Isaiah Harrison, I

Isaiah Harrison

• Birth: Say 1666 - sailed from Liverpool or, Chester, Cheshire, England (United Kingdom)
• Death: September 1737 (70-71) Shenandoah County, Province of Virginia, Colonial America. Buried at the banks of the Shenandoah River.
• Parents unknown
• Husband of 1) Elizabeth Wright 2) Abigail Smith

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/150128513/isaiah_harrison

Origins

Parents are unidentified as of April 2021. http://harrison.jhamedia.com/pats.html (DNA studies) show Isaiah Harrison as the Patriarch for Lineage 3 - The "Long Grey Trail" Harrisons. It is unrelated to the Cheshire origin Harrison lines.

This is a large family group comprised of descendants of Isaiah Harrison who migrated from Oyster Bay, Long Island down into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in the early 1700s. The data are compiled largely from the seminal work on this family, Settlers by the Long Grey Trail, by J. Houston Harrison, 1935. This Harrison line is haplogroup I-M253. Isaiah cannot have been related to Benjamin Harrison, I, whose projected Y DNA haplogroup is R-M269. Isaiah Harrison is not a known son of Rev. Dr. Thomas Harrison, D.D., who had no surviving male children listed in his 1682 will. (1682 - will of Thomas Harrison, preacher of the Gospel in Dublin).

Biography

Isaiah Harrison, as a refugee from Dublin, sailed from Chester or nearby Liverpool, Eng, on the ship "Spotted Calf" in 1687. Landing first at Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY. As was the custom boys of genteel families and younger sons of noble families were trained to some trade, he was a blacksmith. His full signature appears on all deeds and papers at Oyster Bay, evidence that he had been taught to write in his youth.

A freeholder in Oyster Bay Town records Jan 2, 1687. Purchase of 100 acres at Suckscalls" Wigam from John Wright, his first wife's cousin, Jan 16, 1688 for sixty pounds current money of NY. The land was part of the general purchase from the Matenacocke Indians made Jan 9, 1685. Suckscall was an Indian Chief and his Wigwarm was located at what is now known as Brookville (Wolver Hollow), Long Island. Isaiah was the first white man to live on the site. Recorded in Book "B" of the Ancient Town Book of Oyster Bay Jan 2, 1687

Apr 20, 1702 sale of Oyster Bay land recorded , purchase of land at Smithtown from William Lawrence, 500 acres Suffolk Co, NY . Jun 12 1721 sold to Amos Willitts, and purchased 900 acres in Sussex Co, Delaware. "Maiden Plantation". Deeded to sons, Daniel, Thomas, & Jeremiah, 250 acres each.

Sold May 7, 1736. With the exception of Elizabeth & Gideon (who had died), He departed for Virginia with a party of sixteen. He arr. in what is now Alexandria, VA, crossed the Blue Ridge at Thornton's Gap. For two years they surveyed the area and camped in Page County by the "Whitehouse" where Isaiah died in 1738. The Harrisons then followed the South Fork of the Shenandoah River father south into the the Valley in the present vicinity of Harrisonburg, VA, in 1738.

Other early settlers included the Cravens, Smiths, Herrings, and Lincolns. Paraphased from House of Cravens.

Alexander Herring, Senior, died while residing in Delaware?. Isaiah died in VA and is buried on the east side of the Massanutten mountains. Isaiah Jr. went first to the Carolinas before joining his family later in VA . All of the Harrisons were settled in the vicinity of what is now Harrisonburg, Virginia which was Augusta county at that time all chosing land with springs and good farming land.

House of Cravens: 5 brothers from Delaware are John, Daniel, Thomas, Jeremiah and Samuel the first to locate in Rockingham Co, VA. Later Isaiah, Jr, and Mary, the eldest dau md to Robt Cravens, Sr came. All of Isaiah's living descendants settled here. Thomas named the present Harrisonburg town.

A tradition exist in the descendant families to the effect that Pres. Wm Henry Harrison and his grandson, Pres. Benj Harrison were descendants of Isaiah Harrison. No reliable evidence confirming such tradition has been found. J. Houston Harrison had heard of the same tradition, and devoted considerable research in that connection, his findings failed to substantiate the tradition. Those Harrison families were descendants of Harrisons who settled early in Eastern Virginia, and were known as the James River branch of Harrisons. It is quite possible, however that there may have been some distant relationship between them and Rev. Thomas Harrison, the probable father of Isaiah Harrison.

Family

From The Descendants Of Isaiah Harrison (1666-1738) HARRISON HERITAGE
p. 344 December 1982 https://sites.rootsweb.com/~harrisonrep/hhdocs/82dechh.htm#isaiah

The children of Isaiah Harrison were as follows:

By his first wife, Elizabeth Wright:

1. Isaiah Harrison, Jr. - b 27 Sept 1689, Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY. He did not go to Virginia with the family; was living in the southern part of West Jersey in 1737. In about 1750, he went to Craven County, South Carolina from Rockingham Co., VA. Nothing more is known of his family, when or where he died.
2. John Harrison - b 25 Sept 1691, Oyster Bay, d May 1771 m Phoebe ??? ca 1720 (b 1686-d 6 Dec 1793). He went with family to Virginia in 1737. His will, dated 30 July 1769, proved 21 May 1771, recorded in Augusta Co., VA names all his children: (Zebulon, John, deceased, Phoebe, Ann and Reuben).
3. Gideon Harrison - b 25 June 1694, Oyster Bay d 1729 Sussex Co., Delaware. He was married, her name is not known.
4. Mary Harrison - b 25 May 1696 d 1781. m Robert Cravens ca 1721.
5. Elizabeth Harrison - b 30 March 1689 probably died young.

Elizabeth Wright Harrison died shortly after the birth of her youngest daughter, Elizabeth.

Children of Isaiah Harrison by his second wife, Abigail Smith:

1. Daniel Harrison - b 1701; d 10 July 1770, m (1) Margaret Cravens m (2) Sarah Stephenson. His will was recorded in Augusta Co., VA. Children by first wife, Margaret were: Robert, Daniel, Jesse, Mary, Jane, Abigail and Benjamin. There were no children by second wife.
2. Thomas Harrison - b 1704 at Smithtown, L. I., d 1785, Harrisonburg, VA. He m (1) Jane DeLaHaye and (2) Sarah Cravens. Children (all by second wife): Abigail, Jeremiah, Davis, Robert, John, Thomas, Ezekiel, Reuben and Sarah.
3. Jeremiah Harrison - b 1707 at Smithtown, L. I., d 1777 Rockingham Co., Virginia. He m Catherine ???; their children included: Lydia Donnell, Nehemiah, Josiah, Jeremiah, Hester and Benjamin. Little is known of this family.
4. Abigail Harrison - b 1710 Smithtown, L. I., d 1780 in VA. She married Alexander Herring, Jr. at Sussex Co., Delaware. She was the great-grandmother of Abraham Lincoln, the President.
5. Samuel Harrison - b 1712, Smithtown, L. I., d 1790, Augusta Co., VA. He migrated with the family in 1739. His wife's name was Mary ???. They moved to Craven Co., South Carolina during the French and Indian War, but returned to Augusta and were residents there by 18 Nov 1762. It is not known if they left any children.

All of Isaiah Harrison's children (except Elizabeth) settled in the region around what is now Harrisonburg, VA. The town being founded by son, Thomas Harrison. The five brothers who went with their father in 1739 have been identified as John, Daniel, Thomas, Jeremiah and Samuel.

Disputed Origins

Harrison, Francis Burton. "Commentaries upon the Ancestry of Benjamin Harrison. IV. The Reverend Thomas Harrison, Berkeley's "Chaplain"." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 53, no. 4 (1945): 302-11. Accessed April 25, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4245373.

“From this will it becomes apparent that Dr. Harrison outlived his second wife, and died a widower with four daughters, of whom two were married, and with no son to carry on his name.”

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Harrison-66

Isaiah Harrison was born September 25, 1666, in Chester, Cheshire, England, possible son of Thomas Harrison and Katherine Bradshaw. His parentage is not proven.[1][2][3][4] He is Identified by J. Houston Harrison as the ancestor of the Rockingham County, Virginia Harrisons. This is circumstantial, but the author makes a good case. Harrison conducted thorough research of the origin of the Harrison families of England and Scotland. [5]

From The Will of Thomas Harrison, D.D.

Ever since I started researching my genealogy and eventually discovered I was descended from Isaiah Harrison of Oyster Bay, I have been interested in finding out who his ancestors were. In Settlers by the Long Grey Trail J. Houston Harrison says: "the only apparent reasonable explanation lies in the conclusion that the father of the immigrant was Thomas Harrison, D.D." However, his conclusion is based on a series of possibilities and coincidences. There is no birth record for Isaiah, although many sites list his birthday as 25 September 1666 (for who knows what reason!). No record of his passage to America. No record of anything.
Dr. Thomas Harrison died in 1682 in Dublin, but his will was lost in the Four Courts fire in June 1922. I've always thought that somebody, sometime, would have made notes or a copy during the 240 years between when the will was filed and when it was destroyed, or that a birth or christening record or mention in some other obscure contemporary document might show up.
Recently I did a Google search on Dr. Thomas and came across an article by Francis Burton Harrison in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 53, No. 4 (Oct., 1945), pp. 302-311, that not only includes an abstract of the will but also a reference to the location of a certified copy at the Virginia Historical Society. The copy had been ordered by Charles Penrose Keith (1854-1939) in 1899 and donated to the Society in 1932.
There is no mention of Isaiah, or any other son, in Dr. Thomas Harrison's will. While this does not prove absolutely that Thomas had no sons who survived him, it reduces the possibility to a matter of wishful thinking.

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http://harrison.jhamedia.com/pats.html

Lineage 3 - The "Long Grey Trail" Harrisons

This is a large family group comprised of descendants of Isaiah Harrison who migrated from Oyster Bay, Long Island down into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in the early 1700s. The data are compiled largely from the seminal work on this family, Settlers by the Long Grey Trail, by J. Houston Harrison, 1935. Dates of the third and fourth generation are also from family files located in the Harrison Genealogy Repository:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~harrisonrep. The connection of Andrew Harrison (1771-1824) and Robert Harrison (c1780-1821) comes from Suzanne Bonadeo [suzeb AT biip.net], who found a land record dated 15 Dec 1817 and stated "... Heirs of Jesse Harrison receive a land grant for 789 acres in Jefferson Co., KY. Heirs Robert Harrison of Harrison Co., KY; Jesse and Ann Harrison of Rockingham (VA); Daniel Harrison of Clark Co. (KY); and Andrew Harrison of Champaign Co., OH."

The connection of the Joseph Harrison line of NC is through a presumptive son of a second marriage of Isaiah Harrison, and is supported by records in Sussex Co., Delaware and Virginia. This line is haplogroup I-M253.

• Isaiah Harrison b. 1666 Chester, England, d. 1738 Shenandoah Valley, VA, m1. Elizabeth Wright
  • Isaiah Harrison b. 27 Sept 1689 Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY, d. Craven Co., SC
    • * Gideon Harrison b. c1715 Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY, d. 1761 Augusta Co., VA

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comments

Based on the fact that no sons are mentioned in the 1682 will of Thomas Harrison, D.D., he has been disconnected as father of Isaiah on 6 Sept 2015.

References

• https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~harrisonrep/genealogy/hhdocs/81DecE...
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/150128513/isaiah-harrison
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_family_of_Virginia#Isaiah_an...
• https://sites.rootsweb.com/~harrisonrep/hhdocs/82dechh.htm#isaiah
• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=150128513
• “Settlers by the Long Grey Trail: Some Pioneers to Old Augusta County, Virginia, and Their Descendants of the Family of Harrison and Allied Lines.” John Houston Harrison Genealogical Publishing Com, 1975 - Reference - 665 pages GoogleBooks
• Harrison, Francis Burton. "Commentaries upon the Ancestry of Benjamin Harrison. IV. The Reverend Thomas Harrison, Berkeley's "Chaplain"." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 53, no. 4 (1945): 302-11. Accessed April 25, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4245373.

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GEDCOM Note

Isaiah "IMM" Harrison was born about 1666 in Chester,England. He died about 1738 in Sussex Co.,DE Or Alexandria,VA. He was buried in 1737/1739 in Along the banks of the Shenandoah River in Virginia. He married Elizabeth WRIGHT in 1688 in Queens, Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York. Isaiah was employed as in Founder Rockingham VA Line Of Harrisons

As a refugee from Dublin sailed from Chester or nearby Liverpool, Eng, on the ship "Spotted Calf" in 1687. Landing frist at Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY. As was the custom boys of genteel families and younger sons of noble families were trained to some trade, he was a blacksmith. His full signature appears on all deeds and papers at Oyster Bay, evidence that he had been taught to write in his youth.

A freeholder in Oyster Bay Town records Jan 2, 1687. Purchase of 100 acres at Suckscalls" Wigam from John Wright, his first wife's cousin, Jan 16, 1688 for sixty pounds current money of NY. The land was part of the general purchase from the Matenacocke Indians made Jan 9, 1685. Suckscall was an Indian Chief and his Wigwarm was located at what is now known as Brookville (Wolver Hollow), Long Island. Isaiah was the first white man to live on the site. Recorded in Book "B" of the Ancient Town Book of Oyster Bay Jan 2, 1687

Apr 20, 1702 sale of Oyster Bay land recorded , purchase of land at Smithtown from William Lawrence, 500 acres Suffolk Co, NY . Jun 12 1721 sold to Amos Willitts, and purchased 900 acres in Sussex Co, Delaware. "Maiden Plantation". Deeded to sons, Daniel, Thomas, & Jeremiah, 250 acres each.

Sold May 7, 1736. With the exception of Elizabeth & Gideon (who had died), He departed for Virginia with a party of sixteen. He arr. in what is now Alexandria, VA, crossed the Blue Ridge at Thornton's Gap and settled near Lewes, an early colonial port (oldest light house in America). For two years they surveyed the area and camped near Linville's Creek where Isaiah died in 1738. The Harrisons explored the region between the North River and the South Fork into high lands in the present vicinity of Harrisonburg, VA, in 1738.

Other early settlers included the Cravens, Smiths, Herrings, and Lincolns. Paraphased from House of Cravens.

Alexander Herring, Senior, and Isaiah Harrison passed away while residing in Delaware. Both died within the three year period beginning in 1735 and concluding in 1738. Shortly after their deaths, the migration of their children to Virginia began. Some of the Harrisons were settled in the vicinity of what is now Harrisonburg, Virginia in Rockingham County as early as 1738.

House of Cravens: 5 brothers from Delaware are John, Daniel, Thomas, Jeremiah and Samuel the first to locate in Rockingham Co, VA. Later Isaiah, Jr, and Mary, the eldest dau md to Robt Cravens, Sr came. All of Isaiah's living descendants settled here. Thomas named the present Harrisonburg town.

A tradition exsist in the descendant families to the effect that Pres. Wm Henry Harrison and his grandson, Pres. Benj Harrison were descendants of Isaiah Harrison. No reliable evidence confirming such tradition has been found. J. Houston Harrison had heard of the same tradition, and devoted considerable research in that connection, his findings failed to substantiate the tradition. Those Harrison families were descendants of Harrisons who settled early in Eastern Virginia, and were known as the James River branch of Harrisons. It is quite possible, however that there may have been some distant relationship between them and Rev. Thomas Harrison, the probable father of Isaiah Harrison. [S320] [S224] [S224] [S320]