldest son, as in the case of William Henry.[5]
The "Durham arms" were used by Daniel Harrison of the Shenandoah Valley Harrisons, featuring one eagle and sourced to Harrisons descended from Durham. Included is the crest shoulder gules (red) signaling strength or martyrdom. These arms were first established by the pedigree of Robert Harrison in 1630, showing him to be the grandson of Rowland Harrison of Barnard Castle in Durham.[6]
Other Harrison lines in Virginia[edit]
A Prince William County line was founded by Burr Harrison (1637–1697) originally of Westminster, England. This line includes Virginia House delegates, U.S. congressmen, and a judge. Both Burr Harrison (patriot) and Burr Harrison are descendant from the original.
Another York County line begins with Richard Harrison (1600–1664) from Essex, England.[65]
Slavery involvement[edit]
Both of the Virginia Harrison families owned and traded slaves, whose treatment at their hands was at times inhumane and characteristic of the institution.
Biographer Clifford Dowdey states "...among the worst aspects is the presumption that the men in the Harrison family, most likely the younger, unmarried ones, and the overseers, made night trips to the slaves' quarters for carnal purposes."[66][l] Though it is known that Benjamin Harrison V owned mullatoes, no record has been revealed as to parentage.[68] As with all planters, the Harrisons were able to provide for the slaves' sustenance on their plantations. But Dowdey further portrays the Harrisons' incongruity, saying the slaves "...were respected as families, and there developed a sense of duty about indoctrinating them in Christianity, though there was a diversity of opinion about baptizing children who were property."[66]
Dowdey adds that, "[I]n all divisions of slaves, Benjamin IV specifically forbade the splitting up of slave families."[66] This was eventually compromised by the ever-widening distribution of estates, as primogeniture waned. Benjamin Harrison V in 1772 joined a Virginia House of Burgesses committee, including Thomas Jefferson, which submitted a petition to King George, requesting that he abolish the slave trade. The King, however, rejected it.[69]
The Harrison families eventually abandoned their slaveholding as the abolitionist movement began to take hold with the civil war.[66] Future President Benjamin Harrison had already begun his political career in Indiana and joined the fledgling Republican party in 1856, then being built in opposition to slavery.[70] Abraham Lincoln similarly joined that party, and made effective efforts to end slavery by his Emancipation Proclamation, the victory of his Union army in the Civil War, and his promotion of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[71]