Benjamin Harrison V
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Benjamin Harrison V | |
 |
|
|
|
|
|---|---|
| In office 1781 – 1784 |
|
| Preceded by | Thomas Nelson, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Henry |
|
|
|
| Born | April 5, 1726 Charles City County, Virginia |
| Died | April 24, 1791 (aged 65) Charles City County, Virginia |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Bassett |
| Signature |  |
Benjamin Harrison V (April 5, 1726 – April 24, 1791) 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. Harrison was a representative for Surry County, Virginia, (1756-1758) and Charles City County (1766-1776) to the House of Burgesses. He was a Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1777 and, during the Second Continental Congress, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Harrison also served frequently as Chairman of the Committee of the Whole in the Continental Congress, and presided over important debates on the independence resolution offered by fellow Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee, as well as over the wording of the Declaration itself.
Harrison served as the Governor of Virginia from 1781 to 1784. He then again ran for the state legislature, but he was defeated by John Tyler, Sr., the father of the future president John Tyler. Harrison was elected from a neighboring district, however, and he served (including as speaker of the House when it adopted the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom) until his death.
[edit] Family
Harrison was a son of Benjamin Harrison IV and Anne Carter, and a grandson of Robert Carter I, who was an ancestor of Robert E. Lee. Harrison's cousin was the plantation owner Robert Carter III. Benjamin Harrison V, was married to his second cousin, Elizabeth Bassett. Their son William Henry Harrison and great-grandson Benjamin Harrison would both become the President of the United States. Harrison's grandson was the Congressman John Scott Harrison. His great-great-grandson was the Congressman William H. Harrison of Wyoming (1896-1990). Besides William Henry, their youngest child, Mr. and Mrs. Harrison had six other children; Elizabeth, Anna, Benjamin VI, Lucy, Carter, and Sarah. Harrison's brother-in-law was the Speaker of the House of Burgesses, Peyton Randolph, who was the first cousin once removed of Thomas Jefferson. Harrison's brother-in-law, Burwell Bassett, was married to the sister of Martha Washington.
Harrison lived all his life at Berkeley Plantation, the Harrison family home in Virginia, and his children were born there.
Harrison County, West Virginia was formed in 1784 and named in Governor Harrison's honor. Reportedly no contemporary portrait of Benjamin Harrison "The Signer" survives; the figure labeled as "Benjamin Harrison" in John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence is actually based on his son Benjamin Harrison VI-who is said to have resembled his father.
[edit] External links
- Benjamin Harrison V at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856
- Benjamin Harrison V at Find a Grave
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Nelson, Jr. |
Governor of Virginia 1781–1784 |
Succeeded by Patrick Henry |
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
 |
This article about a Virginia politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
