Daniel Harrison (10 March 1795 – 1873) was an English tea and coffee merchant. He was a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

, and a founder of Harrisons & Crosfield.

Early life

He was the son of Reuben Harrison and his wife Sarah Thompson (or Margaret), born at

Countersett Countersett is the largest of the three settlements in Raydale, around Semerwater in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is in the Yorkshire Dales to the north of the lake. The Boar East and West were once one farm, and before that a pub ...

in the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

into an old Quaker family. He was the eldest of a family of 13 children. While he was still young, around 1802, his parents moved to

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. Daniel Harrison of

Edgworth Edgworth is a small village in the civil parish of North Turton, in the borough of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England. It is between Broadhead Brook on the west (expanded artificially to form the Wayoh Reservoir) and Quarlton Brook in t ...

was admitted to

Ackworth School Ackworth School is a private day and boarding school located in the village of High Ackworth, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school (or more accurately its Head) is a member of t ...

in 1807. Harrison became a Liverpool coffee dealer. He married in 1823, at which time he was living in

Everton, Liverpool Everton is a suburb of north Liverpool, in Merseyside, England, and part of the Liverpool Walton (UK Parliament constituency), Liverpool Walton constituency. It is bordered by Vauxhall, Liverpool, Vauxhall to the west, Kirkdale, Liverpool, Kir ...

. He is later recorded as being in business in Liverpool before 1825. A partnership between Daniel Harrison and Joseph Ecroyd of Liverpool, as coffee dealers, was dissolved in 1834. He was for a time in a partnership with Octavius Waterhouse, as wholesale tea and coffee dealers. After losses, caused by an investment by Waterhouse, it was dissolved in 1840.

Harrisons & Crosfield

With his brother Smith Harrison (born 1818), and Joseph Crosfield, Daniel founded Harrisons & Crosfield in Liverpool, in 1844. The new partner Crosfield (1821–1879) was also from a Quaker background. He had worked for Harrison & Waterhouse, and was the son of George Crosfield (1785–1847), and nephew of

Joseph Crosfield Joseph Crosfield (5 October 1792 – 16 February 1844) was a businessman who established a soap and chemical manufacturing business in Warrington, which was in the historic county of Lancashire and is now in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. T ...

(1792–1844) of Warrington, the noted soap manufacturer. The company's working capital was £8,000. At that time Harrison's family lived in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

. In 1849 they moved north, to

Egremont Egremont may refer to: Places * Egremont, Cumbria, England * Egremont, Merseyside, England * Egremont, Massachusetts, United States * Egremont, Alberta, Canada Other uses * Earl of Egremont Earl of Egremont was a title in the Peerage of Gr ...

; a family connection to the area existed, since their maternal grandfather Charles Wood (see below) constructed an ironworks there. From the early days, Smith Harrison attended the tea sales in London's

Mincing Lane Mincing Lane is a short one-way street in the City of London linking Fenchurch Street to Great Tower Street. In the late 19th century it was the world's leading centre for tea and spice trading. Etymology Its name is a corruption of Mynchen ...

. In Liverpool, the company did business at 6 Temple Place. In 1855, the company migrated to London, which had become the destination of the tea clippers. The business had prospered from the start, and became one of the top dealers in tea. The premises were at 3 Great Tower Street. One of Harrison's sons, and two of Joseph Crosfield's sons, in time became directors.

Marshalls Marshalls, Inc. is an American chain of discount store, off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store (stores operating with HomeGoods combined), ...

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

was leased as the family home, after the move.

Later life

There were further moves of the Harrison family. The parents joined some of the girls for a time in

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

, in 1859. They moved back, to

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

in London. There was a period in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. Around 1864, they moved again to

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...

, Kent. In later life, Harrison resided there.

Family

Harrison married in 1823 Anna Botham of

Uttoxeter Uttoxeter ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in the East Staffordshire borough of Staffordshire, England. It is near to the Derbyshire county border. The town is from Burton upon Trent via the A50 and the A38, from Stafford via the A51 ...

: of Anna's two sisters, Mary became

Mary Howitt Mary Howitt (12 March 1799 – 30 January 1888) was an English poet, the author of the famous poem '' The Spider and the Fly''. She translated several tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Some of her works were written in conjunction with her husba ...

on marrying

William Howitt William Howitt (18 December 1792 – 3 March 1879), was a prolific English writer on history and other subjects. Howitt Primary Community School in Heanor, Derbyshire, is named after him and his wife. Biography Howitt was born in Heanor, Derbysh ...

, and Emma married a first cousin of Daniel, Harrison Alderson. Daniel and Anna had eight children. They included: *Mary, the eldest, friend of

Octavia Hill Octavia Hill (3December 183813August 1912) was an English Reform movement, social reformer and founder of the National Trust. Her main concern was the welfare of the inhabitants of cities, especially London, in the second half of the nineteent ...

. *Charles, the eldest son, married in 1855 Mary Jeffreys, daughter of

Julius Jeffreys Julius Jeffreys (1800–1877) was a British surgeon and writer, was the inventor of the respirator, and was a pioneer in the development of early air conditioning systems. Early life Julius Jeffreys was born on 14 September 1800 at Hall Place, ...

. He was a director of Harrisons & Crosfield, dying in 1916. *Margaret Ann (1827–1899), married in 1858 Ellis Yarnall. *Alfred (1832–1891), cleric. *Anna Jemima, married in 1871 James Macdonell. *Agnes, married in 1873 Sir John Macdonell. * Lucy Harrison (1844–1915), headmistress, the youngest. Anna Harrison (1797–1881) was the daughter of Samuel Botham and his wife Anna Wood. She wrote for ''The Kaleidoscope'' and ''The Dial of Love''. Anna Wood was the youngest child of Charles Wood the ironmaster, by his second wife.

Notes

External links

Illustrations of the directors of Harrisons & Crosfield
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Daniel 1795 births 1873 deaths English Quakers Businesspeople from Liverpool 19th-century English businesspeople