Charles Willson Peale - Benjamin Harrison, Jr

Benjamin Harrison VI (1755–1799) was an American merchant, planter, politician, and

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

. He was the son of

Founding Father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

Benjamin Harrison V Benjamin Harrison V (April 5, 1726April 24, 1791) was an American planter, merchant, and politician who served as a legislator in colonial Virginia, following his namesakes’ tradition of public service. He was a signer of the Continental Ass ...

, a signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

. Harrison was a close friend of financier Robert Morris, a relationship that he would keep until his death. He was the older brother of President

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

and the great-uncle of President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

Life

Benjamin Harrison VI was born at

Berkeley Plantation Berkeley Plantation, one of the first plantations in America, comprises about on the banks of the James River on State Route 5 in Charles City County, Virginia. Berkeley Plantation was originally called Berkeley Hundred, named after the Berkele ...

, the ancestral home of the

Harrison family of Virginia 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 1600’s. Their descendants include a Founding Father of the United States, ...

, in 1755. His family, the Harrison family of Virginia, was one of the

First Families of Virginia First Families of Virginia (FFV) were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They descended from English colonists who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsburg ...

, and were among the most wealthy and prosperous people in the state. Benjamin Harrison VI's father was

, a wealthy planter and slave owner, who would later become one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. His mother, Elizabeth Basset (13 December 1730 – 1792), was a descendant of Captain William Bassett II, who was an officer in the King's Army, during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. When Harrison VI became a young adult, his father lost a considerable amount of property, supposedly due to his lack of mercantile skills, and sent his son away to the

Philadelphia 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 ...

-based firm Willing and Morris, where he earned an exceptional mercantile education, and befriended Robert Morris and

Thomas Willing Thomas Willing (December 19, 1731 – January 19, 1821) was an American merchant, politician and slave trader who served as mayor of Philadelphia and was a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress. He also served as the first presi ...

, the firm's owners. Their friendships would continue to hold strong throughout their lives. After his education concluded, Harrison traveled to Europe, and began building mercantile connections, as well as his fortune. However, the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

prompted him to return home to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, as he strongly wanted to aid his father and the

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

cause. From 1774 to 1775, he was a member of the

Charles City County Charles City County is a county located in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated southeast of Richmond and west of Jamestown. It is bounded on the south by the James River and on the east by the Chickahominy River. The ...

Committee, as well as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. During the war, he became the Deputy Paymaster General of the Continental Army, helping finance and pay the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the Southern theater. After the war, Harrison settled in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and established himself as a successful merchant, and soon thereafter amassed a large amount of wealth. Later in life, his friend, Robert Morris, was in bad financial shape, so Benjamin took it upon himself to save his friend from ruin. He gave Morris a sizable portion of his fortune to aid him, and the latter was forever grateful. In 1790, he took over the ownership of Berkeley Plantation from his aging father, and began a large-scale renovation, adding handsome Adam woodwork and the double arches of the "Great Rooms" inside the mansion. In 1799, after years of hard work and success, Benjamin Harrison VI died in

Charles City, Virginia Charles City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Charles City County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Charles City County. The population as of the 2020 census was 104. The community is centered on the Charles City County Cou ...

, at the age of 44. His legitimate son, Benjamin Harrison VII, survived him.

Benjamin Harrison VI's family

Benjamin Harrison VI married two times. First, Harrison married a woman named Anna Mercer (1769–1787), and in 1776, broke relations with her and remarried to Susannah Randolph (1752–1781), a daughter of Richard Randolph II, who was a

slave trader The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and Slavery and religion, religions from Ancient history, ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The socia ...

and the son of Richard Randolph of Curles. They were direct descendants from Indian Princess

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

. It is unknown why Harrison annulled his marriage with Anna Mercer, although it is probable that he wanted to increase his family's wealth and power by marrying into the Randolph family. After his second wife's death in 1781, Benjamin fathered a son, Benjamin Harrison VII (1787–1842), with his first wife, Anna. However, some sources say that Harrison had another son, William Henry Harrison, whom he named after his

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

Legacy

Declaration of Independence (1819), by John Trumbull

Benjamin Harrison VI's accomplishments, compared to his father's and his brother's, have been less prominent in the annals of American history. However, one interesting fact about him was that when

John Trumbull John Trumbull (June 6, 1756November 10, 1843) was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Rev ...

was painting his massive portrait of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, he had no portrait of signer Benjamin Harrison V to work with. So, his son, Benjamin Harrison VI, who was said to have a striking resemblance to his father, was used as his model.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Benjamin, VI 1755 births 1799 deaths American people of English descent American slave owners Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Benjamin, VI People of Virginia in the American Revolution American planters Date of birth missing Date of death missing People from Charles City County, Virginia Politicians from Richmond, Virginia People from Charles City, Virginia 18th-century American politicians