My fourth great-grandparents are William Harrison (abt.1750–1833) and his wife, Elvira Cooper Harrison. Their son, Edward C. Harrison, married Eliza Jane McClain, drawing a fascinating parallel in our tree. Eliza’s father, George McLain, was also a Revolutionary War soldier. Like William, George served out of North Carolina, though they hailed from different areas and served in separate regiments. Decades after the war, their paths converged closely in Middle Tennessee. The 1830 U.S. Federal Census for Bedford County shows George and William’s households enumerated just a few lines apart, surrounded by a close-knit cluster of other Harrison and McLain families.
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| From 1830 Bedford Co TN Dist. 9 |
The timing of their deaths is remarkably close: William died in 1833, and George followed shortly after in 1834. Both men were actively drawing pensions for their service at the time of their deaths. While I have their complete pension files in my possession, the exact resting place for both George and William remains unknown. It is my strong belief that each man was laid to rest in a family cemetery on their respective properties.
Wm. Harrison & widow Elvira Pension
Initially, I missed William's entry in Helen and Timothy Marsh’s Soldiers of the Revolution in Bedford County, Tennessee. When I finally located it, the brief mention offered little beyond data sourced from an old DAR file. Fortunately, his actual pension file contains a wealth of detailed information that I have explored in several previous posts on this blog. Clues regarding the location of his land do exist. I discovered a local land entry referencing where "old man Harrison" (or "old Wm Harrison") lived and died. Because he was the only elder William Harrison residing in that specific area, this undoubtedly points to him. The record also notes his daughter, Elizabeth Cook(my 3rd Great Grandmother), whom the 1830 census confirms was living in the immediate neighborhood. By 1851, Elvira and several of their children had passed away, and other family members migrated out of the region following the Civil War. This rapid displacement of immediate kin is likely why William's grave was never permanently marked and has eluded researchers for generations. If we are ever able to pinpoint his burial site, it is highly probable that Elizabeth and perhaps her husband are resting nearby.
Uncovering more details on George McLain required sorting through some digital noise. I found a reference from a descendant mentioning a family history book published by his aunt. When I tried to use an AI tool to help me track down the volume, it completely hallucinated the source. Undeterred, I combed through Ancestry tree sources until I found a valid citation that led me straight to the digital copy on FamilySearch.
This history helped clarify why George’s grave was also lost. Following his death, his widow and children migrated northwest to Bond Co. Illinois. With few family member left in Bedford County to maintain the homestead or care for the site, George's final resting place was left behind to be reclaimed by time.
The three most likely factors that contributed to these graves becoming lost to living memory:
- The Era of Death: Both soldiers passed away in the early 1830s, a period where early land markers were often ephemeral.
- Gaps in Local Records: While land records for this era exist, the subsequent deed transfers from the 1850s—though partially reconstructed following Bedford County's courthouse losses—are far from all-encompassing.
- Family Migration: Harrison and McLain descendants moved west leaving few local caretakers to preserve the locations.
To break through this brick wall and locate these homestead plots, it will take neighborhood reconstruction using platting, watercourses, and adjacent land deeds to piece back together where these two patriots lived out their final days. Thankfully, I can narrow it down to the 9th District of Bedford Co TN. That is more info than some folks who are researching lost graves have. For that I am grateful.
