Harriton House 500 Harriton Rd. Bryn Mawr, PA 19010   Harriton Cemetery (Harrison Family) The Millbank Road entrance is closed Located off Caversham Road on Private Property Bryn Mawr, PA 19010	Harriton House

The Harriton Cemetery was opened by Richard Harrison in 1719. The date of opening is recorded on a datestone in the stone wall surrounding this Harrison family cemetery. The wall surrounding the burying ground was rebuilt about 1900 utilizing the stone from the old stone wall around the cemetery under the supervision of architect and family member William Sansom Vaux. The date of the first burial in the cemetery is not known; however is presumed to be the 1719 opening date, which is the same year of Richard Harrison's purchase of the Harriton estate from Rowland Ellis. Burials in the cemetery are principally those of Richard Harrison's immediate family and descendants. Family tradition tells us of those buried in the burial ground through the 18th century, as graves are unmarked for the most part. Common field stones are found poking up throughout the cemetery, as graves were unmarked as memorials in good 18th century Quaker fashion. The field stones were not memorial markers of any kind, they simply marked the spot of the last dug grave. Over the years, these simple stones have been moved, pulled up as weeding was done, knocked over, etc. There are two marked graves with dates before 1800, that of Benjamin Cochran in 1794, and that of his brother Richard in 1796. These two were NOT Harrison family members (see "Strangers to the Family"). The earliest marked Harrison family or descendant grave is that of Charles McClenachan in 1811. Except for the marked 19th century graves, it is unknown who is buried in the cemetery or where. A "map" of burials started by Richard Harrison once existed. Charles Thomson makes reference to the long-lost "map", and references to it are found in family papers to about 1840. Although locations are unknown, family tradition tells us a little bit about the use of the cemetery. The cemetery contains the remains-of Richard Harrison and his descendants (Harrison's wife, Hannah Norris Harrison, died in 1774 and was buried at Arch Street Meeting in Philadelphia). Richard Harrison is said to be buried next to the wall to the left at the foot of the steps which go up and over the wall. His daughter, Hannah Harrison, and her husband Charles Thomson are said to have been buried "nearby". The cemetery also contains the remains of household servants (Harrison's house slaves). There was a separate cemetery "on the rise behind Harriton House" for field slaves, and this second cemetery was visible on the landscape into the 1870's. At the extreme south end of the little Harriton cemetery are found several inscribed headstones. The headstones - together with footstones - are very different from the 19th century Harrison family inscribed stones. The burials are also separate from the family, and the graves contain what are called in Harrison family tradition "Strangers to the Family". Although family tradition tells us that Charles and Hannah Thomson are buried in the cemetery (1824 and 1807 respectively), three bodies were removed in 1838 and taken to the new Laurel Hill Cemetery overlooking the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia amid well-publicized controversy. Because the graves were unmarked at Harriton's cemetery when the removals were made, no one knows whose remains were taken. Today there is an enormous memorial at Laurel Hill with a great granite obelisk and three graves: Charles Thomson, Hannah Harrison Thomson, and young Charles Thomson (Charles Thomson's great nephew, son of John Thomson), of Emma Morris Shinn and James T. Shinn, and granddaughter of Namoi & Levi Morris). This burial record database is the work of Bruce C. Gill, Executive Director and Curator of the Harriton Association. The listings come from family records and documents. Questions about the location and nature of the sources cited may be addressed to the Lower Merion Historical Society at LMHistory@comcast.net Updated December, 2002

Key:
	Members of the Harrison family - marked grave sites
	Unmarked grave sites - buried at Harriton according to family tradition
	"Strangers to the Family" - marked grave sites

Last Name	First Name	Birth Date	Death Date	Comments
Cochran	Benjamin	1765	1794
Cochran	Margaret	1729	1809	Wife of Thomas Cochran
Cochran	Mary	1734	1810	Sister of Thomas Cochran
Cochran	Richard	1769	1796
Cochran	Thomas	1723	1814	Husband of Margaret Cochran
Cochran	William	1763	1804	Son: died in Tennessee
Harrison	Isaac			Died young; Son of Richard and Hannah Norris Harrison
Harrison	Richard		March 2, 1745	Husband of Hannah Norris Harrison
Harrison	Samuel		1770	Son of Richard and Hannah Harrison
Harrison	Thomas		1759	Son of Richard and Hannah Harrison
Harrison	3 un-named children			Children of Richard and Hannah Norris Harrison. Died before 1746
Lindsay	Jane	1757	1815	Daughter of Thomas Cochran
Maier	Anna Shinn	May 23, 1874	March 17, 1941	Wife of Paul D.I. Maier; daughter of Emma Morris & James T. Shinn; granddaughter of Naomi & Levi Morris
Maier	James Shinn	May 29, 1907	June 18, 1999	Son of Anna Shinn Maier & Paul D.I. Maier
Maier	Margaret	November 19, 1911	June 25, 1998	Wife of William Morris Maier
Maier	Paul D.I.	January 15, 1874	August 7, 1936	Husband of Anna Shinn Maier
Maier	Phyllis Clare	August 2, 1910	November 27, 1990	Wife of James Shinn Maier
Maier	William Morris	June 11, 1909	March 11, 1982	Son of Paul D.I. Maier & Anna Shinn; brother: James Shinn Maier
McClenachan	Amelia Sophia Harrison		1823	Wife of Robert McClenachan; daughter of Thomas Harrison
McClenachan	Charles		October 21, 1811
Morris	Annie	1846	1847	Daughter of Levi & Naomi Morris
Morris	Catherine Wister	June 18, 1840	October 18, 1922	Daughter of Levi & Naomi Morris
Morris	Charles			Son of Levi & Naomi Morris
Morris	Levi	1807	1863	Husband of Naomi McClenachan
Morris	Mary			Daughter of Levi & Naomi Morris
Morris	Naomi McClenachan	September 1, 1811	1893	Wife of Levi Morris
Roberts	Mary	1759	1817
Thomson	Charles		1820	Son of John Thomson who was Charles Thomson's nephew.
Thomson	Charles		August 16, 1824	Husband of Hannah Harrison Thomson; son-in-law of Richard Harrison
Thomson	Hannah Harrison		1807	Wife of Charles Thomson; daughter of Richard & Hannah Harrison
Vaux	Anne Hawks	June 2, 1913	Noovember 10, 1978	Wife of George Vaux
Vaux	George	April 30, 1832	April 20, 1915	Husband of Sarah Morris Vaux
Vaux	George	December 18, 1863	October 24, 1927	Son of George & Sarah Morris Vaux
Vaux	George	September 30, 1908	September 19, 1996	Son of George & Mary James Vaux
Vaux	Mary James	August 18, 1875	February 14, 1956	Wife of George Vaux
Vaux	Sarah	September 3, 1838	December 14, 1880	Wife of George Vaux; Daughter of Naomi McClenachan Morris & Levi Morris.
Vaux	William Sanson Jr.	April 1, 1872	July 23, 1908	Son of Sarah & George Vaux; Grandson of Naomi McClenachan Morris
	Moll			Possibly a former servant
	Ruth	1861	May 28, 1929	Possibly a former servant.

A Family Tree of the Harrison family is available for viewing.

Updated December, 2002