BIOS: Captain Charles J. HARRISON, Somerset, Somerset County, PA

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BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Vol. XXXII, Containing Life Sketches of Leading Citizens of 
Bedford and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania. Boston, Biographical Review 
Publishing Company: 1899, pp 131-133.

  Captain Charles J. Harrison, president of the Somerset County National Bank, 
of Somerset, Pa., was born August 4, 1841, in Wheeling, W. Va., a son of George 
Harrison.  He is of English parentage and descent, being the grandson of George 
Harrison, Sr., who spent his entire life in England, and there reared his two 
sons, one of whom, Charles J., now a venerable man of ninety years, has always 
lived in his native land.
  George Harrison, the father of Captain Harrison, was born in England in 1808, 
and was there bred and educated.  In 1828, desiring to take advantage of the 
excellent opportunities offered to enterprising young men in this country, he 
emigrated to the United States.  Settling in Wheeling, W. Va., he was there 
engaged in the book business for a while; but subsequently established himself 
as a commission merchant in Cumberland, Md., where he continued thus engaged 
until his decease, in 1870.  During the Civil War he served as Quartermaster in 
the Union army.  He was ever loyal to the country of his adoption, and took a 
prominent part in State and municipal affairs both in Virginia and Maryland.  He 
was an active member of the convention that met at Wheeling, Va., in November 
1861, to divide the State, and had the distinction of being the first to 
subsequently raise the American flag in Wheeling.  While a resident of 
Cumberland, Md., he served as Mayor one term, and in other capacities did much 
to advance the prosperity of that city.  In politics he was a stanch supporter 
of the Republican party.  His wife, Clarimond Woodrow, daughter of Simeon 
Woodrow, of Wheeling, W. Va., survived him a few years, passing away at the age 
of seventy-four.  She was a communicant of the Episcopal church.  They had seven 
children, namely: Virginia E., George W., Victoria M. B., Charles J., J. 
Forsyth, Samuel B., and one that died in infancy.
  Virginia E., the first born is the widow of Andrew White, of Wheeling, W. Va., 
and has five children, namely: Clara, who is the widow of Lawrence Woodward, and 
mother of two children- Jessie and Margaret; Sally who is the wife of D. Warren 
Reynolds, of Cumberland, Md., and has three children- Harriet, Lawrence, and 
Denman; Mary, widow of Creed Wilson, and mother of two children- Lawrence and 
Creed; Victoria, who married Lloyd Cleary; and Andrew M.
  George W. Harrison married Helen O. Whitaker, of Wheeling, W. Va.  They have 
five children- Virginia, Victoria, Helen, H. Frank, and George W., Jr.  Virginia 
is the wife of Paul D. Milholland, of Reading, Pa., and has three children- 
James, George and Mary.  Victoria, the wife of Dodd F. Graham, of Piedmont, W. 
Va., has three children- Clara, Helen, and Robert.  Helen, wife of Robert Bobst, 
of Piedmont, has two children- Charles and Victoria.  H. Frank married Edith 
Williams, of Scranton, Pa., and they have two children- Margaret K. and an 
infant.  George W., Jr., married Clara Huston of Baltimore, Md., and has one 
child.  Victoria M. B. Harrison, who married Captain George W. Jenkins, died in 
1870, leaving one child, George D.  J. Forsyth married Metta Byron, and they 
have two children- Lucille and Mildred.
  Charles J. Harrison, after completing his education at an academy in Wheeling, 
W. Va., worked as a telegrapher from the age of fourteen years until eighteen.  
Opening then a store well stocked with a line of staple and fancy groceries, he 
carried on an excellent trade in these goods until a few months after the 
breaking out of the Civil War, when, on September 27, 1861, he enlisted in the 
Sixth West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, and served three years and two months.  
He was commissioned Captain of his company, being one of the youngest men in the 
army to hold such rank.  He was subsequently appointed to the staff of General 
Cluseret, and participated in the battle of Green Springs, and in many 
skirmishes.  In November, 1864, having served three years and two months, he was 
honorably discharged.
  Soon after his return, Captain Harrison established himself in the mercantile 
business in Cumberland, Md., in which he continued three years.  The ensuing 
three years he was employed as Deputy Collector in the Internal Revenue service.  
In 1872 he came with his family to Somerset to accept a position in the bank of 
which his father-in-law, Michael A. Sanner, was at the head, and which was the 
first banking institution organized in Somerset County.  In 1877 Captain 
Harrison opened a private bank, commencing operations on a small scale.  In this 
venture he became very successful.  In 1890 he established the Somerset County 
National Bank, of which he has been president from the beginning, and has 
managed its affairs in a manner that has plainly proved his excellent financial 
and executive ability.  In politics he is a stanch Republican.  He is 
prominently identified with several of the influential fraternal organizations 
of Somerset, being a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge No. 438; Somerset Lodge N. 
358, F. & A. M., of which he is Past Master; and of the R. P. Cummings Post, 
G.A.R., of which he has been Commander the past two years.
  On April 9, 1872, Captain Harrison married Margaret A., daughter of Michael A. 
Sanner, of Somerset.  They have four children, three of whom are living, namely: 
George Sanner, assistant cashier in the Somerset National Bank; Nellie Louise; 
and Charles J., Jr.  Captain Harrison was reared in the Episcopal faith.  He and 
his family attend the Disciples Church, of which Mrs. Harrison is a valued 
member.