Harrison family of Virginia

Harrison coats of arms

The "Yorkshire arms" of the James River Harrisons

The seal of Virginia

The "Durham arms" of the Shenandoah Valley Harrisons

The Harrison family of Virginia is an American family with a history in 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] Local officials have come from the Harrison family and others have contributed in the areas of 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. Benjamin Harrison V also served in the Continental Congress, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and later was Governor of Virginia. 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, early generations of the Harrisons included slaveholders. President Abraham Lincoln, who descended from the Shenandoah Valley family, was credited with measures to eliminate slavery in the nation; 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.

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