Anne Harrison, wife of Thomas Willing and mother of Charles Willing of Philadelphia…….granddaughter of two regicides?
David Topping
of several members of the group.
Anne Harrison (1684-1747) claimed to be the granddaughter of two of
the signatories to the death warrant of Charles I, Simon Mayne and
Major General Thomas Harrison. As has been shown elsewhere on this
site, her mother was Blanche Mayne, (2nd) wife of Charles Harrison of
Lichfield. Blanche Mayne’s father was John Mayne of Elmdon in
Warwickshire (her mother was Dorothy Griffith), the son of another
John (by Blanche Coles), the son of Henry Mayne and Alicia Randolfe.
Another of Henry’s sons was Simon Mayne, father (by Colebury Lovelace)
of Simon the regicide (see also Mayne Pedigrees, Visitations of
Warwickshire and Hertfordshire). Hence Anne Harrison and Simon Mayne
were actually 1st cousins, 2 times removed.
Charles Harrison, sometime Alderman and Bailiff of Lichfield, died
somewhere between 1684 and 1688 and was actually the son of Richard
Harrison, Chancellor of Lichfield Cathedral (amongst other posts) as
is shown by Richard’s will (2). Richard Harrison matriculated,
Brasenose College, Oxford 10 June 1630 aged 19 and was registered as
the son of Richard Harrison ‘of Minshul Vernon, Cheshire’. This might
be the Richard Harrison whose inventory and codicil are dated 1628 and
1630 respectively and who probably married Ellen Venables (daughter of
George Venables of Crewe?) in 1605 at Church Minshull.
Far from being of Puritan sympathies, Richard Harrison the Chancellor
was ejected from his posts in 1647 and only restored in 1662 following
the Restoration. To date not even the remotest link to Thomas Harrison
the regicide has emerged.
(1) http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GEN-MEDIEVAL/2009-08/1250887258
(2) Will of Richard Harrison 1676 (Lichfield Record Office)
David Topping
> I've checked the Clarendon Press edition (1966) of Ashmole's diary and
> historical notes, and they identify the Richard Harrison who told of
> Ashmole's mother's death as the same Chancellor of Lichfield. Also,
> they note a textual variant in which Ashmole said "my BROTHER HARRISON
> told me of my mother's death."
>
> So there seems to have been some relationship, perhaps only that their
> wives were sisters (Ashmole was married several times).
>
> On Apr 27, 12:07 pm, Johnny Brananas <ravinmaven2...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Very interesting, David.
>
> > Was Rev. Richard Harrison's wife a sister of the famous antiquarian
> > Elias Ashmole? I notice that one of the histories of Lichfield gives
> > quotes from Ashmole's writings, including:
>
> > 1646, July 31. Mr. Richard Harrison, Minister of Tetnall formerly,
> > and afterwards of Lichfield, told me of my mother's death, and that
> > she died, about the 8th or 9th of July, of the plague; that city being
> > visited this summer.
>
> > March 31, 1676. My brother Harrison, of Lichfield, died.
>
> >http://books.google.com/books?id=N3tbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA441&dq=%22harrison...- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
This is intriguing, Johnny! Richard Harrison's widow was called
Elizabeth. She seems to have been alive at the time of the Lichfield
census and from her age would have been born around 1627, some sixteen
years younger than her husband. I haven't found a link to Elias
Ashmole or his wives yet, but the link could well be in Cheshire
rather than Staffordshire.
David Topping
> On Apr 27, 7:47 pm, Johnny Brananas <ravinmaven2...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > I've checked the Clarendon Press edition (1966) of Ashmole's diary and
> > historical notes, and they identify the Richard Harrison who told of
> > Ashmole's mother's death as the same Chancellor of Lichfield. Also,
> > they note a textual variant in which Ashmole said "my BROTHER HARRISON
> > told me of my mother's death."
>
> > So there seems to have been some relationship, perhaps only that their
> > wives were sisters (Ashmole was married several times).
>
> > On Apr 27, 12:07 pm, Johnny Brananas <ravinmaven2...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > > Very interesting, David.
>
> > > Was Rev. Richard Harrison's wife a sister of the famous antiquarian
> > > Elias Ashmole? I notice that one of the histories of Lichfield gives
> > > quotes from Ashmole's writings, including:
>
> > > 1646, July 31. Mr. Richard Harrison, Minister of Tetnall formerly,
> > > and afterwards of Lichfield, told me of my mother's death, and that
> > > she died, about the 8th or 9th of July, of the plague; that city being
> > > visited this summer.
>
> > > March 31, 1676. My brother Harrison, of Lichfield, died.
>
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> This is intriguing, Johnny! Richard Harrison's widow was called
> Elizabeth. She seems to have been alive at the time of the Lichfield
> census and from her age would have been born around 1627, some sixteen
> years younger than her husband. I haven't found a link to Elias
> Ashmole or his wives yet, but the link could well be in Cheshire
> rather than Staffordshire.
Elias Ashmole appears to have been an only child. I have checked out
his sisters-in-law, but none seems to link back to Richard Harrison. I
wonder if the use of 'brother' here could have a different sense.
Elias was an early Freemason, but I have not (so far) found any
reference to Richard being one. They did both, however, attend
Brasenose College, Oxford, although from what I can make out, they
were not there at the same time.