Peachy Harrison (1777–1848) was a nineteenth-century physician and American politician who served in both houses of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

, and was a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention. He also served as Rockingham County Sheriff.

Early life

Harrison was born in Rockingham County, the son of Colonel Benjamin Harrison of Augusta County, his father's plantation was at present Dayton, Virginia, and Peachy attended Fisher's Spring School. He completed his education graduating from the medical school conducted by Dr.

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was an American revolutionary, a Founding Father of the United States and signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social refor ...

in Philadelphia.

Career

As an adult, Harrison lived and practiced medicine in Harrisonburg. He was elected Sheriff of Rockingham County 1824–1826, and then served in the Virginia House of Delegates. By the time he was elected as a Virginia State Senator, he had become his party's leader in the Rockingham County region of the Valley. Harrison was elected as a delegate to the

Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829–1830 The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829–1830 was a constitutional convention for the U.S. state, state of Virginia, held in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond from October 5, 1829, to January 15, 1830. Background and composition Almost imme ...

. There he was elected by the Convention to serve on the Judicial Committee. He was one of four delegates elected from the senatorial district made up of Shenandoah and Rockingham Counties.

Death

Peachy Harrison died in the spring of 1848 at

Harrisonburg, Virginia Harrisonburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is also the county seat of the surrounding Rockingham Cou ...

. Harrison 1935, p. 397 Harrison's children included the classicist and

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

professor Gessner Harrison. An extensive bibliography (pp. 619–627) has been noted.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Peachy Members of the Virginia House of Delegates 1777 births 1848 deaths Virginia state senators People from Rockingham County, Virginia Virginia sheriffs Physicians from Virginia 19th-century American physicians People from Harrisonburg, Virginia Harrison family (Virginia) Date of birth missing Date of death missing 19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly