Henry Harrison (Philadelphia mayor)

Henry Harrison (c. 1712 – January 3, 1766) was a merchant and politician, and the mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1762–1763.[1]

Henry Harrison
Mayor of Philadelphia
In office October 5, 1762 – October 4, 1763
Preceded by	Jacob Duché, Sr.
Succeeded by	Thomas Willing
Personal details
Born	c. 1712 Lancashire, England
Died	January 3, 1766 (aged 52–53) Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, British America
Spouse(s)	Mary Aspden ​ ​ (m. 1748; his death 1766)​
Children	4

Early life

Harrison was born in Lancashire, England in c. 1712.

In his early life, he was captain of the ship The Snow Squirrel.[2]

Career

After moving to the Province of Pennsylvania in what was then British America, Harrison served as an alderman. He was also a member and vestryman of Christ Church. He became wealthy as a dry-goods merchant.[3]

On October 5, 1762, he was appointed mayor of Philadelphia, serving until October 4, 1763.[4]

He also served as manager of the Public Hospital and was a local real estate developer.[5]

Personal life

On April 13, 1748, Harrison married Mary Aspden (1718–1803), formerly of Lancashire and the daughter of Mathew Aspen.[3] In 1760, he built a home in Philadelphia on Coombes Alley (today known as Cuthbert Street).[5] Together, they were the parents of four children:[2]

• Mary Harrison (1750–1797), who married the Right Reverend William White, D.D., first consecrated Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Diocese of Philadelphia, in 1773.[6]
• Anne Harrison (1757–1780), who married William Paca (1740–1799), signer of the Declaration of Independence and later governor of Maryland, on February 28, 1777.[7]
• Matthias Harrison (1759–1817), who married Rebecca Mifflin, daughter of Turrut Francis.[8]
• George Harrison (1762–1845) who married Sophia Francis in 1792.[3]

Harrison died on January 3, 1766 in Philadelphia, where he was buried in Christ Church Burial Ground. His stone is inscribed "Alderman and sometime Mayor of Philadelphia, A Christian and useful Citizen. His desolate Widow, sadly bewailing her irretrievable loss, and striving to alleviate her grief with the memory of his worth, Erected this Stone."[9] His estate was estimated to be worth over £15,086.12.0 which included 157 troy ounces of plate valued at £78.10 (roughly $2,000,000 in 2017 figures).[3]

References

1. Council, Philadelphia (Pa ) Councils Common (1847). Minutes of the Common Council of the City of Philadelphia, 1704-1776. Crissy & Markley, Printers. p. 685. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
2. Jordan, John Woolf (1911). Colonial Families of Philadelphia. Lewis Publishing Company. p. 1048. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
3. Chicago, Art Institute of; Goldsborough, Jennifer (2017). American Silver in the Art Institute of Chicago. Yale University Press. p. 84. ISBN 9780300222364. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
4. "Mayors of Philadelphia". www.phila.gov. City of Philadelphia. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
5. Carrion, Angelly (November 11, 2013). "Old City's Henry Harrison House Is For Sale By Owner". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
6. The lives of eminent Philadelphians, now deceased, by Henry Simpson, published by W. Brotherhead, 1859.
7. Revolutionary Patriots of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, by Henry C. Peden, Jr., published by Heritage Books, 2006. ISBN 1-58549-204-3, ISBN 978-1-58549-204-6
8. Clark, Edward L. (2012). A Record of the Inscriptions on the Tablets and Grave-stones in the Burial-grounds of Christ Church. Applewood Books. p. 113. ISBN 9781429093095. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
9. A record of the inscriptions on the tablets and gravestones in the burial-grounds of Christ Church, Philadelphia, Collins, Printer (1864)

External links

• Henry Harrison at Find a Grave