Henry Harrison (1822 - 1854)

Born 1822 in Ireland

Descendants

Died 22 Dec 1854 at about age 32 in Sacramento, Sacramento, California, United States

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Biography

Henry Harrison was born in Ireland around 1822. He probably immigrated to the United States before 1839^[1] and may have been the Henry Harrison enumerated in the sixth ward of Chicago in 1840, with one male and one female aged 20-29 and one female under the age of 5.^[2]

In 1850, he was married to Anna (Unknown) and was living in Chicago's second ward.^[3] Henry's household that year included his apparent wife and six children:

• Henry Harrison, white male, 28, born in Ireland (no occupation listed)
• Anna Harrison, white female, 28, born in England
• M A Harrison, white female, 11, born in Illinois
• Thomas Harrison, white male, 9, born in Illinois
• Hatty Harrison, white female, 7, born in Illinois
• William H Harrison, white male, 5, born in Illinois
• Geo W F Harrison, white male, 5, born in Illinois
• Henrietta Harrison, white female, 3, born in Illinois

The family moved to California by 1852, when they appeared in the California state census taken that year, living in Sacramento.^[4] Years later, one of his daughters recalled coming to California in 1852 from Illinois in a covered wagon party, crossing the plains during the gold rush days. The family lived for a time on Jibboom Street, which was located near the I Street Bridge.^[5]

Only three of the six children listed in Henry's household in the 1850 U.S. census were included in the 1852 California census. In 1854, Anna Harrison stated that she had six minor children to care for,^[6] so it is likely that the missing children were simply omitted from this census. It should be noted that this census is just a running list of names. Families were not grouped by household, so omissions were not unheard of. The Harrisons on this page included:

• Henry Harrison, age 30, white male, (no occupation listed), b. Ireland, last residence: Ill.
• Anna Harrison, age 30, white female, b. Ireland, last residence: Ill.
• Margaret Harrison, age 11, white female, b. Ill., last residence: Ill.
• Thos. Harrison, age 9, white male, b. Ill., last residence: Ill.
• Harriet Harrison, age 7, white female, b. Ill., last residence: Ill.

Henry died of Erysipelas, a bacterial infection of the skin,^[7] in the city of Sacramento on 22 December 1854. He was under the care of Dr. Logan and was buried in Sacrameto's city cemetery in "Tier 3, Grave 172."^[8][9] His estate was probated in Sacramento and generated quite a bit of legal wrangling. An affidavit by D.O. Mills mentions that Harrison had given him money to hold for his children and not to let his wife have any part of it. The estate was finally settled in 1923.^[10]

Research Notes

The present researcher only had time to skim the probate files cited above. More work needs to be done to understand the nature of the disputed estate and its resolution.

Sources

1. ↑ His estimated year of immigration is based on the fact that his apparent eldest child was born in Illinois around 1839.
2. ↑ Only one person by this name was found in a search of the 1840 census of Chicago. 1840 Census: "1840 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1840; Census Place: Chicago Ward 6, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 57; Page: 233; Family History Library Film: 0007641
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8057 #1896615 (accessed 12 April 2022)
   Henry Harrison.
3. ↑ 1850 Census: "1850 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1850; Census Place: Chicago Ward 2, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 102; Page: 164a
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8054 #19129238 (accessed 12 April 2022)
   Henry Harrison (28) in Chicago Ward 2, Cook, Illinois, USA. Born in Ireland.
4. ↑ "California, U.S., State Census, 1852," Sacramento County, database and images, image 103 of 272, Ancestry.com; citing Sacramento, California, California State Library, California State Census of 1852 (microfilm, M/F 144, 6 rolls).
5. ↑ "Pioneer Woman of Capital Dies," The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California), 10 Sep 1932, p. 4, col. 8, Newspapers.com.
6. ↑ United States, California, Sacramento - Probate records > "Estate files no. 256-294, 1850-1900," DGS 7093894, image 640 of 2044, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8975-68DT?i=613&cc=1999181&cat=1125533); citing Sacramento County Probate Court Estate Files, File no. 292, 1855 Estate of Henry Harrison. Note that this file is only accessible at a Family History Library.
7. ↑ See the database published on the website of the National Organization for Rare Disorders, NORD (https://rarediseases.org/): Home > For Patients and Families > Rare Disease Information > Erysipelas.
8. ↑ Burial: "California, U.S., Mortuary and Cemetery Records, 1801-1932"
   California State Library Mortuary Records (Northern California), 1849-1900; Sacramento, California; Microfilm Reel #: 6
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2054 #15787 (accessed 12 April 2022)
   Henry Harrison burial (died on 22 Dec 1854 at age 35) in Sacramento, California. This record did not name the cemetery.
9. ↑ He was included in a list of burials at the old city cemetery on the City of Sacramento's website. See: City of Sacramento, "City Cemetery Burial List," cityofsacramento.org > Living Here > Parks and Community Gardens > Parks > Specialty-Parks > City Cemetery.
10. ↑ United States, California, Sacramento - Probate records > "Estate files no. 256-294, 1850-1900," DGS 7093894, images 614-706 of 2044, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8975-68DT?i=613&cc=1999181&cat=1125533); citing Sacramento County Probate Court Estate Files, File no. 292, 1855 Estate of Henry Harrison. Note that this file is only accessible at a Family History Library.