Francis Burton Harrison explored the first two questions in a series of articles and stated:
Nearly every family in the new world which cherishes a memory of its past history, has some more or less shadowy legend of its own, handed down from generation to generation. Such stories cannot be dismissed with complete indifference because they often contain some kernel of truth. …
When it comes to discussing Isaiah1 Harrison, Sr. and his alleged father Rev. Thomas Harrison with other Harrisons in New England and Virginia in the 1600s, old myths about relationships between “four brothers” who came to America surface. Charles Keith, The Ancestry of Benjamin Harrison, supposes the alleged “three brothers” for ….
Most of us want to know who our ancestors are and from whence they came. For some, this means a family history mystery that requires gathering enough clues to put the puzzle pieces together accurately. This is especially true for those who feel a gnawing skepticism about speculations some have made.
This article is an excerpt from Margery Boyden’s, A Guidebook to the Records for Samuel and Lydia (Harrison) Stewart:
New Perspectives from New Data and from Reviewing 100 Years of Collaborative Research, Part I, (Electronic version, Scudder Family Store, 2022).
Just as Isaiah1 Harrison, Sr. was termed “enigmatic” in Chapter One, Dr. John1 Stewart’s origins are also cloaked in mystery. In his records, Stewart left no personal statement about where he came from, and no parent in New York or other colonies or in the Old World has claimed him in their will or other record.