Hon. William Alexander Harrison, Esq

William A. Harrison From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 11 children:

1. Thomas Willoughby Harrison (1824-1910),
2. Matthew Waite Harrison (1826-1916),
3. Frederick Jones Harrison (1828-1829),
4. Charles Tyler Harrison (1830-1914),
5. William Gustavus Harrison (1832-1902),
6. Mayburry M. Harrison (1834-1893),
7. Susan Ellen Harrison (1836-1887),
8. Elizabeth Jones Harrison (1838-1917),
9. Llewellyn Cuthbert Harrison (1840-1861),
10. Sarah Jane "Sallie" Harrison (1842-?) and
11. Anna Rebecca Harrison (1844-1924).[10]

William Alexander Harrison

Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Harrison County In office December 7, 1835 – January 6, 1839 Serving with Daniel Kincheloe, Wilson K. Shinn, Jessee Flowers Preceded by Wilson K. Shinn Succeeded by Edward J. Armstrong Circuit Judge of Virginia's 21st circuit In office Fall 1861 – June 20, 1863 Preceded by Gideon D. Camden Succeeded by position abolished Judge West Virginia Court of Appeals In office June 20, 1863 – September 1868 Preceded by n/a Personal details Born August 17, 1795 Dumfries, Prince William County, Virginia, US Died December 31, 1870 (aged 75) Clarksburg, Harrison County, West Virginia, West Virginia US Resting place Odd Fellows Cemetery, Clarksburg, West Virginia Political party Republican Profession Politician, lawyer, judge

William Alexander Harrison (August 17, 1795 - December 31, 1870) was a Virginia lawyer, judge and politician who helped found the state of West Virginia. He represented Harrison County, Virginia in the Virginia House of Delegates for three successive terms before the American Civil War and strongly opposed Virginia's secession.

He helped form the new state of West Virginia and served as a circuit court judge during the American Civil War before winning election as one of the first judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

Early life Harrison was born in Prince William County, Virginia, to Matthew Harrison (1738-1798) and his second wife, the former Eleanor Tyler Winn (1762-1843).

He was descended from the First Families of Virginia. His grandfather, Capt. Burr Harrison (1699-1790), had been a patriot during the American Revolutionary War, and represented Prince William County, Virginia in the Virginia General Assembly in 1778 and 1779.[1]

Although his father died when William was very young, the family included elder sisters

1. Eleanor Harrison Hale (1788-1849) and
2. Ann Tyler Harrison Safford (1787–1876), as well as elder brothers
3. Gustavus Adolphus Harrison (1792-1848) and
4. Frederick Tyler Harrison (1793-1878).

An elder half-brother, Joseph Harrison (1771-1869) moved across the Appalachian Mountains to Hardy in Mineral County well before the Civil War.

Despite his father's death, William received a private education suitable to his class, then traveled westward to Winchester in Frederick County, Virginia, where he read law with his brother-in-law Obed Waite.[2]

Career After admission to the Virginia bar, Harrison crossed the Appalachian Mountains and began his legal practice in Parkersburg in 1819, where Judge Daniel Smith found him qualified. He may also have practiced in Marietta, Ohio across the Ohio River. In 1821, Harrison moved to Clarksburg, the center of that Virginia judicial circuit. In 1823, Harrison became an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia and traveled on horseback back across the Appalachians to Wythe County, Virginia each year, until a court of appeals was founded in Lewisburg in Greenbrier County.

After his federal post ended, Harrison had a private legal practice, as well as represented (part time) Harrison County for three terms in the Virginia House of Delegates at various times alongside legislative veterans Daniel Kincheloe, Wilson K. Shinn and Jessee Flowers.[3]

Harrison's legislative service ended when he became the Harrison County Commonwealth attorney.[4] In 1841, Harrison attended a convention at his Clarksburg Presbyterian church presided over by his fellow lawyer George Hay Lee (to which sixteen Virginia counties sent representatives), which sought to convince the Virginia General Assembly to fund free public schools (like in Ohio), although such would become a reality only after the Civil War.[5]

Harrison opposed secession and attended a peace conference in Washington D.C. in February 1861, which convinced him that many secessionists were motivated by a lust for power and self-aggrandizement. When Virginia seceded,

Gideon D. Camden, the local judge since 1855 (who had previously represented Lewis County in the House of Delegates in 1825, then Harrison and five adjacent counties in the 1850 Constitutional Convention) sided with the secessionists and would be elected to the First Confederate Congress (tho he did not serve),[6] and his son Gideon D. Camden Jr. may have organized a Confederate infantry unit.[7]

In the fall of 1861, Harrison succeeded Camden by winning election as judge for the 21st circuit. The Wheeling Convention later appointed Harrison a member of the Governor's Council, where he helped establish the new state's justice system.[8]

His son Thomas Willoughby Harrison would become of member of the new state's first constitutional convention. As West Virginia became a state in its own right, the Union Convention nominated Harrison as one of the first three judges of the new Supreme Court of Appeals.

On June 20, 1863, as the eldest member of the new court, Judge Harrison led his fellow appeals judges draw lots as to term length. Berkshire drew the shortest term of office, four years, but was also chosen to lead the body.[9] Edwin Maxwell, a fellow Republican from Harrison County defeated Berkshire in 1866. Harrison resigned and Berkshire was appointed to serve the rest of his term, thus maintaining the court's geographic diversity.

Personal life On November 19, 1823, Harrison married Anna Mayburry (1807–1887), whose family had long operated iron furnaces in Pennsylvania and Maryland before moving to Clarksburg, where her father ran a hotel on what became the site of the Harrison County courthouse and would later operate a furnace in Rockingham County, Virginia before his death. They would have 11 children:

1. Thomas Willoughby Harrison (1824-1910),
2. Matthew Waite Harrison (1826-1916),
3. Frederick Jones Harrison (1828-1829),
4. Charles Tyler Harrison (1830-1914),
5. William Gustavus Harrison (1832-1902),
6. Mayburry M. Harrison (1834-1893),
7. Susan Ellen Harrison (1836-1887),
8. Elizabeth Jones Harrison (1838-1917),
9. Llewellyn Cuthbert Harrison (1840-1861),
10. Sarah Jane "Sallie" Harrison (1842-?) and
11. Anna Rebecca Harrison (1844-1924).[10]

William Harrison's never-married elder brother Frederick T. Harrison (1793-1878) lived with the family for 63 years, including after the death of their mother in Clarksburg.

Death and legacy William A. Harrison died on New Year's eve, 1870 and was survived by his widow (who would later be buried beside him in Clarksburg's Odd Fellows cemetery), his bachelor brother Frederick, and numerous children and grandchildren.[11]

His son Thomas Willoughby Harrison (1824-1910) had become Harrison County's first West Virginia circuit judge, and served until after adoption of the state's new constitution in 1872, after which Democrats replaced Republicans like the Harrisons, although his grandson S.W. Harrison would later become Clerk of the U.S. Circuit Court.[12]

WILLIAM ALEXANDER HARRISON

Written by: Nancy Fleetwood Miller, great great great great granddaughter.

1863: 1st Justice appointed to the newly created West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Major figure in the Division of the State of Virginia and creation of the State of West Virginia.

William Alexander Harrison was born on August 17, 1795 in Dumfries, Prince William County, Virginia, to a successful merchant and his wife, Matthew Harrison and Eleanor Tyler Harrison. William was raised and educated in Dumfries and began his study of law in Winchester, Virginia, under the tutelage of his brother-in-law Obed Waite, a prominent lawyer of the day. At an early age he was admitted to the Winchester, Virginia bar and accepted his first position in Marietta, Ohio. After a short time, William was determined to pursue better opportunities in the legal field and moved to Parkersburg, Virginia, in 1819. Again after a very short tenure, he accepted a promising position in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Clarksbur g was well-known for its abundance of important legal scholars providing an excellent foundation for launching Harrison's career. He was admitted to practice in the Circuit Court of Harrison County on September 14, 1820, at the young age of 25.

William launched his career with vigor and quickly became a well-known trial lawyer. He had the good fortune to be involved in the important cases of the day and was in great demand. His career advanced quickly and in 1823, he became a United States District Attorney.

In 1836 Mr. Harrison was appointed attorney in the U.S. Court for the Western District of Virginia. For a few years, he also served as Harrison County's prosecuting attorney. Having an abiding interest in advancing the legal tenants of Virginia, William Harrison represented Harrison County in the Virginia General Assembly in 1836, 1837 and 1838.

During the Civil War, he was an avid Republican and supporter of the Union cause. In 1861, William Harrison was elected Circuit Judge to replace Judge Gideon Draper Camden, who left his position to support the South when Virginia seceded. Harrison was actively involved with the division and reorganization of Virginia. He served as a member of the Governor's Council, creating and implementing the legal system of the newly formed West Virginia. In 1863, William Alexander Harrison was chosen the first of three judges for the new West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. All three judges had two common elements: each was a Republican and a Union supporter. It was the Supreme Court's first recorded order of business to appoint Harrison of Harrison County as president pro tempore. At 66 years, Harrison was described as "of large stature and commanding presence." According to the first volume of West Virginia reports, Harrison's "powers as an advocate were of a pre-eminent character.

Due to his failing health, William Harrison stepped down from his position on the Supreme Court on September 1, 1870, having left an indelible mark on not only the legal system, but in the birth of a new State---West Virginia. Over his lifetime, he is remembered for his "profound research and investigation" and intense exploration and analysis of the legal foundations. Before the birth of the State of West Virginia, Harrison appeared before seven U. S. Federal Judges, 15 Circuit Judges and twelve judges on the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia. He was a figure admired by his colleagues and friends.

William Alexander Harrison was an outstanding member of the legal community, but his living legacy is his outstanding family. Peppered with admired members of the community, Harrison descendants have left indelible imprints. From lawyers to judges to farmers and doctors and influential lawmakers throughout our Nation's history, William Alexander Harrison continues to leave his mark.

Children:
(1) Thomas Willoughby Harrison (1824-1910).
(2) Matthew Waite Harrison (1826-1916).
(3) Frederick Jones Harrison (1828-1829).
(4) Charles Tyler Harrison (1830-1914).
(5) William Gustavus Harrison (1832-1902).
(6) Mayburry M. Harrison (1834-1893).
(7) Susan Ellen Harrison (1836-1887).
(8) Elizabeth Jones Harrison (1838-1917).
(9) Llewellyn Cuthbert Harrison (1840-1861).
(10) Sarah Jane "Sallie" Harrison (1842-?)
(11) Anna Rebecca Harrison (1844-1924).

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jan 23 2021, 16:35:00 UTC

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