Family and education
John Scott Harrison
Birthplace marker in North Bend, Ohio
Harrison was born on August 20, 1833, in North Bend, Ohio, the second of Elizabeth Ramsey (Irwin) and John Scott Harrison's ten children. His ancestors included immigrant Benjamin Harrison, who arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, circa 1630 from England. Harrison was of entirely English ancestry, all of his ancestors having emigrated to America during the early colonial period.[1]
Harrison was a grandson of U.S. President William Henry Harrison and a great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison V, a Virginia planter who signed the Declaration of Independence and succeeded Thomas Nelson, Jr. as governor of Virginia.[2][3][4][a]
Harrison was seven years old when his grandfather was elected U.S. president, but he did not attend the inauguration.[5] His family was distinguished, but his parents were not wealthy. John Scott Harrison, a two-term U.S. congressman from Ohio, spent much of his farm income on his children's education.[6][7] Despite the family's modest resources, Harrison's boyhood was enjoyable, much of it spent outdoors fishing or hunting.