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Palatea Harrison
(my ggg-grandmother)
Questions of Palatea's ancestry surround her; is she really
of the Harrison line that some say? If so, it provides
the Cabanisses descending from her marriage to George Cabaniss,
my ggg-grandfather, with an incredibly rich lineage.
(I'm indebted to another Cabaniss descendant, Terry "td"
Dunn <Terry.Dunn4@gte.net>
, for bringing the Palatea relationship into focus for me. Without
Terry pointing me in the right direction, I'd probably continue
to ignore this intriguing question. Thank you, Terry.)
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For as long as I can recall, when told of my ancestors, I
was told that I was related to the ninth President of the United
States, William Henry Harrison and his grandson, the twenty-sixth
President of the United States. I was also told of my relationship
with the Clay family that produced Henry Clay, the noted Kentucky
statesman. When I got serious about documenting my genealogy,
I focused on my surname (Cabaniss) at the expense of the allied
families. It wasn't until Terry mentioned the Cabaniss tie with
the Harrison family (via Palatea Harrison) that I appreciated
just how far reaching the Harrison line is.
Some of the places it goes to is the President
of the United States--two of them. William Henry Harrison (the
ninth President) is Palatea's first cousin, and his grandson,
Benjamin Harrison (the twenty-sixth President). Another place
is Robert E. Lee. Another place is Benjamin Harrison V, Palatea's
uncle, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Yet another
is to Palatea's great-grandfather, Robert "King" Carter,
said to be one of the wealthiest plantation owners in Colonial
America. Those relationships are depicted in this chart.
Obviously, Palatea Harrison provides her
descendants an impressive link to early Americans. Or does
she?
What Others Have Written
I raise the question about Palatea's relationship to the
Harrison family because of the different opinions held by others
and my uneasy feeling about it's certainty. My uneasy feeling
surfaces when my searches of some of the Harrison genealogy web
sites could not locate her name in the Harrison family in which
she was supposedly born. Not only that, but the Harrison identified
as her father is not always included in the family in which he
was supposedly born. In the small amount of reference material
I have, Palatea (spelled by some as Palatia) is identified as
follows:
- History of Jones County, Georgia 1807-1907
by Carolyn White Williams, page 623:
Chapter 25 of the book is composed of genealogies contributed
by the descendants of early Jones County families. The Harrison
genealogy (contributor unnamed) starts with Benjamin Harrison,
b. in England about 1600, d. 1649, and traces a direct line to
Palatea's marriage to George Cabaniss. The genealogy offers that
she was b. 1758 in VA and died in Jones County, GA. Her mother
is identified as Elizabeth Avery, daughter of Captain Richard
Avery. Her father is said to be Henry Harrison. The passage in
the book appears to contain a copy editing error, making it difficult
to determine the person referred to by the pronoun "he"
and the persons referred to as Benjamin.
- Cabaniss
Through Four Generations: Some Descendants of Matthew and George
by Allen Cabaniss, page 13:
In describing George Cabaniss's second marriage, Allen Cabaniss
writes,"George later m2. Palatea Harrison, dau. of
Henry and Elizabeth (Avery) Harrison, hence first cousin of President
William Henry Harrison and great-granddau. of Robert "King"
Carter of Va. (Blood Royal, II, pp.276, 523)." Recently
(October 1998), I had a phone conversation with Mrs.
Alloa Caviness Anderson, author of Henry Cavinis, The
Immigrant Infant and Some of His Descendants. I asked her
if she knew of the facts that Allen Cabaniss relied on in order
to make the Palatea Harrison connection. While she had no knowledge
of the basis of Allen Cabaniss' assertion, she did offer that
when Allen Cabaniss was drafting his work, he told her that he
was beginning to question Palatea's connection to the
Harrison family. Why it remained in the book is not known.
- Henry
Cabaniss and His Descendants
by John Plath Green:
Green's narrative of George Cabaniss's (abg) family contains
the following passage: "...[George Cabaniss] married secondly
to Palatea Harrison, who was daughter of Henry Harrison, who
was son of Benjamin Harrison..."
Why the Desire to Resolve the "Palatea Question"?
To gain some inkling as to why many wish the Palatea link
to be proved, one has only to crack open a history book of Colonial
America. As noted above, the Harrison line is said to
provide a link to three U.S. Presidents (the Harrisons and John
Quincy Adams); "Light-Horse" Harry Lee and his son,
Robert E. Lee; and other notables of the era. For instance, Palatea's
supposed uncle, Benjamin Harrison V is one such notable.
Much has been written about Benjamin Harrison
V. Thought to be Palatea's uncle (her father's brother), Benjamin
Harrison V lived at a time that is difficult for most of us to
comprehend. Colonial America was taking shape and her leaders
were being formed; among them was Benjamin Harrison (1726?-1791)
An American patriot and statesman, he was born in Charles City
County, Virginia. He served as a member of the Virginia legislature
(1749-75, 1777-81, 1784-91). As representative (1774-77) from
Virginia to the Continental Congress, he helped lay the groundwork
for the departments of state, war, and navy. He was one of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence and presided over
the debates preceding its adoption. He served (1782-84) as governor
of Virginia. In 1788 he was a member of the Virginia convention
that ratified the U.S. Constitution. He was the father of William
Henry Harrison and the great-grandfather of Benjamin Harrison,
presidents of the U.S.
Pretty heady stuff, huh? If Palatea is a niece
of Benjamin Harrison V, then I and others can claim a connection
to yet another impressive line.
What follows was pieced together from reference
books and other web sites. A brother to Benjamin was Henry
Harrison. I have not been able to gather much about Henry. Considering
Benjamin's notable accomplishments, it's easy to see why so much
was written of him. Henry (1734-1775) was born in Surry County,
VA and resided in "Hunting Quarter," Sussex, County,
VA. He was Captain of Sussex. On 27 September 1758 he married
Elizabeth Avery, daughter of Captain Richard Avery. It appears
as if they had at least four children; Palatea (1758-1815), Elizabeth
(1759-1824), Peyton (1760-?), and Henry (1762-1814). [If these
dates are factual, then Palatea was conceived prior to Elizabeth
Avery's marriage to Henry Harrison, or the second child's birth
date is problematic. (Daughter Elizabeth was born 5 July 1759.)
In an attempt to resolve the birth date problems, I've read speculation
offering Palatea to be Henry Harrison's daughter by another woman,
but no argument was presented.
The Problem with Palatea's Date of Birth
Something just doesn't make sense. If Henry and Elizabeth
were married on 27 September 1758, then the birth of their first
child might be expected in about nine months. From 27 September
1758 to 5 July 1759 is something like 9 months and a week. Compound
the uncanny timing with another point, the name Elizabeth. Is
it possible that the first born was Elizabeth, and she was named
after her mother? Also, I always wondered why the name Palatea
was selected. I haven't seen any other Harrison females with
the name, but I guess it could be from an allied family or a
friend of the family.
I have tried to adopt the attitude that others
with far better skills than I have looked at the facts (some
of which are unknown to me) and concluded that Palatea Harrison
is of the Harrison family. However, I'm aware that others
have concluded that there aren't enough facts to make the connection.
What's Your Opinion?
Have you an opinion? I'd like to know about it, no matter
what opinion you hold. Please e-mail me: numbers@satx.rr.com. Maybe you haven't
an opinion, but you can point me in a particular direction; I
would be very appreciative for the direction.
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