BENJAMIN HARRISON ????-1791

Benjamin Harrison's ancestors emigrated from England in 1640.  His paternal ancestor married into the family of the King's Surveyor-General thereby giving him access to choice properties.  He thereby laid claimed to a huge estate which remained in the family at the time of the Revolution.
Like most of the signers of the Declaration of Independence Benjamin had much at stake. 
He attended school at William and Mary but never graduated because he was called home at the death of his father when he and two of his four daughters were struck by lightning at their home in Berkley Virginia.  Although he was still a minor he managed the properties very well.
Harrison at a very early age was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses where his sharp mind and sound judgement soon won him a leadership position.  He was always in favor of self governing and became more and more wary of the King's long arm of control, such as the Stamp Act and movement of more troops into Boston and other towns.  He was convinced that there was a systematic scheme to enslave the colonies.
Harrison turned down the Governors offer of a seat on the executive council and became one of the first seven members from Virginia to the Continental Congress in 1774.  Reelected in 1775 he was appointed to the committee to meet with General Washington in Cambridge too plan the formation of the army.
Benjamin was there to vote for the Declaration and then place his name on the document in August.
At this point it is time to point out that every member whose name was on that most important document had much to lose when they signed their name.  We must always remember that they pledged "Their Lives, Their Fortunes, and Their Sacred Honor"!
Harrison became Governor in 1782 and served two terms and retired from public life.  He was again elected Governor in 1791, but died suddenly the same year.  His wife, a niece of Mrs. Washington, died the next year........Medicineman!