Famous historic mothers of New Jersey
Anna Harrison
Anna Harrison, the 9th First Lady of the United States, married to President William Henry Harrison. President William Henry Harrison held the presidency just one month. She also was the grandmother of another president, the 23rd president, Benjamin Harrison. She was born in 1775 in Morristown, New Jersey. Anna’s father was the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and later became a prominent landowner in Southwest Ohio.
During the Revolutionary War, she was rescued by Judge Symmes, who disguised himself as a British soldier, carried Anna on horseback through the British lines to her maternal grandparents in Southold, Long Island. Anna grew up in Long Island and received a significant education for a woman of her times. She attended Clinton Academy in East Hampton, Long Island.
Elizabeth Carteret
In 1663 the Duke of York assigned part of his claim in the New World to Lord George Carteret of the Isle of New Jersey. It was from his name that the area of Carteret was named. His wife, Elizabeth Carteret, governed the colony, even though she never actually set foot in it. The town of Elizabeth was named for Elizabeth Carteret and it was New Jersey’s first permanent European settlement. Princeton University, known as the College of New Jersey, was founded in Elizabeth in 1746.