Harrison, John Scott

Birth Name Harrison, John Scott 1a
Gramps ID I4137
Gender male
Age at Death 73 years, 7 months, 21 days

Events

Event Date Place Description Notes Sources
Birth [E7781] 1804-10-04 Vincennes, IN, USA  
1b
Death [E7782] 1878-05-25 Point Farm,North Bend , OH, USA  
1c
Burial [E7783] 1878 Harrison Tomb, North Bend, Ohio  
2a

Parents

Relation to main person Name Birth date Death date Relation within this family (if not by birth)
Father Harrison, William Henry [I3602]1773-02-091841-04-04
Mother Symmes, Anne Tuthill [I4113]1775-07-251864-02-25
         Harrison, John Scott [I4137] 1804-10-04 1878-05-25
    Sister     Harrison, Elizabeth Bassett [I4117] 1796-09-29 1846-09-27
    Brother     Harrison, John Cleves [I4152] 1798 UNKNOWN
    Sister     Harrison, Lucy Singleton [I4116] 1800-09-05 1826-04-07
    Brother     Harrison, William Henry [I4119] 1802-09-03 1838-02-06
    Brother     Harrison, Benjamin [I3603] 1806 UNKNOWN
    Sister     Harrison, Mary Symmes [I4121] 1809-01-22 1842-11-16
    Brother     Harrison, Carter Bassett [I4120] 1811-10-26 1839-08-12
    Sister     Harrison, Anna Tuthill [I4118] 1813-10-28 1865-07-05
    Brother     Harrison, James Findlay [I4122] 1814-05-15 1817

Families

    Family of Harrison, John Scott and Johnson, Lucretia Knapp [F1617]
Married Wife Johnson, Lucretia Knapp [I4154] ( * 1804-09-16 + 1830-02-06 )
   
Event Date Place Description Notes Sources
Marriage [E13776] 1824    
 
  Children
Name Birth Date Death Date
Harrison, Elizabeth Short [I4155]18251904
Harrison, William Henry [I4156]18271829
Harrison, Sarah Lucretia [I4157]1829UNKNOWN
  Attributes
Type Value Notes Sources
REFN 90704
 
    Family of Harrison, John Scott and Irwin., Elizabeth Ramsey [F1288]
Married Wife Irwin., Elizabeth Ramsey [I4138] ( * 1810-07-18 + 1850-08-15 )
   
Event Date Place Description Notes Sources
Marriage [E13616] 1831-08-12 Cincinnati, OH  
3a
Marriage [E13617] 1831    
4a
  Children
Name Birth Date Death Date
Harrison, Benjamin Vl [I3163]1833-08-201901-03-13
Harrison, Archibald Irwin [I4160]18321870
Harrison, Mary Jane [I4161]18351867
Harrison, Anna Symmes [I4162]18371838
Harrison, John Irwin [I4163]18391839
Harrison, Carter Bassett [I4164]18401905
Harrison, Anna Symmes [I4165]18421926
Harrison, John Scott [I4166]18441926
Harrison, James Findlay [I4167]18471848
Harrison, James Irwin [I4168]18491850
  Attributes
Type Value Notes Sources
REFN 76048
 

Narrative

John Scott Harrison (1804-1878) was an American Congressman who represented the second district of Ohio from 1853 to 1857. To date, he is the only person in history who was the son of one President (William Henry Harrison) and the father of another (Benjamin Harrison).

John Scott was born to William Henry and Anna Symmes Harrison on October 4, 1804 at Vincennes, Indiana. He studied medicine, but became a farmer. He was elected to Congress in 1852 as a Whig and in 1854 as a Republican. When he was defeated in 1856 he retired to his farm in Hamilton County, Ohio.
John Scott Harrison, was a representative from the state of Ohio.
Harrison died on May 25, 1878 at his home near North Bend, Ohio and was buried in the Harrison tomb there. His body was stolen from its grave, and was later discovered in the quarters of a medical student who lacked legitimate access to corpses for medical study.[1]

 

Ohio History: The Scholarly Jouranal of the Ohio Historical Society
Body Snatching in Ohio
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly Page 348 Volume 59

 

The most sensational case of body snatching ever to occur in Ohio, and perhaps in the United States, was the famous "Harrison case" at North Bend, near Cincinnati, in 1878. In May of that year the Hon. John Scott Harrison, son of William Henry Harrison and father of Benjamin Harrison, died of an obscure disease and his remains were laid to rest in the family burial plot at North Bend. Every precaution was taken to make his grave secure--a cemented brick vault was built in the grave, and after the casket
was deposited and the roof of the vault completed, heavy stones mixed with earth were used to fill the grave. To add to the security a watchman was engaged to visit the grave hourly every night for a week.
On the day of the funeral it was discovered that an adjoininggrave of young Augustus Devin, who had died about a week previously, had been disturbed and his body stolen. The following day two of his friends, one of whom was a son of the recentlydeceased John Harrison, journeyed to Cincinnati to search the medical colleges there for his body. Provided with search warrants they went first to the Ohio Medical College, where they failed to find the missing body. However, to their horror they
discovered the nude body of John Scott Harrison dangling from a rope which hung taut from a windlass through a trap door into a dark and gloomy chute. Naturally this shocking episode created
a sensation.
Also sensational was the disclosure that, aided by the janitor of the Miami Medical College, the notorious resurrectionist Morton, alias Gabriel, alias Dr. Christian, and the demonstrator of anatomy at the medical college of the University of Michigan were in collusion for the purpose of bootlegging bodies to the latter institution. It was here that the body of young Devin wastraced and found in a vat of brine.45
The Ohio State Journal of October 9, 1879, reported that"some pretty strange stories are told of the systematic manner in which dead bodies are carted away from the County burial ground.
The manner in which it is said to be done would indicate that there is some official traffic connected with the transactions." This brief item ends with the statement that the affair should be looked
into. Shortly thereafter, it was reported that the people in the vicinity of Harrisburg were convinced that there was traffic in cadavers in their locality and that the resurrection of the body of a man, with no relatives to look after his recently made grave, had taken place there without doubt, and it was implied that a local doctor was the guilty body snatcher.

Attributes

Type Value Notes Sources
REFN 4137
 

Pedigree

  1. Harrison, William Henry [I3602]
    1. Symmes, Anne Tuthill [I4113]
      1. Harrison, John Scott
        1. Johnson, Lucretia Knapp [I4154]
          1. Harrison, Elizabeth Short [I4155]
          2. Harrison, William Henry [I4156]
          3. Harrison, Sarah Lucretia [I4157]
        2. Irwin., Elizabeth Ramsey [I4138]
          1. Harrison, Benjamin Vl [I3163]
          2. Harrison, Archibald Irwin [I4160]
          3. Harrison, Mary Jane [I4161]
          4. Harrison, Anna Symmes [I4162]
          5. Harrison, John Irwin [I4163]
          6. Harrison, Carter Bassett [I4164]
          7. Harrison, Anna Symmes [I4165]
          8. Harrison, John Scott [I4166]
          9. Harrison, James Findlay [I4167]
          10. Harrison, James Irwin [I4168]
      2. Harrison, Elizabeth Bassett [I4117]
      3. Harrison, John Cleves [I4152]
      4. Harrison, Lucy Singleton [I4116]
      5. Harrison, William Henry [I4119]
      6. Harrison, Benjamin [I3603]
      7. Harrison, Mary Symmes [I4121]
      8. Harrison, Carter Bassett [I4120]
      9. Harrison, Anna Tuthill [I4118]
      10. Harrison, James Findlay [I4122]

Ancestors

Source References

  1. Ancestry.com: One World Tree (sm) [S3462]
      • Source text:

        Ancestry.com. One World Tree (sm) [database online]. Provo, UT: MyFamily.com, Inc.

      • Source text:

        Ancestry.com. One World Tree (sm) [database online]. Provo, UT: MyFamily.com, Inc.

      • Source text:

        Ancestry.com. One World Tree (sm) [database online]. Provo, UT: MyFamily.com, Inc.

  2. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774-Present [S2262]
      • Source text:

        retired to his estate “Point Farm,” near North Bend, Ohio, and died there May 25, 1878; interment in the Harrison Tomb, North Bend, Ohio.

  3. Edmund West, comp.: Family Data Collection - Individual Records [S2657]
      • Source text:

        Edmund West, comp.

        Family Data Collection - Individual Records.
        [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2000.

  4. Yates Publishing: U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [S3758]
      • Source text:

        U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Record
        about Elizabeth Ramsey Irwin
        Name: Elizabeth Ramsey Irwin
        Gender: female
        Birth Place: PA
        Birth Year: 1810
        Spouse Name: John Scott Harrison
        Spouse
        Birth Place: IN
        Spouse Birth Year: 1804
        Marriage
        Year: 1831
        Number Pages: 1