The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: VA
Qualifying Service: Captain / Patriotic Service / Civil Service
Author: Donald A. Withrow
Reuben Harrison was born near Lewes, Delaware in 1731, the youngest son of John Harrison, Sr. and his wife Phoebe. Around 1740 his family moved to the western part of Orange County, Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley which in 1745 became part of Augusta County. Reuben inherited a large amount of land from his father John Harrison, Sr. and his older brother John Harrison, Jr. and located his home on the Valley Pike near Lacey Spring, Virginia in present day Rockingham County.
In 1756 he was appointed constable in the lower end of Augusta County. In 1776, Reuben, a Baptist, signed "The Dissenters Petition" which was presented to the Virginia House of Delegates on October 16, 1776 and advocated for religious freedom. In 1777 he was named one of the Captains of the Augusta County Militia in the County tithables list. When Rockingham County was formed from Augusta County in 1778 he was appointed a Militia Captain of the new County. On June 22 1778 he was appointed one of the Justices of the Rockingham County Court by Governor Patrick Henry.
Reuben's first wife was his cousin Lydia Harrison who died about 1780. His children by her were Lucretia, Nathaniel, John, Josiah, Lydia, the twins Joseph and Reuben, Jr., Elizabeth, David, Ann, and Samuel. Shortly after Lydia's death he married his second wife Mary McDonald. His children by Mary were Hannah, Rachel and Abner.
Reuben died in 1807 and was buried near his home in Lacey Spring in the family cemetery on Smiths Creek. His tombstone was reported standing until the Civil War when the stones were removed by Union soldiers camping nearby.
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Additional Information:
DAR cites #676402 SHOWS INACCURATE DATA ON JOHN CRAIG WHO MARRIED RACHEL HARRISON. SEE #645232 FOR CORRECT INFORMATION. 11/2016