Reuben Harrison

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Reuben Harrison
Member of the Illinois Senate
In office
1842–1842
Personal details
Born(1779-06-12)June 12, 1779
Rockingham County, Virginia
DiedMay 3, 1852(1852-05-03) (aged 72)
Summerfield, Alabama
Political party Whig [1]

Reuben Harrison was an American politician who was elected to the Illinois Senate.

Contents

Biography

Harrison was born on June 12, 1779 in Rockingham County, Virginia. [1] In 1818, he moved to Kentucky and then in 1822 to Sangamon County, Illinois. In 1842, he was elected to the Illinois Senate in the 13th Illinois General Assembly [2] representing Sangamon county [3] with (1,411 votes out of 2,365 votes cast) defeating Samuel Grubb (781 votes) and fellow whig William G. Cantrell (173 votes). [4]

He was immediately embroiled in controversey. [3] The state had just completed a reapportionment of seats in 1841 which created a new Senate district consisting of Sangamon county alone which had been carved out from the prior district which comprised Sangamon, Menard, Logan, and Christian counties. [3] A dispute arose as the prior district was represented by Edward D. Baker who still had two years remaining on his term as Senator. [3] The issue was referred to the Select Committee for resolution and it was decided that it would be unfair to have two senators representing Sangamon county and Harrison was excluded. [3] No one contested the decision; [3] and Harrision returned to his life as a farmer. [1]

Personal life

He married Parthenia Harrison on May 16, 1804, in Virginia; the had one child before she died. [1] On November 29, 1810, he married Barbara A. Harnsberger; they had 4 children [1] He died on May 3, 1852 in Summerfield, Alabama. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Reuben Harrison". Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library - Papers of Abraham Lincoln Digital Library.
  2. ↑ Moses, John (January 1882). Illinois, Historical and Statistical: Comprising the Essential Facts of Its Planting and Growth as a Province, County, Territory, and State. Derived from the Most Authentic Sources, Including Original Documents and Papers. Together with Carefully Prepared Statistical Tables. Vol. 2. Fergus Printing Company. p. 1164.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Clyne, Kathleen M. Jr. (April 1914). "Senatorial Disputes Resulting from the Apportionment Act of 1841". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908-1984). 7 (1): 51–55.
  4. ↑ Pease, Theodore Calvin (1923). Statistical Series: Illinois Election Returns (1818-1848) (PDF). Vol. 1. Illinois State Historical Library. p. 351.
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