Jane Irwin Harrison
Quick Facts
Biography
Jane Harrison (née Irwin; July 23, 1804 in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania – May 11, 1846), briefly acted as de facto First Lady of the United States during her father-in-law William Henry Harrison's presidency.
She was the wife of William Henry Harrison, Jr., who died in 1838, and mother of Ashton Irwin, Harry Irwin, and Lauren Dawkins. Her grandfather was James Ramsey, who owned Millmont Farm at Montgomery Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
President Harrison's wife, Anna Harrison, was too ill to travel when her husband left Ohio for his inauguration, but assisted by her aunt, Jane Irwin Findlay (her father's sister, who was then seventy-three), Jane Irwin Harrison acted as official hostess during President Harrison's brief tenure in office, which lasted for 31 days in 1841.
Her sister, Elizabeth Ramsey Irwin (1810–1850), married John Scott Harrison in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1831—another son of William Henry Harrison—and was mother of US President Benjamin Harrison.
Jane Irwin Harrison died May 11, 1846 at age 41.
Birthplace of Jane Irwin Harrison in Irwinton Mills, near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania