Harrison, Anna

Harrison, Anna

▪ American first lady
née  Anna Tuthill Symmes 
born July 25, 1775, Morristown, New Jersey, U.S.
died February 25, 1864, North Bend, Ohio
 American first lady (March 4–April 4, 1841), the wife of William Henry Harrison (Harrison, William Henry), ninth president of the United States, and grandmother of Benjamin Harrison (Harrison, Benjamin), the 23rd president.

      The daughter of John Cleves Symmes (a soldier in the American Revolution and a judge) and Anna Tuthill Symmes (who died when her daughter was one year old), Anna was raised by her maternal grandparents. She attended prestigious girls' schools on the East Coast, including Clinton Academy in Easthampton, New York, and took classes from the famed educator and philanthropist Isabella Marshall Graham (Graham, Isabella Marshall). The family, including her new stepmother, moved to Ohio in 1795 to settle on land purchased by Anna's father after the Revolution. While visiting her sister in Kentucky, she met William Henry Harrison, then a young soldier. Although William came from a prominent Virginia family, Anna's father objected to the match, citing the young man's lack of any profession “but that of arms.” The couple married secretly on November 25, 1795, while her father was away.

      While her husband's career progressed from garrison commander to congressional delegate from the territory of Ohio, Anna gave birth to 10 children (including one who died at age three) between 1796 and 1814, and she took primary responsibility for their education and upbringing. Despite her privileged childhood, she adapted well to the frontier life she led while her husband served as governor of the Indiana Territory (1800–12).

      When William won the presidency in 1840, the couple asked their daughter-in-law, Jane Irwin Harrison, widow of their son William Henry, to perform the duties of first lady until Anna, who was then ill, could come to Washington. As Anna began packing in April 1841, she learned of William's death. Although he had served only one month in office, Congress voted to give Anna a pension equivalent to his salary, thus setting a precedent for the pensions of subsequent first ladies.

      In 1858 Anna's house was destroyed in a fire, and she spent the remaining six years of her life with her son John Scott Harrison, the only one of her children to outlive her. She was buried beside her husband in North Bend, Ohio.

Betty Boyd Caroli

Additional Reading
Although many of Anna Harrison's letters were lost when her house burned, a few can be found in Beverley W. Bond, Jr. (ed)., The Intimate Letters of John Cleves Symmes and His Family (1956). A brief biography is Nancy Beck Young, “Anna (Tuthill Symmes) Harrison” in Lewis L. Gould (ed.), American First Ladies: Their Lives and Legacy (1996), pp. 98–108. Biographies of her husband that give attention to her include James A. Green, William Henry Harrison: His Life and Times (1941); and Freeman Cleaves, Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time (1939, reissued 1996).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison — Anna Harrison Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison (* 25. Juli 1775 nahe Morristown, New Jersey; † 25. Februar 1864 in North Bend, Ohio) war die Ehefrau des neunten US Präsidenten William H. Harrison und die Großmutter des Präsidenten Benjamin Harrison.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Anna Harrison — Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison (* 25. Juli 1775 nahe Morristown, New Jersey; † 25. Februar 1864 in North Bend, Ohio) war die Ehefrau des neunten US Präsidenten William H. Harrison und die Großmutter des Präsidenten Benjamin Harrison. Während des… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Anna Eleanor Roosevelt — [ æna ɛlɪnɔɹ ɹoʊzəvɛlt] (* 11. Oktober 1884 in New York; † 7. November 1962 ebenda) war eine US amerikanische Menschenrechtsaktivistin und Diplomatin sowie die Ehefrau des US Präsidenten Franklin D. Roosevelt. Vom 4. März 1933 bis zum 12. April… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Harrison, William Henry — born Feb. 9, 1773, Charles City county, Va. died April 4, 1841, Washington, D.C., U.S. Ninth president of the U.S. (1841). Born into a politically prominent family, he enlisted in the army at age 18 and served under Anthony Wayne at the Battle of …   Universalium

  • Anna Harrison — Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison (July 25, 1775 February 25, 1864), wife of President William Henry Harrison and grandmother of President Benjamin Harrison, was nominally First Lady of the United States during her husband s one month term in 1841,… …   Wikipedia

  • Anna (Go to Him) — Single par Arthur Alexander Sortie 17 septembre 1962 Durée 2:48 Genre Rhythm and blues Format 45 tours …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Anna Harrison — Anna Harrison, née le 25 juillet 1775 à Morristown (New Jersey) et morte le 25 février 1864 à North Bend (Ohio), est la femme du président des États Unis …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Anna Friel — Données clés Nom de naissance Anna Louise Friel Naissance 12 juillet 1976 (1976 07 12) (35 ans) Rochdale, Lancashire Nationalité …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Anna Neagle — Anna Neagle, c. 1932 Born Florence Marjorie Robertson 20 October 1904(1904 10 20) Forest Gate, Essex, England, UK …   Wikipedia

  • Anna J. Harrison — Anna Jane Harrison (December 23 1912 August 8 1998) was an American organic chemist and a professor of chemistry at Mount Holyoke College for nearly forty years.BackgroundShe was born in Benton City, Missouri. Her parents were farmers, Albert… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”