Anna and William Henry Harrison

Anna Symmes Harrison

Interment LocationVisited 
North Bend, OHAugust 19, 2004 

Photographed August 19, 2004.

Anna Harrison was first lady of the United States, but she never actually performed any duties in that capacity. She did not accompany her husband, William Henry Harrison, to Washington, D.C. for his inauguration in winter 1841. Anna Harrison intended to travel to the nation’s capital shortly thereafter, but was still home in Ohio when news came that the president had passed away just one month into his four-year term.

Harrison and many of her kin, including her husband, rest eternally within the Harrison Tomb State Memorial near Cincinnati. It is situated on Mount Nebo, which has a view of the Ohio River. This large plaque inside the burial chamber was erected in 1922 and provides a historical sketch of the tomb’s history up to that point, dating back to its inception in 1844.

Photographed August 19, 2004.
Photographed August 19, 2004.

The gilded vault coverings of Anna and William Henry Harrison contrast with the plainer tablets of the other occupants of the tomb. Some bricked-up slots are not marked at all.


Fast Facts

Born: July 25, 1775 in Morristown, New Jersey

Spouse: William Henry Harrison (m. 1795-1841)

First Lady Tenure: 1841

Died: February 25, 1864 in North Bend, Ohio

Age: 88

Interment: Harrison Tomb State Memorial, North Bend, Ohio

Sources Consulted and Further Reading

Under Construction

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