Sulphuric acid. The manufacture of chemicals in this country started in 1793, when sulphuric acid, the most important manufactured substance used in the chemical industry, was made in Philadelphia by John Harrison. Harrison made lead paint also, and while his enterprise was very small in its beginnings, it proved profitable, and soon his plant was expanded until it reached a capacity of nearly half a million pounds of sulphuric acid annually. It is said of this acid that it is a chemical barometer, and even that one can gauge the civilization of a people by the amount of sulphuric acid they use. In 1825 and later other concerns followed Harrison's beginning; it is said that the Chemical National Bank in New York was established with funds derived largely from the manufacture of sulphuric acid. Various other acids are produced in the chemical industry: nitric acid was manufactured in Philadelphia as early as 1834, as was muriatic acid also; then there are " mixed acids " formed of nitric and sulphuric, which are used in nitrating organic substances such as glycerin and cellulose. Acetic, lactic, citric, and tartaric acids all have their importance in the industrial world, as well as in medicine.
The Ancestry of John Harrison
John Harrison (1773-1833)The following material on John Harrison was extracted from Annals of the Ancestry of Charles Custis Harrison and Ellen Waln Harrison, compiled by their daughter-in-law Mary Harrison. Printed for Private Circulation by J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, MCMXXXII. Pp. 15-23. [my additional comments are added in brackets]
"Thomas Harrison, of Stoneraise, and Castle Sowerby, Cumberland County, England, was born about 1640. Stoneraise is in the parish of Westward, two or three miles from Wigton and about ten from Carlisle. The parish of Sowerby, sometimes called Castle Sowerby because of an old fortress there, lies to the north of Westward. In the parish of Sowerby is Graystock and there were Herysons and Harysons in Graystock as far back as 1374. Thomas Harrison was a follower of George Fox, a member of the Religious Society of Friends. His son, Thomas, after living for a number of years in London, returned to Cumberland and bought land in Thurstonfield, not far from Carlisle. This second Thomas's son, also Thomas, continued to live at Thurstonfield and had a large number of children. The eldest born, named Thomas, died when three years old, and the house and lands passed in due course to the second son, John. The fifth son, born August 29, 1741, and also named Thomas, is the one from whom John Harrison was descended. This Thomas Harrison applied to Carlisle Monthly Meeting for a certificate of removal, and in the "Minutes entered at our Monthly Meeting at Carlisle the 20th of 5th Mo. 1763 a Certificate was given at this meeting on behalf of Thomas Harrison directed to Friends in Philadelphia."
Thomas Harrison, then a young man of 22, apparently went to America shortly after the date of this certificate and, introduced to the Society of Friends in Philadelphia by that somewhat formidable document, promptly married the young woman who in later years was to become one of the most celebrated Quaker preachers of her day. The records of the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting of Friends show that "on Sixth Mo. 21, 1764, Thomas Harrison of Philadelphia, son of Thomas, deceased, of Thurston Field, Cumberland County, Great Britain, was married at the Philadelphia Meeting to Sarah Richards, daughter of Rowland Richards, deceased, of Chester County."
Besides the notoriety of his famous preacher wife, Thomas Harrison was known as an ardent worker for the abolition of slavery and a respected citizen. His sixth son with Sarah Richards was John Harrison, the subject of this biography.
John Harrison was born in Philadelphia, December 17th, 1773. He was apprenticed at an early age to Townsend Speakman, a chemist, later studying for two years in Europe and also under the famous Joseph Priestley, minister, scientist and discoverer of oxygen. John Harrison himself became a noted manufacturing chemist and is often called America's first industrial chemist. He married Lydia Leib, daughter of John George Leib and his wife Dorothy. John & Lydia Harrison had eight children. Their sixth child was George Lieb Harrison, born October 28, 1811 who became a student at Harvard University in 1828, worked at the law office of Joseph R. Ingersoll, admitted to the Bar in 1833, but upon his father's death that same year, he took over his father's business. He was later invited to become a member of the firm of Powers and Weightman, which was then renamed Powers, Weightman and Harrison. His first wife was Sarah Ann Waples, his second wife Letitia Henry Mitchell, the sister of the famous Dr. S. Weir Mitchell.John Harrison was interested in many things besides his successful business. He was captain of the Sixth Company in the Third Battalion of Philadelphia Militia; he belonged to the "Fish House," being elected a member of that celebrated "Schuylkill Fishing Company of the State in Schuylkill" in 1796, and he was a member of the first Board of Managers of the Franklin Institute. He lived for many years at Priestley Lodge, named in honour of his old friend and former teacher. [Priestly Lodge was located in Kensington, on the west side of Frankford Road, above Palmer, or where the old Kensington Depot was located. There is a painting, by Kennedy, of this mansion house. I will try to get a copy and supply and if permission is granted, put it up.]
Harrison died in 1833. The John Harrison Laboratory of Chemistry of the University of Pennsylvania was erected as a Memorial to him by his grandsons, Charles Custis Harrison, Alfred Craven Harrison and William Welsh Harrison. An interesting portrait of John Harrison, painted by James Peale, is now in the possession of his great-grandson, George L. Harrison."
Harrison family papers
Collection 3103
(circa 1857-1961, undated; bulk 1869-1870) (0.4 Linear feet ; 1 box, 1 flat file)
© The Historical Society of Pennsylvania1300 Locust StreetPhiladelphia, PA, 19107215-732-6200
Table of Contents
Summary Information
Background note
Scope and Contents note
Administrative Information
Related Materials
Controlled Access Headings
Bibliography
Collection Inventory
Summary Information
Repository
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Creator
Harrison family.
Title
Harrison family papers
ID
3103
Date
(circa 1857-1961, undated; bulk 1869-1870)
Extent
0.4 Linear feet ; 1 box, 1 flat file
Author
Finding aid prepared by Cary Majewicz
Sponsor
Processing made possible by a generous donation from William Hyland.
Language
English
Mixed materials [Oversize]
1
Mixed materials [Box]
1
Abstract
Charles Custis Harrison (1844-1929) and Ellen Nixon (Waln) Harrison (1846-1922), members of two prominent Philadelphia families, were married in 1870. They lived for many years on Locust Street near Rittenhouse Square and kept a summer home, “Ellersleigh,” in Glenwood, Pennsylvania. They had seven children born between the years 1872 and 1886: Edward, George, Ellen, Charles Jr., Harry, Esther, and Dorothy. Charles served as provost of the University of Pennsylvania from 1894 to 1910. This collection chiefly consists of 136 pieces of family correspondence, most of which are between Charles and Ellen Harrison and date from 1869 to 1870. The collection also contains letters between Charles and his son Harry Waln Harrison, one of Charles’s notebooks from his time as a provost at the University of Pennsylvania, an 1866 partnership agreement, a photocopy of a journal, photographs, and genealogical essays and documents.Preferred Citation note
Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Harrison family papers (Collection 3103), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Background noteCharles Custis Harrison was born in Philadelphia in 1844 to George Leib Harrison and Sarah Ann (Waples) Harrison. The family also included an older daughter, Harriet Morgan, and eventually two younger sons, Alfred Craven and William Welsh. George L. Harrison was the proprietor of the successful Franklin Sugar Refining Company; all his sons would eventually work their ways through this business. Charles received his education first through a private tutor, then through St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Academy. His studies culminated in 1865 with a Master of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Later in life he received several honorary degrees from Princeton University, Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
In addition to working with his father in the sugar refining business, Charles became best known for his work as a trustee and provost of the University of Pennsylvania. Charles became a University trustee in 1876 and provost in 1894, a post to which he was permanently elected in 1895 and held until 1910. During this time, the University experience rapid growth and Charles helped raise funds for numerous school buildings and dormitories. He personally financed the George Leib Harrison Memorial Foundation, an endowment which the University still maintains to this day. Charles also held memberships in various local organizations such as the American Philosophical Society, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and the Numismatic and Antiquarian societies.
Ellen Nixon (Waln) Harrison was born in Philadelphia to Edward Waln and Ellen Cora Nixon in 1846. Not only was she part of the Waln family, members of which were well-known in the area for their mercantile pursuits, but she was also the great-granddaughter of Robert Morris, financier of the American Revolution. Ellen spent much of her life caring for her children. However, she, like her husband, had close ties to the University of Pennsylvania. Around 1900 she became one of three women (the other two being Mrs. Edward M. Paxson and Mrs. George Wharton Pepper) to serve as managers of the university’s hospital.
Return to Table of Contents »Scope and Contents note
The Harrison family papers are a small collection that primarily contains 136 family letters, the majority of which are between Charles Custis Harrison and Ellen Nixon (Waln) Harrison before and during their marriage. The bulk of the letters span from 1869 to 1870, but items in the collection range from about the late 1850s to the mid 1900s. There are also photographs, genealogical papers on the Harrison and related families, one of Charles Harrison’s subscription books, photocopies of drawings in a journal kept by Charles Harrison in the 1880s, letters to Harry Waln Harrison from Charles, and a 1961 certification (or appraisal) of a copy of the Declaration of Independence.
When accessing this collection, researchers will find that all of the original letters have been cataloged, numbered, and transcribed. Letters to Charles Harrison are numbered C1, C2, C3 and so on. Letters to Ellen Harrison are similarly numbered with the prefix “E” and miscellaneous items are numbered with the prefix “M.” Within each group, the letters are in chronological order, so the lower the catalog number, the earlier the letter. A significant number of the letters are undated; their current order was created prior to the collections’ arrival at HSP and has been maintained.
Additionally, there are two sets of transcriptions of these letters. One set is housed with the original letters in the same number order. The other set had been compiled into a collection of correspondence meant for Harrison family descendants. In this latter compilation, the correspondence is also arranged chronologically; however, the letters are mixed to show the progression of Charles and Ellen’s relationship, that is, a letter from Ellen to Charles is often followed by the response from Charles to Ellen. Since, as the author of the compilation noted, “many notes and letters referred to in this collection are not extant,” there are gaps in which there are only letters to or from one person. The compilation of letters also contains an image of “Glenwood,” the family home of George and Letitia Harrison, and various remarks on the family and the letters.The letters between Charles and Ellen date from the time of their courtship, starting in about 1868, through the first several years of their marriage, until about 1875 (Box 1, Folders 1-6). Many of Ellen’s early letters, in addition to requests that she and Charles get together, contain various reports on friends and family members and her own activities. “I spent the day at Mrs. Meade’s,” wrote Ellen in one such letter,” and wanted a locket so very much but never the less I did not complain. On Friday I expect to spend the day in Trenton.” A couple days later, Charles replied, “I have only at this moment received your note of Thursday night from Trenton. I can hardly devise any proper means of going to W[althamstowe] to-morrow, as the horses are all at Glenwood still, and as I expect to go out of town early on Monday morning.”
As their relationship grew stronger, their letters grew longer and revealed in more depth their feelings towards one another. “May I not,” wrote Charles to Ellen on May 30, 1869, “from my long lesson to-day, ‘go one up’ in the class of your friends? I wonder how long before I shall be ‘head’!” This statement of Charles’ hope to become Ellen’s number one “friend” concluded nine-pages of what he deemed a “very egotistical letter” in which he wrote about his mixed but ultimately loving emotions towards Ellen.
Despite the fact that Charles and Ellen were married in February 1870, there are almost no indications of this event or their prior engagement in their letters. However, there are a few congratulatory letters from family members and later references to various presents they received after the wedding. After the wedding, in early 1870, Charles and Ellen moved from their respective family homes to 1620 Locust Street in Philadelphia, a residence given to them by Charles’s father, George Leib Harrison, who occupied the house next door at 1618 Locust Street.
In addition to letters between Charles and Ellen, the collection also contains letters to the honeymooning couple from Charles’s parents, George and Letitia Harrison. (Charles and Ellen spent a lengthy honeymoon in Florida.) There are also several letters to Charles from various members of his family and several miscellaneous letters to Ellen from friends, including one from Margaretta S. Meade, wife of General George Meade. Miscellaneous items in this collection (Box 1, Folder 7) include articles of partnership for Harrison Havemeyer & Co, the company that established the Franklin Sugar Refining Company, a poem written by Charles entitled “Among the Laurels,” and a draft of Charles’s resignation from Franklin Sugar.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania ; 2008
1300 Locust Street Philadelphia, PA, 19107 215-732-6200
Conditions Governing Access note
The collection is open for research.
Provenance
Gift of Jean Hyland, 2006.
Accession number 2006.041
Return to Table of Contents »Related Materials
Related collections
At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania:
Charles C. Harrison papers, Book of Receipted Bills, 1864-1874 (3279)
George L. Harrison papers, 1946, undated (1464A)
Harrison family papers, 1789-1964 (2048)
"Philadelphia as I remember it, 1875-1950" (manuscript) by George L. Harrison (1464B)
At other institutions:
Charles Custis Harrison Files, 1854 - 1943 (bulk 1891 - 1927) [UPA 6.2H], University of Pennsylvania, University Archives and Records Center, Office of the Provost.
Return to Table of Contents »Controlled Access Headings
Personal Name(s)
Harrison, George L. (George Leib), 1811-1885.
Harrison, Charles Custis, 1844-1929.
Harrison, Ellen N. (Ellen Nixon), 1846-1922.
Harrison, Harry Waln, 1879- .
Subject(s)
Courtship – 1850-1900.
Family – Anecdotes.
Letters (Correspondence) – 1870-1900.
Love – letters.
Spouses – Correspondence.
Return to Table of Contents »Bibliography
Harrison, Mary. Annals of the Ancestry of Charles Custis Harrison and Ellen Waln Harrison. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1932.Collection Inventory
Box Folder
Letters to Charles C. Harrison [C1-C20] (circa 1857-1869, undated) 1 1Letters to Charles C. Harrison [C21-C40] (1869) 1 2
Letters to Charles C. Harrison [C41-C60, no C55 or C56] (1869-1870, undated) 1 3
Letters to Charles C. Harrison [C61-C80] (1870) 1 4
Letters to Charles C. Harrison [C81-C99] (1870-1875) 1 5
Letters to Ellen N. Waln [E1-E27] (1865-1870, undated) 1 6
ts »
Miscellaneous [M1-M10] (1866, 1870, 1939, undated) 1 7"Descendants of John Harrison and Lydia Leib" (circa 1951) 1 8
"Certification" of Declaration of Independence broadside (1961) 1 9
Correspondence to Harry Waln Harrison (1893, 1913, 1914, undated) 1 10
Charles C. Harrison ledger/journal [photocopies] (undated) 1 11
Photograph: Charles C. Harrison in uniform (circa 1861)
Box Folder
Photograph: Charles C. Harrison (circa 1925)1 13Subscription book and web print-out, "Remembering a Provost's 'Little Black Books'" (circa 1900, 1996)1 14
"Correspondence collection of Charles Custis and Ellen Waln Harrison" (undated) 1 15
Oversize
Genealogical information and family tree (undated) Harrison descendants list 1