Benjamin Harrison V

Benjamin Harrison V

Benjamin Harrison, V (April 5, 1726 – April 24, 1791) was an American planter and revolutionary leader from Charles City County, Virginia. He was educated at the College of William and Mary and 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, signed the Declaration of Independence, and was Governor of Virginia from 1781 to 1784. He again ran for the state legislature but was defeated by John Tyler, Sr., father of future president, John Tyler. He was elected from a neighboring district, however, and served until his death.

He was son of Benjamin Harrison, IV and Anne Carter, and grandson of Robert Carter I; his cousin was the plantation owner Robert Carter. Benjamin Harrison, V, was married to Elizabeth Bassett. Their son William Henry Harrison and great-grandson Benjamin Harrison would both become President of the United States. Besides William, their youngest child, they had six other children; Elizabeth, Anna, Benjamin, VI, Lucy, Carter, and Sarah. His brother-in-law was Speaker of the House of Burgesses, Peyton Randolph, who was first cousin once removed of Thomas Jefferson.

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.

External links

• Appleton's Biography edited by Stanley L. Klos
• Harrison’s Congressional biography
• Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856