Harriet Harrison Henry

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My Contribution: I was a socially active teacher who worked for the betterment of my students. As an elementary teacher, I was able to shape young people for a brighter future.

My Legacy: I made my community better through educational improvement. I educated numerous children of color in Harrisburg and the southern states at a time when few school opportunities were available to them. In that way, my teaching opened new opportunities for students.

About Me: “Miss Harriett Harrison, a school friend of the bride [Catherine Payne] was maid of honor, wearing a beautiful gown of white crepe de chine with lace and crystal trimmings.” — Harrisburg Telegraph, November 21, 1912.

Full Name: Harriet L. Harrison; Harriet Henry. Nickname: “Hattie.”

Birth Date: July 1885

Death Date: Unknown; after 1956

Place of Birth: Pennsylvania

Sex: Female

Race: Black (1900-1920 Federal Censuses) and “Negro” (1930-1940 Federal Censuses)

Places of Residence: 1618 Walnut Street and 5 S. Sixteenth Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Fredericksburg, Virginia; Maryland; 13 N. 57th Street and 28 N. 57th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Connection to the Old Eighth Ward: Taught children from the Eighth Ward.

Family Members: Father: Ralph Harrison. Mother: Betty Harrison. Siblings: Bessie (Harrison) Johnston Anthony, Edward Harrison. Husband: Howard M. Henry. Brother-in-Law: James Anthony.

Education: Harrisburg High School, 1907; Teacher Training School.

Occupations: Elementary school teacher at Wickersham School in Harrisburg and schools in Maryland and Virginia.

Church Membership: Second Baptist Church.

Activism: Singer at Second Baptist Church; Unity Social Club.

Connections: Catherine Payne and Horace Payne (friends); M.H. Layton, Sr. and Ida Brown (colleagues at Wickersham School); Cassius Brown, Jr.; and A. Leslie Marshall.

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