Harrison Family Stories

Some Harrison Facts and Stories

My grandpa's grandpa, Isaac 'Crippled Ike' Harrison got his nickname from the fact that one day he was chopping wood, the ax glanced off the wood and hit him in the knee. When the knee healed, he had a stiff leg, the knee would not bend. Issac died in July 1903 and is buried in the Cook Cemetery in Deerstable, Kentucky.

It is interesting how Deerstable, Kentucky, got its name. I was told by one of the old timers there that one winter they had a real bad snow storm. The snow seemed like it would never stop falling. One of the farmers went to his stable and pitched down some hay for his mules and his two cows. In the morning after the snow had stopped a neighbor came by to see how they were holding up. As he came by the stable on the way to the cabin, he looking in and then left. He went up to the cabin and asked the farmer what he was trying to do. In his stable about six deer had come in to get some hay and to stay out of the storm. They bedded down with the cows and mules. Was he thinking of turning it into a 'deerstable?'

An interesting story is told of my grandpa Harrison's dad, Andrew Harrison. Andrew Harrison was a common name in Jackson County at that time. When Andrew was small, everyone called him 'Little Andy.' Later in life he married Sarah Blanton. After he was married he became 'Sarie's Andy. I have heard that Sarah had the nickname of 'Dude', but, then I had always heard another story that 'Little Andy' was the one called 'Dude.' And this is the rest of the story: Andy only had one pair of pants he wore for work and then he day his 'Sunday' pants, One day it was Sarah's wash day so Andy took off his pants for her to wash. Andy could not plow his field in his 'Sunday' pants, so Sarah gave him an old dress she had for him to ware until his pants were hung up to dry. Here was Andy, with his wife's dress on, out in the field, behind his mule, plowing. It just so happened that one of the neighbor men came by and saw him dressed up like that. 'Little Andy' became to laughing stock soon after the story was spread around the neighborhood. The question asked of Andy, as told to me was, “When are you going to get all Duded Up, again?”

“Little Andy” and three or four of his son-in-laws used to ride around at night to help keep the peace and to break up 'wild parties' around Jackson County before they had law in those parts. The story was told that one night they heard there was a 'wild party' going one at a certain house. So up they rode, broke down the door and started chasing everyone away. Under one of the beds they found one of Andy's oldest daughters there. It was kind of hard for Andy to live that one down.