Person:William Harrison (126)

The most probable candidates for William's parents are a Kensington couple named George and Sarah Calvert Pickersgill, who were married at Kensington Methodist Episcopal Church on October 18, 1844. Young William Pickersgill was evidently living in Kensington at the time of the 1850 census, so George and Sarah's marriage record places the couple at the right place and time to be young William's parents. I have yet to find record of either what became of George and Sarah or how young William came to be living with the family of Hugh Young in the Kensington of 1850.

Research is tricky because, despite the relative rarity of the Pickersgill name, there appears to have been at least two, and perhaps three, George Pickersgill's living in the Philadelphia area during the 1840s. One George Pickersgill appears in the 1840 Census living in Upper Merion, Montgomery County. He was then living with a woman and a female child. Another George Pickersgill arrived in America in Septemper of 1840. His future wife, Martha Riley, arrvied in America sometime after 1841, and they lived in Philadelphia throughout the 1840s. Before the end of the decade, George and Martha had moved to Steubenville Ohio.

Confusing matters further, a couple going by the names of George and Sarah Elizabeth Pickersgill lived in Philadelphia later in the 19th Century. They appear to have traveled back to England and returned to America at least once. Because this Sarah Elizabeth was born in 1840, she is most unlikely to be Sarah Calvert, who was married in 1844.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Department of Veterans Affairs. Civil War and Later Pension Files. (Washington D.C.).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Department of Veterans Affairs. Civil War and Later Pension Files. (Washington D.C.)
   Cert. 88302.
3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 Pennsylvania, United States. PRR Voluntary Relief Enrollment Cards
   William P. Harrison.
4. ↑ ^4.0 4.1 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Philadelphia Inquirer. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
   7, 9 APR 1913.
5. ↑ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803-1915. (FamilySearch Record Search)
   William Harrison, #9166, 8 APR 1913.
6. ↑ Fernwood, Delaware, Pennsylvania, United States. Fernwood Cemetery Records.
7. ↑ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. 1910 U.S. Census Population Schedule
   44th Ward, 1910.
8.   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Philadelphia Inquirer. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
   7, 9 AUG 1913.
9. ↑ Records disagree widely on the circumstances of William Pickersgill Harrison Sr.'s birth. Here is a summary of the inconsistencies.
   
   
   
   DATE OF BIRTH:
   
   PRR Voluntary Relief Enrollment Card: Feb 28, 1846
   
   1900 Census: Feb 1846
   
   Death certificate: Feb 29, 1847
   
   (Note that 1847 was not a leap year.)
   
   
   
   BIRTHPLACE:
   
   Death Certificate, Marriage Records: Philadelphia
   
   1910 Census: Pennsylvania
   
   1900 Census: Philadelphia
   
   1880 Census: Illegible
   
   1870 Census: Delaware
   
   
   
   BIRTHPLACE OF PARENTS:
   
   Death Ceritificate: Not Known
   
   1910 Census: Delaware
   
   1900 Census: Philadelphia
   
   1880 Census: Illegible
   
10. ↑ Description: Hamilton Lodge No. 596, Independent Order of Odd Fellows
11. ↑ Hamilton Lodge, No. 596 met at Metropolitan Hall, 3917 Lancaster Ave, Philadelphia PA, 19104
12. ↑ Description: Gunshot wound to right hand. Loss of finger.