- NAME – Benjamin Harrison
Library of Congress - NICKNAME(S) – Little Ben (5’6”) / Kid Glove Harrison
- BIRTH / DEATH – Aug. 20, 1833 North Bend, Ohio / Indianapolis, Indiana (pneumonia)
- FATHER – U.S. Congressman, farmer
- MOTHER – housewife
- COLLEGE – Miami of Ohio
- WIFE – Caroline Lavinia Scott / Mary Scott Lord Dimmick
- KIDS – 3 (2 girls)
- PETS – collie (Dash); goat (Whiskers); opossums (Mr. Reciprocity & Mr. Protection); dogs
- RELIGION – Presbyterian
- ANCESTRY – English
- AGE – 55
FIRSTS:
– first electricity in the White House
– first to have his voice recorded
– first White House Christmas tree
– first grandson of a President to become President
MA AND PA: His father was the son of William Henry Harrison. He was the valedictorian of his college and went into politics, but his stint in Congress soured him to politics. He had inherited a 500 acre farm which was not very profitable. He had a lot of mouths to feed as he had three kids by his first wife and another ten by Benjamin’s mother. His father built a log cabin schoolhouse and hired tutors for his kids. His mother was very religious and raised the kids to be pious. She died at age 40 due to complications in childbirth. Benjamin was almost 17. Parents
BACKGROUND:
– grew up on a 500 acre farm
– went to a one room schoolhouse
– became a lawyer
– joined the Union Army and rose to Brigadier General
– reporter for the Supreme Court of Indiana
– lost for Governor twice and Senate once
– elected Senator
FIRST LADY: Caroline (he called her “Carrie”) was very religious, both of her parents were Presbyterian ministers. Their wedding was performed by her father. When he was serving in the Civil War, he sent her pressed flowers from his battlefields. When she became ill, he refused to campaign for reelection (Cleveland also did not campaign). She was a founding member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She died when he was President. He later married her niece who was 25 years younger and had a child at age 65.
Library of Congress
TRIVIA:
– in the Civil War, he fought under Gen. Sherman in the Atlanta Campaign
– he lost the popular vote for President by 90,000, but won the electoral vote 233-168
– his great grandfather signed the Declaration of Independence
– 40,000 drummers visited his home during his famous “front porch campaign”
– new states added when he was President: Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming
– loved to hunt and swim as a kid
– his granddaughter Baby McKee was a national celebrity and once was found stirring the contents of a spittoon with important papers rolled up Sadler
– Baby McKee liked to hook up his pet goat Old Whiskers to his wagon; he once rode out onto Pennsylvania Avenue with the President running after him Kelly 129
ANECDOTES:
John Scott Harrison’s Body – John Scott Harrison is the only person in history who was the son of a President (William Henry Harrison) and the father of another (Benjamin Harrison). He was also a two term Congressman. When he died in 1878, he was not in the ground for very long before his corpse went missing. Back then, medical schools paid a lot for bodies, no questions asked. After an exhaustive search, the body was found in an Ohio medical school in line to be dissected. As a result of the publicity, many state legislatures passed stricter laws against grave-robbing. Shenkman 148-9