Background
He was the son of George Harison (son of Francis Harison) and Jane (Nicholls) Harison.
politician Recorder of New York City
He was the son of George Harison (son of Francis Harison) and Jane (Nicholls) Harison.
He graduated Bachelor of Arts from King"s College in 1764.
On September 4, 1783, Harison married Frances Duncan Ludlow (1766–1797. Daughter of George Duncan Ludlow), and they had four children. Harison was Deputy Grand Master of Masons of New York from 1786 to 1788.
He was a delegate to the New York Convention which adopted the United States Constitution in 1788, and voted for adoption.
In 1789, Harison was appointed by President George Washington as the first United States Attorney for the District of New New York He remained in office until 1801, and was also Recorder of New York City from 1798 to 1801.
He was buried in a family vault in Trinity Church Cemetery. Among the new proprietors of large tracts of land in Northern New York that had been part of the Macomb Purchase (1791), Richard Harison purchased great lots 6 and 9 in what would become Franklin County.
These land owners initially named their sections after themselves, but "Harison" eventually became the Town of Malone.
In 1812, Harison again changed the name of his village, to "Malone," after Edmond Malone, an Irish Shakespearean scholar. The Harison House is located on Webster Street in Malone, across from the cemetery, and is designated with a New York State historical marker.
He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1788 and 1788-1789.