Benjamin Harrison IV (1693 – July 12, 1745[1]) was a colonial American planter, politician, and member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. He was the son of Benjamin Harrison III and the father of Benjamin Harrison V, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the fifth governor of Virginia.[2][3] Harrison built the homestead of Berkeley Plantation, which is believed to be the oldest three-story brick mansion in Virginia and is the ancestral home to two presidents: his grandson William Henry Harrison, and his great-great-grandson Benjamin Harrison.[4] The Harrison family and the Carter family were both powerful families in Virginia, and they were united when Harrison married Anne Carter, the daughter of Robert "King" Carter.[5] His family also forged ties to the Randolph family, as four of his children married four grandchildren of William Randolph I.[1][2]
Benjamin Harrison IV was born in a small house on the plantation named "Berkeley Hundred" or "Berkeley Plantation".[5] The immigrant of his family is thought to have come from London and earlier from Northampton.[6] He completed his studies at The College of William & Mary and became the family's first college graduate.[7] He settled on his family estate and increased his land holdings, as his ancestors had done.[3][7]
Around 1722, Harrison married Anne Carter, whom William Byrd II described as "a very agreeable girl",[1] and he managed and received profits from her father's land as part of her dowry.[8] Carter entailed this land to Harrison's son Carter Henry Harrison.[8] Harrison built a Georgian-style three-story brick mansion on a hill overlooking the James River in 1726 using bricks that were fired on the plantation.[9][nb 1] Berkeley has a distinction shared only with Peacefield in Quincy, Massachusetts, as the ancestral home of two presidents.[4] In 1729, Harrison purchased 200 acres of the Bradford plantation from Richard Bradford III.[11] From 1736 to 1742, he represented Charles City County, Virginia in the House of Burgesses.[12]
Harrison and his wife had 11 children:[1]
Harrison in 1745 was struck by lightning and killed, with one daughter, Hannah. Some reports incorrectly say his "two youngest daughters" were killed in 1745 when lightning struck his house.[1][nb 2] Harrison's will expressed his intent to be buried near his son Henry,[1] and it broke with the British tradition of primogeniture by leaving large amounts of wealth to all of his children.[16] His oldest son Benjamin became responsible for the six plantations that comprised Berkeley, along with the manor house, equipment, stock, and slaves.[7] Eight other plantations were divided among the remaining sons, and his daughters were given cash and slaves.[7]
One source indicates that Harrison's tomb is located on the grounds of the "old Westover Church",[11] but another states that he was buried in his family's cemetery.[12]