Alfred Craven Harrison (February 20, 1846 – July 30, 1927) was an American banker and sugar dealer.

Early life

Harrison Building, Philadelphia HABS (cropped)

Harrison was born on February 20, 1846 in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He was a son of George Leib Harrison (1811–1885) and Sarah Ann ( Waples) Harrison (1816–1850). Among his siblings was

Charles Custis Harrison Charles Custis Harrison (May 3, 1844 – February 12, 1929) owned several sugar refineries in Philadelphia from 1863 to 1892, and served as Provost of the University of Pennsylvania from 1894 to 1910. Early life Harrison was born on May 3, 1844 ...

, Provost of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, Harriet Morgan Harrison (wife of William W. Frazier) and William Welsh Harrison (who built

Grey Towers Castle Grey Towers Castle is a building on the campus of Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania which is in Cheltenham Township, a suburb of Philadelphia, United States. The castle was designed by Horace Trumbauer and built starting in 1893 as th ...

). He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1864, later receiving the degree of

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

. In the summer of 1863, before the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

, Harrison enlisted in the

First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, also known as the First City Troop, is a unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. It is one of the oldest military units in the United States still in active service and is among the most decorat ...

and served three months during the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Career

In October 1864, he joined Harrison, Havemeyer and Co. at the Franklin Sugar Refinery, the largest refinery in Philadelphia. He continued with his brother and brother-in-law until the "retirement of the company in 1892" when they sold their stock to H. O. Havemeyer and the American Sugar Refinery. He erected the Alfred Craven Harrison Building, at 4 South 15th Street, in Philadelphia. It was built between 1894 and 1895 (demolished 1969) and was designed by architects

Cope and Stewardson Cope and Stewardson (1885–1912) was a Philadelphia architecture firm founded by Walter Cope and John Stewardson, and best known for its Collegiate Gothic building and campus designs. Cope and Stewardson established the firm in 1885, and were jo ...

. He served as a director of the Western Savings Fund, the Philadelphia National Bank. He was a trustee of the Franklin Institute, the

Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades Williamson College of the Trades (formerly Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades) is a private men's junior vocational college in Middletown Township, near Media, Pennsylvania. The school was founded on December 1, 1888, by Philadelphia m ...

, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

Personal life

On April 4, 1872 Harrison was married to Catherine "Kate" DeForest Sheldon (1852–1918), a daughter of William Crawford Sheldon and Mary Eliza ( DeForest) Sheldon. Her brother was New York banker George R. Sheldon. Together, they were the parents of four children: * Mary deForest Harrison (1873–1952), who married banker John White Geary, a son of Gov.

John W. Geary John White Geary (December 30, 1819February 8, 1873) was an American lawyer, politician, Freemason, and a Union general in the American Civil War. He was the final alcalde and first mayor of San Francisco, a governor of the Kansas Territory, and ...

. * Kate Harrison Prentice (1878–1941), who married John Hill Prentice in 1899. * Mildred Harrison (1879–1942), who married Count Karl von

Holnstein Holnstein is part of the community of Neukirchen bei Sulzbach-Rosenberg. It is located in Bavaria, Germany. History Most important sight is the castle of Holnstein (Schloss Holnstein), and the brewery that is located since 1502 inside the castle. ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, son of Count

Maximilian von Holnstein Count Maximilian Carl Theodor von Holnstein aus Bayern (19 October 1835 – 1 February 1895) was a German nobleman who was a playmate of princes Ludwig and Otto (both later kings of Bavaria), and friend of Ludwig on his accession as Ludwig II. C ...

. * William Frazier Harrison (1884–1942), who married Alison Gowen. They divorced in 1931 and married Lisa Norris, a daughter of John Cushing Norris, 1932. Harrison, a member of the Philadelphia Country Club, the Corinthian Yacht Club, the

Union League Club The Union League Club is a private social club in New York City that was founded in 1863 in affiliation with the Union League. Its fourth and current clubhouse is located at 38 East 37th Street on the corner of Park Avenue, in the Murray Hill ...

and the

Rittenhouse Club The Rittenhouse Club is a private institution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1875 to allow "businessmen, intellectuals and artists to socialize in a congenial, friendly atmosphere." History The Gentlemen's club was founded in 1874 ...

, died in Philadelphia on July 30, 1927. He left his estate to his four children valued at $6,445,357 which owed Federal taxes of $690,875.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Alfred Craven 1846 births 1927 deaths People from Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania alumni