Henry G. Harrison (1813-1895), Architect
Henry G. Harrison was a recognized authority on church construction and specialized in that type of architecture.[1] He was born in England in 1813 and was listed as an architect in New York City as early as 1857, although he was not naturalized as a U. S. citizen until 1890. He died in 1895 and was interred in Greenfield Hill Cemetery in Fairfield County, Connecticut, having spent his last years residing in Bridgeport, Connecticut. His wife was Hetty J. (nee Bulkley) Harrison (1821-1919).[7][8][10]
This page is a contribution to the publication, Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. See the format and contents page for more information on the compilation and page organization.
Nebraska Buildings & Projects
Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation/a.k.a. Stewart Memorial (1877-1885), Garden City, Long Island, New York.[2][3][6][9][a]
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (1879-1883), 113 N 18th, Omaha, Nebraska.[1][2][6] (DO09:126:009) National Register narrative[b]
James M. Woolworth Residence (1880), St. Mary’s Ave., Omaha, Nebraska.[4][11][b][c]
Notes
a. A long report on the opening of "the Cathedral Schools of the [Episcopal] diocese of Long Island" mentioned "The Cathedral building is progressing, it would seem, rather slowly, for the large force employed, about one hundred and fifty men, but under the direction of the skillful and accomplished architect, Mr. H. G. Harrison, the Cathedral will be a perfect model of art...It will be fully two years before the work will be finished and ready for service."[9] Instead, the Cathedral opened its doors in 1885.
b. The Omaha World-Herald provided a lengthy description of Harrison's plans for Trinity Cathedral, received via J. M. Woolworth. The report mentioned "The architect, Mr. H. G. Harrison, of New York, who is also the architect of the Stewart Memorial Cathedral, writes that he could not send the plans sooner because he found it necessary to make nearly all the drawings before daring to send any of them, as the work is to be done where he cannot give it his personal attention, and a mistake would be fatal to the effect of the whole."[6]
c. James M. Woolworth (1829-1906) was the essential link between Harrison's two Omaha projects, as the vestryman of Trinity Cathedral and as a residential client of Harrison. Woolworth was a leading Omaha attorney and served as president of the American Bar Association.[11]
References
1. Omaha World-Herald (November 12, 1922), 17.
2. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
3. Henry F. Withey and Elsie Rathburn Withey, Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased). (Los Angeles: Hennessey and Ingalls, 1970), 266.
4. Omaha Daily Bee (January 1, 1881) [illustrated].
5. Illustration of Trinity Cathedral Omaha Illustrated (1888), 53.
6. "Trinity Cathedral. The Elegant New Structure to Replace that Burned in this City," Omaha World-Herald (July 24, 1879), 8.
7. Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, s.v. "Henry Gordon Harrison," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
8. "The Late H. G. Harrison" (mentioning "A widow and one daughter are left to mourn his loss."), The Newtown (Connecticut) Bee (August 9, 1895), 6.
9. "Opened. The Church School at Garden City. Mrs. Stewart's Bounty Bearing Fruit," The Brooklyn (New York) Daily Eagle (September 20, 1877), 4.
10. Ancestry.com. Connecticut, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1790-1996, s.v. "Henry G. Harrison," [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
11. Arthur C. Wakely, ed., Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1917; 324 (portrait) & 325.
Page Citation
D. Murphy & E. F. Zimmer, “Henry G. Harrison (1813-1895), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, December 29, 2023. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, April 20, 2024.
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