Click here to skip all this and read Ten Quick Facts on W.H.H.

William Henry Harrison was born on February 9, 1773, in Berkeley, Virginia. He came from rather wealthy roots, as his father, Benjamin Harrison, was a member of the First Continental Congress, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the governor of Virginia.

He attended the Hampden-Sydney College, but soon deserted academics to follow a military career. At the age of eighteen, he enlisted in the United States Army and was left for the Northwest Territory. While there, he secretly married Anna Tuthill Symmes in 1795. They, over a period of time, had ten children: six boys and four girls. Their names were John Cleves, William Henry, John Scott, Benjamin, Carter, James, Elizabeth, Lucy, Mary, and Anna (though these names are not in any particular order).

Harrison quickly advanced through the territorial ranks. In 1798, he was appointed Secretary of the Northwest Territory. In 1799, he was elected as Indiana's first territorial delegate to the United States Congress. In 1800, President John Adams appointed Harrison as Indiana's first territorial governor. Harrison arrived in Vincennes, Indiana's first territorial capital, to assume his role as governor in 1801. He remained in this position until 1812. Harrison also served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the territory.

Harrison passed through our present county because of frequent trips between Vincennes and the Falls of the Ohio in Clarksville. His friend, Harvey Heth, gave Harrison advice on choice property in the county.

In 1811, Harrison defeated the Prophet, brother to the Shawnee chieftain Tecumseh, at the Battle of Tippecanoe. After the victory, his military fame grew and he was nicknamed "Old Tip". He was named Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the Northwest and made a brigadier general in the War of 1812. During the war, he and his troops recaptured Detroit from the British and defeated the British and Tecumseh in the Battle of the Thames in Ontario, Canada, all in 1813. The victory achieved at this battle virtually ended the threat of British invasions and Indian raids in the Northwest.

Before the war, Harrison's father-in-law, Judge Symmes, had died, leaving Harrison to inherit property in North Bend, Ohio. After the War of 1812, Harrison briefly retired to his farm in North Bend but left in 1816 to serve in the Ohio House of Representatives. In 1819, Harrison was elected to the Ohio Senate, and in 1825, he became a U.S. Senator from Ohio. He also served as a minister to Columbia.

Harrison, his popularity growing, then moved onto the national political stage. The Whig Party nominated him as their candidate in the 1836 election, but he was defeated by the Democrat Martin Van Buren. Harrison was nominated again in the next election of 1840 with John Tyler, his running mate. Harrison emphasized his backwoods image with his "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign. Harrison was one of the first candidates to appear at rallies, barbecues, and other gatherings as an active campaigner. Campaign buttons featured a likeness of his log cabin in Harrison County and their slogan was "Tippecanoe and Tyler too!"

Harrison's active campaigning obviously paid off, as this time he bested his again-opponent Martin Van Buren by and electoral college vote of 234 to 60. "Bill" Harrison became the ninth President of the United States of America.

Inauguration Day, March 4, 1841, was wet and cold. Harrison refused to wear an overcoat, hat or gloves during the ceremony. Harrison delivered his two-hour long inaugural speech, the longest in U.S. history, during a steady downpour. He caught pneumonia and became the first president to die in office on April 4, 1841. It was also the shortest presidential term (30 days). The presidency passed over to Tyler, though some referred to him as "His Accidency" because of the way he received his office. William Henry Harrison's grandson, Benjamin Harrison also used the log cabin campaign and became the twenty-third President of the United States of America in 1888.

Click here to Return to the Main William Henry Harrison Page