Editing Benjamin Harrison V (section)

===Inheritance and slaveholding===
Harrison's father, at age 51 and with a child in hand, was struck by lightning as he shut an upstairs window during a storm on July 12, 1745; he and his daughter Hannah were killed.{{sfn|Dowdey|1957|pp=157–58}} Benjamin V inherited the bulk of his father's estate, including Berkeley and several surrounding plantations, as well as thousands of acres extending to Surry County and the falls of the [[James River]]. Also among his holdings was a fishery on the river and a grist mill in [[Henrico County, Virginia|Henrico County]].{{sfn|Smith|1978|pp=5–7}} He also assumed ownership and responsibility for the manor house's equipment, stock, and numerous enslaved people.{{sfn|Dowdey|1957|p=162}} His siblings inherited another six plantations, possessions, and enslaved people, as the father chose to depart from the tradition of leaving the entire estate to the eldest son.{{sfn|Dowdey|1957|p=163}}

Harrison and his ancestors enslaved as many as 80 to 100 people. Harrison's father was adamant about not breaking up slave families in the distribution of his estate.{{sfn|Dowdey|1957|pp=164–165}} As with all planters, the Harrisons sustained enslaved people on their plantations. Nevertheless, the enslaved people's status was involuntary, and according to Dowdey, "among the worst aspects of their slaveholding is the assumption that the men in the Harrison family, most likely the younger, unmarried ones, and the overseers, made night trips to the slaves' quarters for carnal purposes."{{sfn|Dowdey|1957|p=164}} Benjamin Harrison V owned [[mulatto]]es, though no record has been revealed as to their parentage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-10969|title=To Geo. Washington from Benj. Harrison, March 31, 1783|publisher=National Archives|access-date=February 19, 2020}}</ref> Dowdey portrays the Harrisons' further incongruity, saying the enslaved people in some ways "were respected as families, and there developed a sense of duty about indoctrinating them in Christianity, though other slaveholders had reservations about baptizing children who were considered property."{{sfn|Dowdey|1957|p=164}}