Hi Folks!
I've been trying for some time to locate parents/ancestry of Sarah
Harrison, b. 15 Jan 1816 in Grundy County, Tennessee, d. 28 Nov 1896 at
Fairview, Fulton County, Arkansas, m. about 1831 to James Bradford Roberts,
b. 16 Jun 1814 in Grundy County, Tennessee, d. 5 Apr 1978, Fairview, Fulton
County, Arkansas.
Sarah Harrison was reputed to be a first cousin of William Henry Harrison,
9th President of the United States. She was tall, very proper, well
organized and smoked a pipe. Sarah and James raised their family in Grundy
County, but around 1859 or 1860, they migrated to Wright County, Missouri
along with their children. They didn't get along with their new neighbors
on the overheated politics of the day, so in 1861, they moved to Fulton
County, Arkansas.
Dates given for Sarah's death vary, but the family bible records it as 28
Nov 1896. Other sources show it as 28 Nov 1886. Probably just a
transcription error on somebody's part. According to her granddaugher,
Clara McLain Adams, of Stillwater, Oklahoma, Sarah�s death was caused by
gangrene in her arm. The arm was removed but death resulted from that
illness.
There is a difficulty in attaching Sarah as the child of one of WHH's
uncles It is the 43 year age difference between Sarah and WHH who was born
in 1773. For example, I could have attached Sarah Harrison as the child of
Charles Harrison, brother of Benjamin (The Signer) on the grounds that he
was the youngest of the brothers of his generation and therefore most
likely to be still having children in 1816. However, in 1816, he would
have been 74 years old which makes it rather unlikely he was still be
producing children. In the alternative, I decided that Sarah was a first
cousin once removed to William Henry Harrison. This has the effect of
inserting an additional generation and placing less strain on credulity.
The point being, much of the foregoing is just speculation. I'd much rather
have definitive information.
Robert W. King
I'm an ingenieur, NOT a bloody locomotive driver.
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