Harrison Hotel

A moments glance at the 1873 maps of Luzerne County,

particularly in Huntington, Union and Ross Townships, reveals a great

many Harrison’s, particularly along the road running from Hublersville

(now Huntington Mills) to my Grandfathers farm (See the closeup views

below). It seems almost inevitable that most of these folk are related,

without going back too far. It’s not clear how or how far back. (If you go

back far enough everybody is related).

In particular, along that road, just inside the Huntington/Union

line is “A. Harrison Hotel”. Now there’s nothing terribly remarkable

about that, but my Aunt Edith relates a story from her childhood that

suggests her grandfather T.B. didn’t think these Harrisons were related

at all. That struck me as unlikely, so I thought it was a story worth

pursuing. And in fact it’s proved pretty interesting (to me, anyway) so

I’m going to tell it, more or less the way I figured it out. It also has a

spooky side to it, which makes it appealing, the way ghost stories can

be appealing (as long as you don’t take them too seriously.)

To be honest, I wasn’t aware of the Harrison Hotel until my cousin

Lise, Edith’s daughter, mentioned it and sent me a 1989 newspaper

clipping and a copy of Edith’s notes. I will start with those documents,

since they are where I started.

The newspaper clipping is from the Sweet Valley Suburban News.

Sweet Valley is half way from the farm to Wilkes-Barre.

To appreciate Edith’s story, which I include next, you need a little

background. My (and Lise’s) Harrison grandparents Joseph H. and Ethel

M. (see “Joe and Maud”) were married in 1909 and popped out Edith

in 1910. Ethel was working as a teacher and Joe went off to Dental

College in Baltimore (with Ethel following quickly). Edith was left with

Joe’s parents T.B. and Charlotte Harrison in the Brick House, where she

lived for the first five years of her life. Edith spent her adult life

teaching English, first at Hazleton High School, then in various branch

campuses of Penn State. (Her life is entwined with mine in ways that I

did not appreciate until much later.)

In the 1873 map of Union, the Brick House is labeled H. Harrison,

for Henderson Harrison, short for Joseph Henderson Harrison, T.B.’s

father, for whom my grandfather was named. He, it was, who built it. I

will say more about it in a bit. It, together with the Hotel, is the basis of

the ghost story.

The next four pages contain a copy of Edith Harrison Boorse’s

handwritten story about the Old Harrison Hotel (and assorted other

things!)

I don’t know what T.B. knew. But he might have known what had been

published in 1893 by Bradsby: A History of Luzerne County. It, along

with maps and bios, is available at

http://www.pagenweb.org/~luzerne/

It contains bios of T.B. himself, as well as his father J.H., so it’s hard to

imagine he was not familiar with it… and probably contributed a good

bit of the content about what he knew (Or his father did.)

I won’t repeat the entries for TBH and JHH here, but I do need to

reiterate the (completely non-controversial) father-tree:

Joseph Henderson II 1888-1967 born in Wilkes-Barre, died in Hazleton

Torrence Barnard 1858-1936 born in Union Twp, died in Union Twp

Joseph Henderson I 1825-1905 born in Huntington Twp, died in Union

Stephen 1804-1855 born in Huntington Twp, died in Huntington

William 1774-1849 born in CT, died in Huntington

Stephen 1752-1834 born in CT, died in Huntington

According to Bradsby’s discussion of Huntington, Stephen Sr and his

eldest son William (Bille) came from CT in 1777. Then another Stephen,

I presume Stephen Jr, came in 1796 (but it doesn’t say Jr.)

So this much T.B. surely would have known. In fact probably he, or

his father, supplied the info to Bradsby in the first place. There is a

slightly earlier book by Munsell from which Bradsby has flagrantly

plagiarized. In fact you can find the same sentences and paragraphs

repeated over and over. Is it history or is it mythology?

I will repeat the Bradsby bio of one of the Hotel proprietors:

M.D. HARRISON, farmer and proprietor of the "Huntington Mills Hotel,"

Huntington township, P.O. Huntington Mills, was born in that township, March

24, 1839. He is a son of Meritt and Sarah A. (Edwards) Harrison (both now

deceased), natives of Pennsylvania and of English origin, the former of whom

was a farmer by occupation, and died April 25, 1874. He was a son of Stephen

and Hulda (Daboll) Harrison, natives of Connecticut, who came to the

Huntington Valley about 1795. Our subject, who is the fourth in a family of

eight children, seven of whom are now living, was reared on a farm, educated

in the common schools, and when nine years of age began life for himself at

farm work; then after three years was taken by a cousin, Daniel F. Harrison,

to be reared. This gentleman, who was also a farmer, died July 12, 1888, and

our subject then inherited his property, comprising 110 acres of land,

situated one mile south of Huntington Mills postoffice. In 1887 Mr. Harrison

moved into the hotel, where he has since catered to the wants of the

traveling public, and by careful attention, and an earnest desire to please,

has won for himself a host of friends. He married, January 12, 186-, Miss

Jane C., daughter of Martin and Ellen (Courtright) Line, natives of

Pennsylvania and of German origin; she is the youngest in a family of five

children, four of whom are living, and was born April 24, 1837. This union

was blessed with eight children, viz.: Annie F. (Mrs. Bernard Gearhart, of

Huntington township), born July 25, 186-; Ellen M. (Mrs. Dr. E.L. Williams,

of Lehman, Pa.), born September 26, 1863; Martin F., born November 20, 1865,

married Elsie Sutliff, and works the homestead farm; Sallie M. (Mrs. Grant

Teller, of Wilkinsburg, Pa.), born October 17, 1867; Lillie G., born April 9,

1870; William F., born February 17,1872; Minnie, born March 24, 1877, died

April 8, 1877, and Raymond D., born March 12, 1878. The family attend the

M.E. Church. Mr. Harrison is a member of the P.O.S. of A., the P. of H. and

the I.O.O.F., and politically he is a Republican.

“M.D.” is buried in the Scott Cemetery in

Huntington Mills:

Harrison, Minor D 28389962

b. Mar. 24, 1839 d. Oct. 14, 1916

This is not, of course, the “A. Harrison” of

the 1873 map, since M.D. didn’t take over until

1887. I want to focus on M.D. for now. The 1870

folks can wait.

The key info in the bio is this:

M.D. is the son of Merritt and Sarah A.

Edwards.

Merritt is the son of Stephen Harrison and

Hulda Daboll,who came to Huntington from CT in

1795

Now this is terribly confusing. First of

all… which Stephen are we talking about? There

are not two, but three. And there are many

Merritts. And who on earth is Hulda Daboll?

We can exclude Stephen, JH’s father, since

he was born in PA, not CT, and was in the wrong

generation. That suggests Stephen, JH’s

grandfather.

Now the wonderful thing about these old

families is that mostly somebody else has done

the hard work. In this case we get from

http://records.ancestry.com/Stephen_Harrison_records.ashx?pid=43273570

Stephen Harrison (1752 - 1834)

Found 10 Records , 9 Photos and 2,958,394 Family Trees

Born in Connecticut, USA on 1752 to Jared Harrison and Hannah Waterhouse. Stephen married

Huldah Cunningham and had 4 children. Stephen married Susanna Franklin and had 7 children.

He passed away on 1834 in Huntingdon, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, USA.

The first wife, Susanna Franklin, was the sister of John Franklin, who,

according to Bradsby, was the first settler in Huntington. Her children

with Stephen were

Susanna Harrison William Harrison Lucy Harrison Stephen Harrison Jarius Harrison Clarissa Harrison Merritt Harrison

William was the son who joined Stephen in Luzerne in 1777(?). He seems to have gone by

“Billa”, though I have seen everything from Billy to Bela. His tombstone says Billa, so I expect

that’s closest. Stephen (Jr) seems to have come much later in 1795 or 6. Merritt looks promising,

but if you look closer you find he died young, in 1799 and could not have been the grandfather of

the proprietor of the Hotel, M.D.

As an aside, the CT “invaders” petitioned the CT Assembly several times in 1796 to uphold their

claim… signatories of these petitions include Stephen, Bille (William) and Jarius.

So, where does that leave M.D. and his relation to the Brick House Harrisons?

After Susanna died in 1804, Steven married “Huldah Cunningham”, who produced 4 kids

Ezekiel Cunningham Harrison Merritt Franklin Harrison Julia Rebecca Harrison Edna Davall Harrison

This is pretty positive…. There is a Merritt, as promised. And if you look at Edna, her middle

name is Davall, which is suspiciously like Daboll. And it is “Huldah”, albeit Cunningham and

not Daboll. So it is a little inconclusive. I suspected that Huldah Cunningham was, for some

reason, the same as Hulda Daboll. After all, how many Stephen Harrisons could there have been

coming into Huntington in the 18th

Century who had married a Hulda or Huldah?

Well, there was Stephen Jr, the son of Stephen Sr. But that didn’t work, because he had married

Mary Dodson, the daughter of one of the very early settlers in Huntington, John Dodson.

http://records.ancestry.com/Stephen_Harrison_records.ashx?pid=9677911

No Hulda’s there, and Dodson was from PA, not CT.

It has to be Stephen Sr, and Huldah Cunningham has to be Hulda Daboll. But why?

The key to this mystery is in the names of the children. Here is Ezekial Cunningham:

http://records.ancestry.com/Ezekiel_Cunningham_records.ashx?pid=84658086

Ezekiel married Rebecca Mackdaniels. He passed away on 25 Jun 1776.

And here is his wife,

http://records.ancestry.com/Rebecca_Mackdaniels_records.ashx?pid=45577854

Born in Groton, Connecticut, USA on 1751. Rebecca married Ezekiel Cunningham. Rebecca

married Jonathan Daboll and had 7 children.

And here are the children of Rebecca and Jonathan:

Polly Daboll Edna Daboll Polly David Daboll Jonathan Daboll Ezekiel Daboll Auren Daboll

Where is Huldah? Well… she was NOT the child of Jonathan. She was the child of Ezekial, but

born only after he died.

http://www.rulufandazuba.org/pafn762.htm#21785

Huldah CUNNINGHAM-21781 was born about 1777 in Chester, Middlesex, Connecticut. She

married Stephen HARRISON-21757.

In other words, she was Huldah Cunningham, based on who her father was, but she was Huldah Daboll based on who raised her. It was reported differently by different families. But it is, in retrospect, a perfectly natural confusion and either one could be viewed as correct.

To make matters worse, she seems to appear in the Scott Cemetery as

Harrison, Huldah Fuller 28389937 b. Jul. 1, 1777 d. Mar. 15, 1858

but is noted as wife of Jarius, not the wife of Jarius’ father Stephen, despite the common 1777 birth year. This is a red herring.

So… are the Brick House Harrisons related to the Hotel Harrisons?

Looks like. TBH’s GGGF, Stephen was the same as MDH’s GF, but

through different wives.

Is that the end of the story?

Captain Ammi Harrison

Not quite: The bio of M.D. says he ran the Huntington Mills Hotel,

starting in 1887. I had assumed that this was the same as the Harrison

Hotel mentioned in the newspaper article. But that, in retrospect, may

be wrong. The article suggests that the Harrison hotel stopped being

used as a hotel shortly after the proprietor died, around 1878. That’s

not encouraging.

The proprietor was “Captain Ammi Harrison”, with Captain not a title

but a name, according to the 1989 newspaper article. He is buried in

the Harrison Cemetery, which Edith talks about and is available online

at

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&GRid=7102576&CRid=1845349&

It would seem that Ammi is actually the son of William

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7102576

Birth: May 19, 1808

Luzerne County

Pennsylvania, USA

Death: Jun. 25, 1880

Luzerne County

Pennsylvania, USA

son of William "Billa" or "Billy" Harrison and Lydia (Chapin) Harrison.

Family links:

Parents:

William Harrison (1774 - 1849)

Children:

Hulda Adaline Harrison Davenport (1835 - 1919)*

William Henry Harrison (1843 - 1912)*

*Calculated relationship

Note: age 72

Burial:

Harrison Cemetery

Luzerne County

Pennsylvania, USA

Plot:

Maintained by: paulmetzger

Originally Created by: Jack Galuardi

Record added: Jan 21, 2003

In fact if you Google “Captain Ammi Harrison”, most of the hits are

about a mid to late 18th sea captain from Branford CT… which is where

the Harrisons settled after leaving West Kirby UK (descended from

Ensign Thomas and his father Richard who came over about 1630). My

guess is the family made the title Captain into a name Captain in honor

of that guy. I couldn’t find Captain for any of the censuses, except

Ammi’s grandson, son of William Henry, is named Captain in the 1870

census.

If you look in the Ancestry post for William at

http://records.ancestry.com/William_Harrison_records.ashx?pid=34802566

You don’t see Ammi listed. The last two kids are Stephen, 1804 (J.H.s father)

and Clarissa, 1814. That’s a big gap, into which Ammi would fit nicely, in 1808.

(The second child, Abbie, born 1797, in fact had a child named Ammi Sutliff. )

Another link, though, does include Ammi (Ami) in the list of William and Lydia’s

children

http://family.hodank.com/blue/group11/f_41fc.html#0

One good bit of evidence that this is right is that two of Ammi’s kids are Huldah

and William (for Ammi’s mother and father).

The 1870 census is interesting. It is just a couple of years prior to the 1873

Huntington Twp map copied at the beginning of this discussion. If you run the

standard search engines for Ammi or Ami Harrison you get nothing. If you run for

Captain, you get a 3 year old. If you poke on Ancestry a little harder you find what

appears to be a gay couple Anna and Sarah Harrison, both 61. You cannot really

understand what’s going on without looking at the original logs (copies in

Photos&Documents) In fact the whole extended Harrison family, now grown,

lives side by side. It’s just that unless you know what to see it is impossible to

interpret what you see. It’s not Anna and Sarah, it’s Ammi and Sarah. Unusual

names are often either miswritten or mistranscribed or both. Relying entirely on

databases derived from transcriptions is really dicey.

So it doesn’t really matter whether the Huntington Mills Hotel and the

Harrison Hotel were the same or not. The weight of evidence seems to

be that all Harrisons in this area came from Stephen. The mystery is

why T.B. denied they were related. Ammi was his great uncle. William

Henry, who took over the hotel, was a cousin (or some sort) . Maybe

there was bad blood. (But, to be fair, I would have a real hard time

naming my great aunts and uncles. I’d just like to think I could if we all

lived within 3 miles of each other.)

Ghost Story

So where is the spooky part?

First, understand that while the farm passed to my Grandfather

JH2, the Brick House went to his older sister Ada, who also inherited

custody of her feeble minded sister Mary (whom Edith loved as a

nanny). Ada taught school in Newark NJ (long after it was rational to do

so), but spent summers in the Brick House. So when we visited, most

often in the summer, Aunt Ada and Mary would usually be there. (They

are together still, in the Bloomingdale Cemetery, next to Joe and Ethel

and Edith) The house was a mausoleum… untouched since they were

kids. Going into it was like walking into a museum. A neglected

museum. The bathroom, though plumbed, wasn’t functional. We went

out to an outhouse in the corner of the barn/shen in the back. I always

thought the entire structure would collapse on my head whenever I

entered.

My grandfather died in 1967, and Ada not long after. The Brick

House passed to Edith, and eventually to Lise. My primary memories of

it, except for one visit with Lise in the late ‘70s, are from the 50’s and

60’s when it was occupied by my spinster aunts.

The point is that my mental associations are with a perhaps once

elegant (for its place and time), but very dilapidated house, full of

detritus of ancient days.

Nevertheless, my whole life I have had a recurring dream about

the Brick House. In the dream there is a grand ballroom on the upper

floor, and many many rooms. Of course there was no such thing… the

upper floor was just a series of small (very small) bedrooms. I knew that

perfectly well in my waking hours, but I kept having this stupid dream.

So it was a big kick to read Edith’s description of the Hotel with its

grand ballroom on the upper floor and many rooms, but otherwise

great architectural similarity to the Brick House. I attribute this to the

human mind’s enormous ability to recognize coincidences or see

patterns. My wife Anne, who is more mystical than I, and a believer in

reincarnation, thinks it’s because I had been there in a previous life.

Whatever. It’s spooky.

Puzzles

Bradsby, in the bio of M.D. says that Stephen Harrison and Hulda Daboll

came to PA from CT in 1795. But in the history of Huntington he says

“Abel Fellows, Stephen Harrison…had come in 1777”. Then, later in

the same entry, “Stephen Harrison (1796)”. According to Bradsby’s bio

of JH, “Billy” was 9 years old when he first came to Huntington. If he

was born in 1774, that would have been in 1783, not 1777. If William

was 9 in 77 then he was born in 68, when his father was 16.

My interpretation of these inconsistencies is simple: Bradsby was an

editor. He collected family lore. Different families have different stories,

not all consistent. In my own experience we have enormous difficulty

dating even recent family history, much less ancient days.

There is, of course, a wildly powerful resource available today: the web.

The problem is the same though: different researchers post

contradictory info, especially with respect to dates and places. Without

original sources (like census) it’s hard to know what’s true and what’s

fantasy. When sources are listed they tend to be other web sites. You

wonder how much it is a huge collective delusion.

So I thought, “Abel Fellows”. That’s an odd name. Maybe Google will

give me something. It doesn’t. But “Abiel Fellows”, that’s a different

ballgame.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maizeblue6/index2e.html

“ was born in Canaan, Litchfield Co., Conn., Oct. 1, 1762. His grandfather

emigrated from England, and was among the first settlers in the New England States. He left a family of five sons and three daughters. His father

kept a public-house in Canaan, and married a Miss Rowe, by whom he had five children. Abiel, the youngest, received a common-school education. At

the age of fifteen he went out with the Connecticut militia, who flocked to

Gates’ and Schuyler’s army. He was with his uncle, who commanded a

division at the battle of Freeman’s Farm, Oct. 7, 1777, and at Saratoga, October 17th, when Burgoyne surrendered. He then returned home, but

shortly after re-enlisted, remaining in the service until peace was proclaimed. For his services he drew a pension of ninety-six dollars a year.

At the age of twenty-two he married Katherine Mann. Their children

numbered six,--Andrus, Amanda, Ann, Almira, Abiel, and Asahel.

In 1785 he went to Luzerene Co., Pa., where he located several thousand

acres of land; he sold a portion of it, retaining about one thousand acres, upon which he lived forty-four years, until 1829.

In 1803 his wife died. In 1805 he married Dorcas, daughter of Timothy

Hopkins, and niece of Rev. Samuel Hopkins, of Great Barrington, Mass. Their children were Katharine, Thomas J., James M., Simon S., Timothy H.,

John M., Caroline, Emma, Sarah, Orville H., Milo, Elizabeth, and Lucy.

While in Pennsylvania he was county commissioner for several years, and

justice of the peace eighteen years. He was colonel in the war of 1812; his regiment was with Perry in the battle on Lake Erie, Sept. 10, 1813;

afterwards joined Gen. Harrison.

In 1817 he engaged in mercantile trade, and remained in the business several years. In 1820 he explored several of the Western States. He

traveled on from Pennsylvania, on horseback, to Quincy, Ill., and located a

land-warrant in Fulton County of that State.

Having comfortably settled his older children in Pennsylvania, he concluded to take the younger ones West and locate farms in a prairie

country. Therefore in 1829, he started for Michigan in early spring, and reached Prairie Ronde in March. He staked off his claim on Gourd-neck

Prairie, returned to the eastern part of the State, and wrote his sons Thomas and James to come immediately to Michigan, for he had found the Eldorado.

They came, arriving some time in May. In the mean time, Joseph Frakes and father came up from Young’s Prairie, took possession of his claim and

held it. He then located on the southwest side of Prairie Ronde, now section

36, T. 4 S., R. 12 W. They built a house and commenced fencing and plowing. The land not being in market, he could not secure it by purchase,

and was obliged to remain on it in order to retain it. In 1831 he purchased four hundred acres in a body, in Prairie Ronde and Schoolcraft townships.

In 1830 he was appointed postmaster of Prairie Ronde, and also had the

contract for carrying the mail from White Pigeon to Prairie Ronde.

The same winter he built a saw-mill on Rocky River, on section 26,

Prairie Ronde, the first saw-mill in Kalamazoo County. He sold his mill to Wheeler & Crosby in 1832. He was supervisor and highway commissioner,

and with Christopher Blair and Delamore Duncan laid out the first road from Prairie Ronde to Bronson (now Kalamazoo), and assessed the first tax in the

county.

In 1832, the year of the Black Hawk war, when Col. Fellows was seventy years old, he carried for Lyman I. Daniels, who was acting colonel, and was

also land-agent for parties in Detroit, important papers and some money to Detroit. He rode a horse, carrying the papers and money in saddle-bags,

and reached Detroit in three days, a distance of one hundred and sixty-five

miles, and after transacting his business made the return trip in three days. Lyman I. Daniels said he was the only man he could find with sufficient

courage to undertake such a perilous journey. He was brought up a strict Presbyterian, was generous, benevolent, ambitious, courageous, and of a

strong temperament.

He died on the 18th of August, 1833, in the seventy-first year of his age.”

So according to this, Fellows (and presumably Harrison also) came to

Luzerne in 1785, not 1777. Which would have made William 11, not 9.

Now how do we know when people were born? I am inclined to think

that when hard dates are given, they’re probably true. For example, in

the “LOLLYPOP LIBRARY”

http://www.rulufandazuba.org/pafg762.htm

Stephen HARRISON-21757 [Parents] was born on 8 Aug 1752 in Chester, Middlesex,

Connecticut. He died on 5 Jun 1834 in Huntington, Twp., Luzrne, Pennsylvania. He married

Susanna FRANKLIN-21758 on 29 Jul 1773 in Connecticut.

Other marriages:

CUNNINGHAM, Huldah

Susanna FRANKLIN-21758 [Parents] was born on 6 Dec 1751 in North Canaan, Ltchfl,

Connecticut. She died on 4 Jun 1805 in Huntington, Twp., Luzrne, Pennsylvania. She married

Stephen HARRISON-21757 on 29 Jul 1773 in Connecticut.

They had the following children:

M i Bela or Billie HARRISON-21759 was born on 13 Mar 1744 in Canaan, Ltchfl,

Connecticut. He died on 7 Feb 1849. [Notes]

F ii Lucy HARRISON-21760 was born on 7 Jun 1775 in Canaan, Ltchfl, Connecticut.

[Notes]

M iii Stephen HARRISON Jr.-21750

M iv Jarius HARRISON-21761 was born on 3 Apr 1779 in Canaan, Ltchfl, Connecticut.

He died on 1 Mar 1853. [Notes]

F v Lydia HARRISON-21762 was born on 1 Mar 1781 in Canaan, Ltchfl, Connecticut.

She died on 5 Oct 1830. [Notes]

F vi Clarissa HARRISON-21763 was born on 27 Mar 1783 in Canaan, Ltchfl,

Connecticut. She died on 22 Dec 1820. [Notes]

M vii Merritt HARRISON-21764 was born on 12 May 1785 in Canaan, Ltchfl,

Connecticut. He died on 2 Nov 1799.

F viii Susanna HARRISON-21765 was born on 8 Oct 1788 in Canaan, Ltchfl,

Connecticut. She died on 23 Mar 1862. [Notes]

Huldah CUNNINGHAM-21781 was born about 1777 in Chester, Middlesex, Connecticut. She

married Stephen HARRISON-21757.

They had the following children:

M i Ezekiel Cunningham HARRISON-21782 was born on 3 Sep 1806 in Chester,

Middlesex, Connecticut. He died on 12 Jan 1876. [Notes]

M ii Merritt Franklin HARRISON-21783 was born on 29 Jul 1808 in Chester,

Middlesex, Connecticut. He died on 12 Jan 1876. [Notes]

F iii Julia Rebecca HARRISON-21784 was born on 5 Jun 1813 in Chester, Middlesex,

Connecticut. [Notes]

F iv Edna Duvall HARRISON-21785 was born on 29 Mar 1815 in Chester, Middlesex,

Connecticut. [Notes]

Now, of course this says ,“authoritatively”, that Billie was born March

13, 1744, 8 years before his father was born. That’s a pretty clear

typo… it must have been 1774. On the Ancestry site

http://records.ancestry.com/William_Harrison_records.ashx?pid=34802566

his birthday is listed as March 17, 1774. At least the date is pretty close.

But there is another oddity in the LOLLYPOP entry.. it says all children,

from both Susanna and Huldah, were born in CT. At the same time it

says Susanna died in PA in 1804. If Stephen and William moved to PA in

’85, then wouldn’t you expect the last two kids to be born in PA (at

least the last). It is possible that Stephen and William came alone in ’85

(with Fellows and some Franklins) to tame the wilderness and left the

wife and kids in CT. Maybe Susanna stayed until her last kid was born in

’88 before coming west. (It is a little more than 200 miles from Canaan

to Huntington Mills, much of it over mountains). Then all Huldah’s kids

are shown being born in Chester CT. It looks like Stephen went back to

CT after Susanna died and immediately hooked up with Huldah (who

would have been 25 in 1805). If her kids were all born in CT as shown,

then either Stephen stayed in CT until at least 1816 or they had a

commuter marriage.

By this point several of Susanna’s children were grown and in Luzerne.

It certainly seems Stephen Jr was there, since he married a local

Dodson. Stephen, William and Jarius are all listed as “Luzerne Settlers”

in the 1796 petitions to the CT legislature (trying to get official backing

for their land claim dispute with PA). This document is available on the

CT state archives. So my guess is that indeed Stephen Sr spent the 10

years of so from the death of Susanna to the birth of Huldah’s last kid,

in Chester. There were plenty of people back in Luzerne to take care of

business there.

Or the LOLLYPOP library is wrong. The Ancestry site agrees that

Susanna’s kids were born in Canaan, but it says Huldah’s were all born

in Luzerne.

Some light is shed on the first part of this by the 1890 “Family’s of the

Wyoming Valley” by Kulp (available on Google Books)

“Canfield Harrison, who was commissioned an associate judge of Luzerne county, Pa., July 3, 1862, was

the grandson of Stephen Harrison, of Canaan, Connecticut, who moved with his wife and children to

what is now Huntington township, this county, in April, 1778. After the battle and massacre he and his

family returned to their former home in Connecticut, where they remained until 1789, when they

returned to their former home in Huntington. His wife was Susanna Franklin, a sister of Colonel John

Franklin. They had a son Jarius Harrison, whose wife was Huldah Fuller, who was the father of Canfield

Harrison. He was born in Huntington in 1809. Mr. Harrison, in his early manhood, was a merchant, and

in after years a hotel keeper. He resided in Carbondale for many years, and the Harrison house in that

city derived its name from him. In 1861 he was mayor of the city of Carbondale. He married, in early life,

Deborah Koons, a sister of Hon. John Koons. She was born in Monroe county May 7, 1811. They had no

children. In the latter years of their life they resided in Bloomsburg, Pa., where they died; Mr. Harrison

on February 28, 1880, and Mrs. Harrison September 2, 1887.”

The Battle of Wyoming was in July 1778, so it looks like they didn’t stay

long in PA in the early days, returning finally only after all the kids were

born (in CT).

Of course this is yet another family’s lore (in this case Jarius’). It does

not clarify when the purported 9 (or 11) year old William came to PA

with his father. Billa would have been 15 in 1789, when, according to

this tale, the whole family returned to Huntington. Perhaps Stephen

first came in 77, family in tow, but returned quickly in ’78 when Billa

was only 4 and things got ugly. Maybe Stephen and Billa paid a visit in

83, when Billa was 9, or in 85 when he was 11. I am inclined to believe

the simplest story.. that the whole family returned to PA in ’89 when

Billa was 15. By ’96 he was 22, and eligible to sign the petitions to the

CT legislature.