Early life and a doorway to history
I first met John Cleves Symmes Harrison on paper and in the margins of family stories. He was born on 28 October 1798, a child of two converging American lineages. His father was William Henry Harrison. His mother was Anna Tuthill Symmes. That pairing placed him at the intersection of Revolutionary era politics and westward expansion. He arrived into a household with at least nine siblings, where names like John Scott Harrison and Elizabeth Bassett Harrison moved through family letters like familiar weather.
He grew up among land papers and letters. The Symmes name hung over him – John Cleves Symmes, the judge and land speculator, was his maternal grandfather. From that inheritance came expectation and opportunity. To understand him, you must picture early 19th century Vincennes and the frontier towns: ledger books, stamp of official seals, the clack of decisions that turned wilderness into property.
Marriage, family, and the domestic map
In September 1819 he married Clarissa Brown Pike. The date appears in multiple family registers as either 27 or 29 September 1819. Together they produced a brood typical of the time – at least five or six children with names that echoed kin and alliance: John Cleves Symmes Harrison Jr. (born circa 1820), Zebuline or Adeline Pike Harrison (circa 1821), Anna Maria Symmes Harrison (circa 1822), Clarissa Louisa Harrison (circa 1824), Montgomery Pike Harrison (circa 1826 to 1829), and a William H. Harrison who lived into later decades.
I see in this household a ledger of faces: children, a wife, relatives visiting from Virginia and New Jersey. The family was a networked thing, stitched to the Harrisons of Virginia and the Symmes family of the Northwest Territory. Names like Elizabeth Harrison Rickman Edmondson, Lucy Harrison Randolph Singleton, Anne Harrison, and Sarah Harrison Minge sit in the broader family web. Grandparents included figures such as Benjamin Harrison V and Elizabeth Bassett on the paternal side, and Judge John Cleves Symmes and Anna Tuthill Symmes on the maternal side.
Public office, financial responsibility, and the Vincennes ledger
Public trusted John Cleves Symmes Harrison. He was Vincennes Land Office Receiver of Public Money from late 1819 to early 1820. That was heavy work. Receivers handled land sales cash, a frontier growth sinew. His position was between money, law, and settlement.
He wrote. He coordinated newspaper subscriptions and distribution with Moses Dawson in 1824. That letter goes beyond correspondence. A busy guy united civic life, print culture, and commercial networks.
Trust can erode. Historical records show a $9,253 gap in Vincennes accounts related to him in public land summaries. The figure is shocking. It denotes error, mismanagement, or a complicated administrative mess. Around 1828, President Andrew Jackson’s political upheaval removed him from receiver. Removal, reparation, or debt documentation all affect a person differently.
Civic roles and local footprint
Harrison engaged locally outside the land office. He was a school trustee and treasurer and participated in small-town civic projects. Although not famous, such roles significant. They influenced schools, publications, and municipal development.
He joined the generation of public servants that made the frontier legible—turning claims into titles, squatters into citizens, rumor into fact. His work in Vincennes and Kentucky took him across two states and several localities.
Death, dates, and burial
John Cleves Symmes Harrison died on 30 October 1830, at Sugar Grove in Boone County, Kentucky. He was 32 years old. The dates are clean and unadorned. They bracket a life that moved quickly – birth in 1798, marriage in 1819, office in 1819-1828, death in 1830.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1798 – 10 – 28 | Birth of John Cleves Symmes Harrison. |
| 1819 – 09 – 27/29 | Marriage to Clarissa Brown Pike. |
| 1819 – late / 1820 – early | Appointed Receiver, Vincennes Land Office. |
| 1824 – 09 – 21 | Letter to a publisher about subscriptions and distribution. |
| 1828 | Removed from receiver position. |
| 1830 – 10 – 30 | Death at Sugar Grove, Boone County, Kentucky. |
| 1820s | Children born – at least 5 named descendants recorded. |
| 1820s | Reported account deficiency of $9,253 recorded in public-lands summaries. |
The family in portrait – brief introductions
I view the family as a small constellation. Each name pulses with a role.
- William Henry Harrison – father. A military man, governor, later president. He cast a long shadow, one that opened doors and set expectations.
- Anna Tuthill Symmes – mother. Daughter of Judge John Cleves Symmes, she carried the Symmes legacy into marriage.
- Clarissa Brown Pike – wife. Partner and mother who raised children while her husband managed public office far from home at times.
- John Cleves Symmes – maternal grandfather. A judge and land speculator whose name defined region and ambition.
- Benjamin Harrison V – paternal grandfather. A signer and governor, the political DNA ran deep.
- Siblings – a roster of at least eight brothers and sisters, including John Scott Harrison and Elizabeth Bassett Harrison. They formed the domestic chorus for his life.
- Aunts such as Elizabeth Harrison Rickman Edmondson, Lucy Harrison Randolph Singleton, Anne Harrison, and Sarah Harrison Minge – extended family who connected branches and households.
A life of numbers, trust, and the frontier ledger
Numbers follow him like a trail. Exact birth and death dates, the year of marriage, the sum of $9,253 in discrepancy, the years of appointment and removal. Those digits are not just accounting. They are narrative epochs – points where responsibility met the public, where trust was recorded and, perhaps, tested.
His life felt like a ledger entry that expands into a full page. There is the clerical side – offices, receipts, letters – and there is the human side – marriage, children, family names repeated like incantations. The two sides do not always agree. In his case, they create tension.
FAQ
Who was John Cleves Symmes Harrison
I am describing the son of William Henry Harrison and Anna Tuthill Symmes. He was born on 28 October 1798 and died on 30 October 1830. He served as Receiver at the Vincennes Land Office and married Clarissa Brown Pike in September 1819.
What official position did he hold
He was Receiver of Public Money for the Vincennes Land Office from about late 1819 into the 1820s. This role required managing receipts from federal land sales for the district.
What is the reported financial issue associated with him
A deficiency of 9,253 dollars is recorded in 19th century public-lands summaries under his name. The shortfall appears in ledger summaries and municipal histories and was associated with his tenure at the Vincennes office.
Who were his immediate family members
His immediate family included his parents William Henry Harrison and Anna Tuthill Symmes, wife Clarissa Brown Pike, and multiple children born in the 1820s. He had at least eight siblings and extended relations in the Harrison and Symmes families.
When did he marry and who were his children
He married Clarissa Brown Pike on 27 or 29 September 1819. Children include John Cleves Symmes Harrison Jr. (circa 1820), Zebuline or Adeline Pike Harrison (circa 1821), Anna Maria Symmes Harrison (circa 1822), Clarissa Louisa Harrison (circa 1824), Montgomery Pike Harrison (circa 1826 to 1829), and a William H. Harrison noted in later records.
Where and when did he die
He died on 30 October 1830 at Sugar Grove in Boone County, Kentucky. The age at death was 32 years.
What records show his civic or publishing activities
In 1824 he corresponded with a publisher about newspaper subscriptions and distribution, indicating involvement in local publishing and civic communications. He also served in trustee or treasurer roles for local education initiatives.
How does he fit into the larger Harrison and Symmes families
He is a bridge between the Harrison line of Virginia and the Symmes purchase families of the Northwest Territory. His paternal grandfather was Benjamin Harrison V and his maternal grandfather was Judge John Cleves Symmes. The family ties placed him among influential networks of land, law, and politics.
