Harrison, Thomas Perrin, 1864-1949

Thomas Perrin Harrison (1864-1949) was born in Abbeville and raised in Andersonville, S.C., son of Francis Eugene and Mary Eunice Perrin Harrison. He attended Abbeville Academy and the Citadel, and earned his Ph.D. in English at Johns Hopkins University in 1891. He taught English at the Citadel, 1886-1888; at Clemson College, 1891-1896; at Davidson College, 1896-1909; and was professor of English at North Carolina State College from 1909 to 1939. From 1910 to 1939, he was dean of the College and head of the English Department at North Carolina State College, except for a leave of absence during World War I, when he was a YMCA educational officer with the American Expeditionary Forces.

Harrison wrote articles on many literary topics, including Shakespearean etymology and interpretation. He was active as a Presbyterian layman and noted as a public speaker. Harrison married Adelia Lake Leftwich (d. 1944) of Baltimore in 1894. Their four children were: James Leftwich (b. 1895), Thomas Perrin, Jr. (b. 1897), Florence, and Lewis Wardlaw.

From the guide to the Thomas Perrin Harrison Papers, 1861-1939, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)