Many of his descendants believed at one time that Henry Harold Harrison came from a long line of “Henry Harold Harrisons.” Alas, that was not the case. He was the son of Henry, the grandson of Joseph, and the great-grandson of John.

Harold’s father came up with the name Henry Harold Harrison. The name Henry, of course, reflected his wish to name his son after himself. There is not a single Harold that we know of in the family’s ancestry, so Harold’s father must have been fond of alliteration.

Henry Harrison himself was named after his mother’s grandfather, Henry Ball (b. 1779). Henry Ball was named after his paternal grandfather, Henry Ball (b. 1715). So the name Henry has deep family roots.

Ironically, Henry Harrison never achieved his alliterative goal. Although he decided to name his son Henry Harold Harrison the decision was never officially implemented. There was evidently a miscommunication between Henry and his wife Alice, who actually registered the birth. Alice forgot or otherwise omitted the Henry part and registered her son’s name as Harold Harrison. Henry Harold himself was unaware of this mistake until he obtained a copy of his own birth certificate in the 1950s. By that time he had passed on the name to two generations.