GABRIEL HARRISON AND HIS DESCENDANTS

Recorded history of our Harrison family line appears to begin in 1673.  I am grateful to Kathrine Epps Bundick, her mother Sue Harrison Epps, and her brother Jerry Epps for the outstanding genealogy research on our Harrison family.  Katherine, Sue and Jerry thoroughly researched existing records in the Virginia State archives and counties in Southside Virginia. She published their research in 1976.

A couple of excerpts from Katherine’s book follow along with my comments before the Harrison direct-line family tree. Kathryn’s book is at Harrison 1673 – 1976.

Where did this Harrison family originate?  The answer seems to be England, but when and from what part is still a mystery.

The first known ancestor appears to have been Rebecca Harrison who appeared, in 1675, with her son, Gabriell Harrison, in the Court Order Books of Charles City County, Virginia, although Gabriell was first mentioned in 1673.  No early Will or Deed Books exist for this period that would give the name of Rebecca’s husband.      The names William, Thomas, and Nathaniel seem to be possible candidates.

William Harrison appears often in the Court Order Books of Charles City County, Virginia, and the records of Prince George County (formed from Charles City County) show that Thomas and Rebecca Harrison were Executors of William Harrison, deceased.    These might have been children of Rebecca Harrison.¹

                By the time our Harrison ancestors migrated south to Georgia, earlier generations of the family would have moved westward from Charles City County, passing through several Southside Virginia counties to settle in what was known as Brunswick County .¹

REBECCA HARRISON, first known ancestor of this Harrison line, appeared in Charles City, Virginia, Court in 1675 where she assumed responsibility for a debt made by her son Gabriell Harrison.

“I, Rebecca Harrison, do acquit & discharge Thomas Epes, Jun, from all encumbrances that shall befall unto him concerning sd Rebecca’s sonn Gabriell Harrison, w’ch was recorded unto him at sd Court Holden at Westover upon sd damage of four thousand pounds of tob. & cask, upon w’ch penalty I bind me my heirs & assigns in witness whereof I have hereunto sett my hand this 29th day of Feb’ry 1675”

Signed,

Teste, Christopher Harrison Mary  M Malloone

Rebecca RH  Harrison

Christopher Harrison and Mary Malloone were probably relatives of Rebecca Harrison as indicated by the wording of the above document, to wit; “my heirs and assigns in witness”. It is unlikely that she had a husband when she appeared in court with her son Gabriell as women rarely took care of such matters in that period of our history. There is no proof as to her husband’s identity, but some historians believe that the Gabriel Harrison who was in Prince George County, Virginia, in 1704, descended from an early William Harrison.

There are numerous references to William Harrison in the records of Charles City County, Virginia before, during, and after the period in which Rebecca Harrison and her son Gabriell lived, but there is no way to definitely connect any of them to Rebecca or Gabriell.

This is also the case in the counties of Isle of Wight, Prince George, and Brunswick and it is difficult to separate them.  A man could have lived in as many as three counties during his lifetime and never moved from the house in which he was born.   This was due to the moving of boundaries; for example, Prince George was separated from Charles City in 1703, then in 1720 Brunswick was formed from the Counties of Isle of Wight, Surry, and Prince George.    Therefore, one man could have patented land in several counties which may lead a researcher to the conclusion that each patent was for a different man.  The practice of perpetuating a family name further adds to the confusion, especially if it is one that is commonly used; such as, William, Nathaniel, James, Benjamin, Richard, John, etc.

Some of our Brunswick County VA ancestors decided to move south to Georgia around 1800.  Other Harrison families stayed in Brunswick County Virginia.  Nathaniel Harrison (1770 – 1845) and Martha Kennon Brodnax Harrison (1776 – 1858) decided to migrate to Georgia.  They probably received a land grant from newly ceded Creek or Cherokee Indian territory.

                Moving south was a decision not to be made lightly.  Our people were not alone.  Other people had itchy feet and joined in wagon trains consisting of 20 to 30 or more various types of carts, wagons and buggies pulled by horses, oxen and mules. 

Travel was not easy in those days.  There were no paved roads, no motels, a few wayside taverns, very poor maps, no rest areas like we have on our interstate highways.  Travel by wagon and camping out every night along the way was their way of life for months as they made their move. 

The wagon train probably traveled down one of the major colonial Roads.  They would likely have taken the Fall Line Road⁴ rather than travel on the Great Valley Road or the Upper Road.  The Fall Line Road passed through Brunswick County not far from where they lived.   It took travelers along a path on the coastal plain, below the piedmont that was above the coastal plain.  The Fall Line Road took travelers into Georgia around Augusta, where the would head south and west toward Hancock and Putnam Counties. Some migrants kept going west through Milledgeville and Columbus GA, and on to Alabama.   Nathaniel Harrison (1770 – 1845), his wife Martha Kennon Brodnax Harrison (1776 – 1858), and members of their traveling group crossed the Oconee River to settle on lands that later became Putnam County (when Putnam was split from Baldwin County in 1805.

The family tree below was copied from Family Search, the genealogy website managed by the Church of Jesus Crist of the Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church). I am quite certain the second person on the illustration (Rebecca Pritchett Griggs) is the wrong Rebecca. A Gabriel Harrison married Rebecca Pritchett Griggs in Putnam County in the 1800s. Some other amateur genealogist did not check sources and entered the incorrect information.

Also, the First Gabriel (1655 – 1747) lived much longer than normal for those times in Colonial Virginia. He may, or may not, be the same Gabriel Harrison found in the records in the Charles City County court in 1673.

Otherwise, the remainder of chart appears to be correct.

To follow our direct Harrison line from the original Gabriel Harrison you will have to match the last name in the direct Harrison ancestor to the same person on the next page. You will see lots of Gabriels and Nathaniels before you finally reach me, William B Harrison, Jr., and my deceased spouse Joan Moore Harrison (1939 – 2015), the mother of my three children.