Harrison family

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The Harrison family is a prominent political family in U.S. history. They came to Virginia in 1630 when Benjamin Harrison the first left England for the Americas.

His son, Benjamin Harrison Jr., begat Benjamin Harrison the III, who begat Colonel Benjamin Harrison IV in 1693. His son would be Benjamin Harrison V a signer of the Declaration of Independence. For the next two centuries the Harrisons would play some role in American political history. Most famously they produced two Presidents; William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison.

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, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, and Winston Churchill.

By marriage they are related to the Lee family, the Washington family, and Randolph family.

[edit] Lineage

  • Benjamin Harrison V (1726–1791), delegate to the Continental Congress from Virginia, 1774; signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1776; Governor of Virginia, 1782–1784.
    • Carter Bassett Harrison (1758–1808), U.S. Representative from Virginia, 1793–1799; son of Benjamin V and brother of William Henry.
    • William Henry Harrison (1773–1841), Governor of Indiana Territory, 1801–1812; U.S. Representative from Ohio, 1816–1819; U.S. Senator from Ohio, 1825–1828; U.S. Minister to Gran Colombia, 1828–1829; Whig party nominee for President, 1836; 9th President, 1841; son of Benjamin Harrison V, brother of Carter Bassett Harrison, cousin of Beverly Randolph.
      • John Scott Harrison (1804–1878), U.S. Representative from Ohio, 1853–1857; son of William Henry Harrison.
        • Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901), general in the Union Army during Civil War; U.S. Senator from Indiana, 1881–1887; 23rd President, 1889–1893; grandson of William Henry Harrison the elder and son of John Scott Harrison, grandfather of William Henry Harrison the younger.
            • William Henry Harrison (1896–1990), U.S. Representative from Wyoming, 1951–1955 and 1961–1965 and 1967–1969; grandson of Benjamin Harrison.
    • Beverley Randolph (1754–1797), Governor of Virginia, 1788–1791; nephew of Benjamin Harrison V.
    • Burwell Bassett (1764–1841), U.S. Representative from Virginia, first cousin of William Henry Harrison and nephew by marriage of George Washington. (Note a daughter of Burwell Bassett was Fanny Bassett-she was married first to George Augustine Washington (President Washington's nephew). Her second husband was Tobias Lear {President Washington's secretary})

[edit] External link