University of Virginia Library

LXXIII.

LXXIII. BENJAMIN HARRISON.

LXXIII. Governor.

LXXIII. November 30, 1781, to November 29, 1784.

Upon the resignation of Thomas Nelson, Junior, November
30, 1781, Benjamin Harrison was elected Governor of Virginia,
and continued in this office until November 29, 1784.
He was born in Berkeley, Charles City County, Virginia, about
1740, his family having settled in the Colony as early as 1640.

Mr. Harrison entered public life, in 1764, by becoming a
member of the House of Burgesses, and soon by his ability and
social prominence became a leader in the stirring scenes in which
he lived. He was a member of the First Continental Congress,
of the Virginia Convention of 1775, and of the second General
Congress, 1775. This body having adjourned, August 1, the
Virginia Convention on the 11th of that month returned Mr.
Harrison a third time as their representative, and on September
13 he took his seat. Here he filled many positions of
responsibility, struggling always for the best interests of his
state and country. His term of service having expired, August
11, 1776, he came back to Virginia, but not before he had
enjoyed the satisfaction of putting his name to the Declaration
of Independence; an act which won for every "Signer" a
patent of nobility far worthier than any that royal hand could
give; whose title was beyond the fictitious excellence of Star,
or Garter, or Cross, or all the insignia of heraldry.

In the autumn of 1776, Thomas Jefferson having resigned
his seat in the Senate, Mr. Harrison was chosen to fill out
his term, and after a brief absence of less than three months
returned to Congress. He was immediately restored to his
former place on all standing committees. On May 22, 1777,
Virginia returned him for the fourth time to Congress, where

he, as before, actively and successfully engaged in matters
pertaining to the highest interests of the young Republic.
About the close of this year Mr. Harrison retired permanently
from the halls of Congress and devoted himself to the promotion
of his native State. He was soon sent from his county
to the House of Burgesses, and elected Speaker of that body,
which office he held uninterruptedly until chosen Governor of
Virginia, on November 30, 1781. Through the trying duties
which accompanied this high office at the close of the Revolution,
he bore himself with dignity and ability, remaining the
Chief Executive of the State until November 29, 1784, when
he retired to private life. But his friends, unwilling to lose
his valuable counsels, elected him, in April, 1791, to the
Legislature. A severe attack of gout seized him just at this
time, and in a few days his useful career was ended by death.

Benjamin Harrison married Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel
William Bassett, of New Kent County, Va.

Mr. Griggsly, in his book on the Convention of 1776,
says, "Of all the ancient families in the Colony, that of Harrison,
if not the oldest, is one of the oldest," and adds, "That
from the year 1645, to this date, a period of more than two centuries,
the name has been distinguished for the patriotism, the
intelligence, and the moral worth of those who have borne it."

The third son of Benjamin Harrison and Elizabeth Bassett,
viz., William Henry Harrison, was the ninth President
of the United States, and the distinguished gentleman who
now occupies that exalted position, and who bears the name
of the old Virginia Governor, is the honored grandson of the
hero of Tippecanoe.

The following are copies of interesting state papers connected
with Governor Harrison's administration:

October, 1783.

AN ACT to authorize the Congress of the United States to adopt certain
regulations respecting the British trade.

I. Whereas, it appears by an order of the King of Great Britain in
council bearing date the second day of July last, made under the express
authority of his Parliament, that the growth or produce of any of the
United States of America, are prohibited from being carried to any of the
British West India Islands, by any other than British subjects, in British
built ships, owned by British subjects, and navigated according to the laws
of that kingdom.

II. And whereas this proceeding, though but a temporary expedient,
exhibits a disposition in Great Britain to gain partial advantages injurious to
the rights of free commerce, and is repugnant to the principles of reciprocal
interest and convenience, which are found by experience to form the
only permanent foundation of friendly intercourse between states: Be it
therefore enacted, That the United States in Congress assembled, shall be,
and they are hereby authorized and empowered to prohibit the importation
of the growth or produce of the British West India Islands into these
United States, in British vessels, or to adopt any other mode which may
most effectually tend to counteract the designs of Great Britain, with
respect to the American commerce, so long as the said restriction shall be
continued on the part of Great Britain. Provided, that this Act shall not
be in force until all the states in the Union shall have passed similar laws.