Susannah (Franklin) Harrison (1751 - 1805)

Born 6 Dec 1751 in North Canaan, Ltchfl, Connecticut

Ancestors

Wife of Stephen Harrison Sr. — married 29 Jul 1773 in Connecticut

Descendants

Died 4 Jun 1805 at age 53 in Huntington, Twp., Luzrne, Pennsylvania

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Mark Harrison [send private message]

Biography

Susanna was born on 6 Dec 1751 in North Canaan, Litchfield, Connecticut. She was the daughter of John Franklin and Keziah (Pierce) Franklin.^[1]

Secondary and tertiary sources that chronicle this family include "Five Generations of Connecticut Harrisons," Michael Shoemaker Book (Schumacher), History of Luzerne and Genealogies of Connecticut Families.^[2][3][4]

She married Stephen Harrison on 29 Jul 1773 at the Congregational Church of North Canaan, Litchfield, Connecticut.^[5][6].

Susanna and and husband Stephen Harrison reportedly moved to Huntington about 1776 (Susanna's brother Col. John Franklin had arrived about 1774). A profile of grandson Canfield Harrison in Families of Wyoming Valley gives a date of April 1778.^[7] Another account reports that she moved to Huntington with John and his family in the spring of 1776.^[8]

It is not clear if she came to Huntington with Stephen immediately or joined him later, but she would have been part of the group of women and children lead downriver to safety by Stephen during the Battle of Wyoming on 3 Jul 1778. She was reportedly went with brother John, his wife and their three children, as well as other families, as they made their way back to Connecticut. The group was struck with smallpox and Susanna's sister-in-law, Lydia (Doolittle) Franklin perished.^[9]

The death record for her son Jarius, reports that he was born in Canaan in the state of Connecticut, confirming they returned to Canaan.^[10] The family did not resettle in the Wyoming Valley until 1789, according to the Canfield Harrison profile.

She would have been the inferred wife in the census records for Stephen Harrison in 1790 and 1800.

In 1790, Stephen appeared in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania for the First United States census.^[11] His household contained two males over 16, four males under 16 and four females. One of the males over 16 would have been Stephen. His oldest son Billa would have just turned 16 and may be the other male 16 and older. But that would only leave three known sons, Stephen Jr., Jarius, Merritt, to account for four males under 16. This may simply be an enumeration error. Billa may have been counted as under 16 and there was another adult male in the house, but consideration should be given to whether there might have been another son who died young. Meanwhile, there were only four women in the house when we would have expected five (wife Susannah and four daughters, Lucy, Lydia, Clarissa and Susanna).

Huntington was also where he appeared in the 1800 census.^[12] In addition to the householder, Stephen, and his inferred wife, Susannah, were at home with one female 10-15 (daughter Susanna, 10) and one 16-25 (likely Clarissa, 17). His youngest son Merritt had died in 1795. Also listed nearby in their own households were Stephen Jr., Jarius and William, and John Dodson, husband of daughter Clarissa.

Her husband Stephen was one of the heirs of her father, John Franklin, who died in 1800.

She died on 4 Jun 1805 in Huntington Township, Luzerne, Pennsylvania and is buried in Scott cemetery in Huntington Mills.^[13]

Children

Children of Susanna Harrison:

1. William "Billa" Harrison, 13 Mar 1774–5 Feb 1849. m. Lydia Chapin
2. Lucy Harrison, b. 7 Jun 1775, m. Daniel Fuller
3. Stephen Harrison, Jr., b. 16 May 1777, d. 5 Mar 1865, m. Mary Dodson
4. Jarius "James" Harrison, b. 3 Apr 1779, d. 1 Mar 1853, m. Huldah Fuller
5. Lydia Harrison, b. 1 Mar 1781, m. Jacob Steele
6. Clarissa Harrison, b. 27 Mar 1783, d. 22 Dec 1820, m. John Dodson
7. Merritt Harrison, b. 12 May 1785, d. 2 Nov 1799
8. Susanna Franklin Harrison, b. 8 Dec 1789, m. Isaac Hopkins

Sources

1. ↑ Connecticut, U.S., Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection). Page 36.
2. ↑ Corbin, Mrs. Frances Harrison. "Five Generations of Connecticut Harrisons." The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume LXX, January 1916. Page 84. https://books.google.com/books?id=6ShAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA69&lpg=PA69&dq=five+generations+of+connecticut+harrisons&source=bl&ots=3rGKv66-QE&sig=P6WXxgGPq2LYHf3kb#v=onepage&q=five%20generations%20of%20connecticut%20harrisons&f=false.
3. ↑ Blair, Williams T. Michael Shoemaker Book (Schumacher). Scranton, PA: International Textbook Press. 1924. Page 668. https://archive.org/details/michaelshoemaker00blai/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theaternton.
4. ↑ Bradsby. Page 963.
5. ↑ Ancestry.com. Early Connecticut Marriages, Book V. Provo: UT, Ancestry Operations, Inc., 2012. Ancestry Record 3719 #17867
6. ↑ Bailey, Frederic W. Early Connecticut Marriages as Found on Ancient Church Records Prior to 1800, 5th Book. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997, Page 26. Originally published by Bureau of American Ancestry, New Haven, CT, 1902.
7. ↑ Culp, George Brubaker. Families of the Wyoming Valley: Biographical, Genealogical and Historical. Sketches of the Bench and Bar of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Volume 3. E. B. Yordy, 1890. Page 1302. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=BJ0sAAAAIAAJ&rdid=book-BJ0sAAAAIAAJ&rdot=1.
8. ↑ The Mountain Echo. 29 Apr 1949. Page 2.
9. ↑ For a description of this journey see Heverly, Clement F. Pioneer and Patriot Families of Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Towanda, PA: Bradford Star Print. 1913. Pages 169-182.
10. ↑ Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau of Archives and History, Pennsylvania State Archives; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States; Records and Indexes of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, 1852-1854
11. ↑ "United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKJ-81W : accessed 21 October 2021), Stephen Harrison, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States; citing p. 148, NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 8; FHL microfilm 568,148.
12. ↑ "United States Census, 1800," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHR6-DVG : accessed 21 October 2021), Stephen Harrison, Huntington, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States; citing p. 352,353, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 39; FHL microfilm 363,342.
13. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images, memorial page for Susannah Franklin Harrison (6 Dec 1751–4 Jan 1805), Find A Grave: Memorial #93563459, citing Scott Cemetery, Huntington Mills, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Chris Edwards (contributor 47880364).