Anna Tuthill Harrison life and biography

Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison, also known as Mrs. William Henry Harrison born July 25, 1775 in in Flatbrook, New Jersey, United States - died February 25, 1864 in North Bend, Ohio, United States was the First Lady of the United States.

Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison had one of the briefest tenures as first lady in American history as the wife of ninth president William Henry Harrison. Her husband died after just 31 days after being sworn into office in 1841, and Harrison had not yet even taken up residence at the White House. At the time, she was the oldest woman to serve as first lady, at age 65, and was the first to have had a formal education.

Perilous Journey as Toddler

Harrison was born in Flatbrook, New Jersey in 1775, and followed a sister. Her father was a prominent judge in the area, John Cleves Symmes, and her mother died when she was just a few months old. Her father joined the Continental Army, commanded by future first American president George Washington, and rose to the rank of colonel fighting British crown forces for independence. In 1779, Symmes decided to send her to live with his late wife's parents in Southhold, Long Island. Because of the war, however, he had to disguise himself as a British soldier and ferry the four-year-old through British-held lands to safety at her grandparents' home. Both were thrifty and pious, two habits that Harrison would inherit. She was sent to the Clinton Academy in Easthampton, Long Island, and then to a top boarding school for young women in New York City.

Harrison did not see her father again until after the war's end in 1783. He later remarried and acquired a large tract of land in the Northwest Territory, the first American national territory and the future states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. The area which Symmes bought was north of a bend in the Ohio River, and Harrison, at the age of 19, gamely went with her father into what was considered rough frontier country at the time. They arrived and settled in what would become her lifelong home, North Bend, in 1794. Visiting her sister in Lexington, Kentucky, Harrison met her future husband, U.S. Army Captain William Henry Harrison. The pair quickly fell in love. The army officer hailed from an old Virginia family, and his father, Benjamin Harrison, had signed the Declaration of Independence. Judge Symmes initially approved of the match, but then changed his mind after hearing second-hand reports about a quarrel in which Captain Harrison had been involved some time back. General Anthony Wayne, the future president's commanding officer, held Captain Harrison in high regard, however, and granted him leave to marry Harrison one day when the judge was away. The ceremony, performed by a justice of the peace, took place in the Symmes home on November 22, 1795.

Began Large Family

It was a daring move, and at first Symmes refused to speak to his daughter's new husband. Finally they met at a social gathering and the judge said, according to Paul F. Boller Jr.'s Presidential Wives, "I see you have married Anna. And how do you expect to support my daughter?" The newlyweds settled in North Bend, and Harrison gave birth to ten children in 19 years. Her husband's military career often took him away from home for long periods of time, and she was left to run their farm, which prospered. She also schooled her children at home, and those of her neighbors as well at times. A member of the local Presbyterian church, she was known to invite the entire congregation back to her home for Sunday dinner.

An avid reader, Harrison was keenly interested in current events and loved to discuss politics. She supported her husband, whom she called "Pah," in his political career, which began in 1800 when he was made governor of the Indiana Territory. He served for 12 years, but returned to military duties when tensions arose in the area between the indigenous Native American population and the growing number of settlers of European heritage. He became a hero of 1811 in the Battle of Tippecanoe, in which his forces defeated those of Chief Tecumseh, the Shawnee leader.

Opposed Husband's Presidential Candidacy

Harrison became a Congressional wife when her husband was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1816. He served three years, and in 1825 won a seat in the U.S. Senate representing Ohio. Despite her support for his career, she was opposed to his first bid for the White House, in 1836, which was unsuccessful. He was nominated by his Whig Party again in 1840, and ran on a ticket with a fellow Charles City County, Virginia scion, John Tyler. This time the campaign, with its slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," was victorious. Harrison was said to have been dismayed by the election results, telling a Cincinnati newspaper that "I wish that my husband's friends had left him where he is, happy and contented in retirement," according to Boller's book.

Due to ill health and bad winter weather, Harrison decided not to make the journey to Washington for her husband's inauguration on March 4, 1841. Instead she invited her son's widow, Jane Findlay Harrison, to take her place for the ceremonies and subsequent receptions. On Inauguration Day, however, William Henry Harrison became ill with a cold that worsened into pneumonia. He died a month later, having served just 31 days. He was the first U.S. president to die in office. Harrison was packing to move to the White House when she received the sad news. She never moved, and was unable to travel to Washington for the funeral.

Harrison was succeeded in her first lady duties by Tyler's wife Letitia. Congress voted to grant her the "franking" privilege, the ability to send mail with one's signature, as well as a generous $25,000 pension. She remained in North Bend for the rest of her life, but when her home was destroyed in an 1855 fire she moved in with one of her sons. She avidly followed the Union victories when the American Civil War raged in the early 1860s, and died at the age of 88 in February of 1864. One grandson, Benjamin Harrison, became the 23rd U.S. president in 1889.

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