Editing Benjamin Harrison V (section)

===Parents and siblings===

Harrison was born April 5, 1726, in Charles City County, Virginia; he was the eldest son and 3rd oldest of ten children of [[Benjamin Harrison IV]] (1693–1745) and Anne Carter (1702–1743); Anne was a daughter of [[Robert Carter I]]. Benjamin Harrison I (1594–1648) arrived in the colonies around 1630 and by 1633 began a family tradition of public service when he was recorded as clerk of the [[Virginia Governor's Council]].{{sfn|Harrison|1975|p=46}}

Benjamin Harrison II (1645–1712) and [[Benjamin Harrison III]] (1673–1710) followed this example, serving as delegates in the Virginia [[House of Burgesses]]. Benjamin IV and his wife Anne built the family's manor house at [[Berkeley Plantation]]; he served as a justice of the peace and represented Charles City County in the Virginia House of Burgesses.{{sfn|Smith|1978|pp=4–5}} (Biographer Clifford Dowdey notes that the family did not employ the roman numeral suffixes, which historians have assigned.{{sfn|Dowdey1957|p=116}})

Benjamin V, in his youth, was "tall and powerfully built," with "features that were clearly defined, and a well-shaped mouth above a strong pointed chin."{{sfn|Dowdey|1957|pp=5–7}} He spent a year or two at the [[College of William & Mary]].{{sfn|Dowdey|1957|p=159}} His brother [[Carter Henry Harrison I|Carter Henry]] (1736–1793) became a leader in [[Cumberland County, Virginia|Cumberland County]]. Brother Nathaniel (1742–1782) was elected to the House of Burgesses, then to the [[Senate of Virginia|Virginia Senate]]. Brother Henry (1736–1772) fought in the [[French and Indian War]] and brother [[Charles Harrison (general)|Charles]] (1740–1793) became a brigadier general in the [[Continental Army]].{{sfn|Smith|1978|pp=4–5}}