Anna Harrison facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anna Harrison
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| First Lady of the United States | |
| In role March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841 Serving with Jane Irwin Harrison (acting)
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| President | William Henry Harrison |
| Preceded by | Angelica Singleton Van Buren (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Letitia Christian Tyler |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Anna Tuthill Symmes
July 25, 1775 Morristown, New Jersey, British America |
| Died | February 25, 1864 (aged 88) North Bend, Ohio, U.S. |
| Resting place | Harrison Tomb State Memorial North Bend, Ohio, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 10, including John Scott and Carter Bassett |
| Parents | John Cleves Symmes Anna Tuthill |
| Signature |  |
Anna Tuthill Harrison (born Anna Symmes; July 25, 1775 – February 25, 1864) was the First Lady of the United States in 1841. She was the wife of President William Henry Harrison.
Anna served as First Lady for only one month. Her husband became very sick with pneumonia and died soon after becoming president. She was also the grandmother of President Benjamin Harrison.
A unique fact about Anna Harrison is that she never visited the White House while her husband was president. She is the only First Lady to have never been to the capital during her husband's time in office.
At 65 years old, Anna was the oldest woman to become First Lady at that time. This record was held until Jill Biden became First Lady at age 69 in 2021. Anna also holds the record for the shortest time as First Lady. She was the first First Lady to become a widow while holding the title.
Anna grew up in Long Island and received a good education for a woman of her time. She married military officer William Henry Harrison in 1795. Her father did not approve of the marriage at first.
She raised their ten children in the frontier areas of Ohio and Indiana. William was busy with his political career. Sadly, Anna saw nine of her ten children pass away over the years. This made her faith in Presbyterianism even stronger.
When William became president in 1841, Anna became First Lady. However, she did not go to his inauguration. William died while Anna was getting ready to travel to Washington, D.C.. This was only one month into his term.
Anna lived the rest of her life in Ohio. She first stayed in their family log cabin. Later, she lived with her only surviving son. Because her time as First Lady was so short, and her personal papers were lost in a fire, historians have not studied her life as much as other First Ladies.
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Anna Harrison's Early Life
Anna Tuthill Symmes was born on July 25, 1775. This was in Sussex County, New Jersey. She was the second child of John Cleves Symmes and Anna Tuthill. Her father was a judge.
Anna's mother died on Anna's first birthday. Her father raised her for the next three years. During the American Revolutionary War, her father fought as a colonel. To keep Anna safe, he disguised himself as a British soldier. He carried her to Long Island to stay with her grandparents.
Anna was raised by her grandparents. She received a very good education for a woman of her time. She went to Clinton Academy in East Hampton. She also attended a private school in New York City. She was raised as a Presbyterian. Her education included a strong focus on religion.
Her father visited her after the war in 1783. He had moved to the Northwest Territory. In 1794, at age 19, Anna went to live with her father. She also lived with her stepmother, Susannah Livingston. Her father had bought land in the Northwest Territory. He founded the town of North Bend, Ohio there.
Marriage and Family Life
Anna met military officer William Henry Harrison while visiting her sister in Lexington, Kentucky. They started a relationship. Anna's father did not approve at first. He worried that William did not have good job prospects outside the army. He also thought William would not be able to support a family.
While her father was away, Anna and William eloped. They got married on November 25, 1795. The exact place of their wedding is debated by historians.
Anna's father did not speak to William for weeks. Finally, he asked William how he planned to support Anna and a family. William famously replied, "by my sword, and my own right arm, sir." Over time, John Symmes grew to respect William. He even helped William in his political campaigns.
After they married, they moved to Fort Washington. William was stationed there. Anna lived as an army wife, moving with her husband. As their family grew, they decided to find a permanent home.
William left the army in 1798. He bought 169 acres of land in North Bend. He built a log cabin for their growing family. William and Anna had ten children. Sadly, nine of them passed away before Anna did.
William Harrison's Rise to Fame
In 1799, William was elected to the House of Representatives. The family moved to Philadelphia, which was the country's capital then. In 1800, they visited William's family in Richmond, Virginia. Anna had her third child there.
Later that year, William became the territorial governor of Indiana. They moved to Vincennes, Indiana. In 1804, William built a brick house called Grouseland. This house became a social center for the territory. It was also the family's home.
Native American soldiers often attacked families in the region. So, the house was built to be easily defended. The children could hide inside when needed. A Methodist minister lived with the Harrisons. He taught the children about religion. He also guarded the house during attacks.
Anna spent much of her time in Indiana reading about politics. She looked for any newspapers and journals she could find. She had five more children while living in Indiana.
During the War of 1812, William was away. Anna took the children to her father's rented home in Cincinnati. Here, she had her ninth child. She also joined the First Presbyterian Church.
Anna's father passed away in 1814. She inherited his land in North Bend. William left the military that same year. They moved their log cabin, called the Bend, onto the property. Their tenth and final child was born in 1814, but he died in 1817.
Many visitors came to their home because William had become a war hero. Anna also started inviting the church members to her home after Sunday service. Anna taught her children herself. She later started a school in North Bend.
William was often away in the 1810s and 1820s. He had a successful political career. He served in the United States Congress, the Ohio Senate, and as a diplomat to Colombia.
The Harrisons faced difficulties in the 1820s and 1830s. They had money problems and sad family events. Their finances were not well managed. They often had a small budget. Their daughter Lucy died in 1826. Their son William got into a lot of debt, which they had to pay. He died in 1830. Then, three more sons died in 1838, 1839, and 1840.
Anna was proud of her husband's achievements. However, she did not want him to become President of the United States. She did not approve of his presidential goals in the 1836 and 1840 presidential elections.
She was active in his campaign. She hosted people who came to visit their home in North Bend. Anna was well-read and knew a lot about politics. She could join in political talks with her husband's guests. William would not campaign on Sundays because Anna observed the Sabbath. She stopped her involvement suddenly after her son died in 1840. She became more private after that.
First Lady of the United States
When William was elected president in 1840, Anna cried. She was unhappy. She said, "I wish that my husband's friends had left him where he is, happy and contented in retirement."
She also worried about being First Lady. She feared she would not be good at the job. She also worried that Washington society would not accept her. At 68 years old, she was the oldest woman to become First Lady at that time.
William was inaugurated in 1841. But Anna did not go with him to Washington. She said she was ill and the weather was bad. Instead, she sent Jane Irwin Harrison, who was the widow of their late son.
Anna planned to join her husband at the White House in May. While she was getting ready for her trip, she heard sad news. Her husband had died of pneumonia. She chose not to travel to Washington for his state funeral.
Later Life and Passing
Anna Harrison did not approve of her husband's successor, President John Tyler. Even so, she used her influence as a former First Lady. She asked the president to give political jobs to her family members.
In June 1841, she also received a pension from the government. William had a lot of debts during his life. Much of her pension was used to pay these debts. Harrison later asked the next president, James K. Polk, to give military jobs to her grandsons.
She became more religious later in life. She also followed politics more closely. She was very interested in the Civil War. She supported ending slavery. She encouraged her grandsons to serve in the Union Army.
After her husband died, she lived in her cabin in North Bend. The cabin was destroyed in a fire in 1855. After that, she moved in with her only surviving child, John.
Anna lived 23 years longer than her husband. She outlived all but one of her children. Harrison passed away on February 25, 1864, at age 88. She was buried at the William Henry Harrison Tomb State Memorial in North Bend. Her funeral sermon was given by Horace Bushnell.
Anna Harrison's Legacy
Anna Harrison was the first of several First Ladies who were not able to fully carry out the duties of the role. She did not have much time to build a reputation. Her husband died before she even arrived at the White House.
Historians have not studied Harrison's life and her time as First Lady very much. This is partly because her personal papers were destroyed in the fire at her log cabin. Presidential historians describe Harrison as a very religious woman. They say she was dedicated to her family.
One topic historians discuss is how much influence Harrison had over her husband. Most recent historians agree that she generally had little say in his career. She was the first wife of a president to have a formal education.
One historian compared her to Rachel Jackson. Both were wives of men who were often away for military and political duties. Both wished for their husbands to retire from public life. Both dealt with these challenges through their Presbyterian faith.
Harrison was the last First Lady to be born before the inauguration of George Washington. She was the oldest woman to become First Lady at the time, at age 65. She held this record until 2021, when Jill Biden became First Lady at age 69.
She also holds records because her husband's term was so short. She served the shortest time as First Lady, only 31 days. She is also the only First Lady who never visited the national capital during her husband's presidency.
Her grandson Benjamin Harrison became President of the United States in 1889. This made Anna the first woman to be both the wife of a U.S. President and the grandmother of another U.S. President.
In a 1982 survey by the Siena College Research Institute, historians were asked to rate American First Ladies. Harrison was included in this survey. The survey ranks First Ladies based on things like their background, value to the country, intelligence, and leadership. In the 1982 survey, Harrison was ranked 23rd out of 42 First Ladies. Because her time as First Lady was so short, she has not been included in later versions of the survey.
See also
In Spanish: Anna Symmes Harrison para niños
