One of the shows that I like to watch is Pawn Stars on the History channel. Pawn Stars is a show that covers some of my favorite things. History and books of course are two of them. I really like it when somebody brings in an item that really brings history alive. Especially if it is something that brings back memories of an item that my grandparents had or gives me a better understanding of how my ancestors might have lived. I do enjoy the more contemporary items that are brought into the shop as well. It helps me to understand what may be important to other people.

I sometimes think about what I would take into the pawn shop to try and sell or pawn. Of course, not too many people pawn stuff on the show. The show is mostly about items that people want to sell for big money. Most of the items that I have of any value would be something that I wouldn’t want to sell or pawn, but maybe would like to know more about.

Perhaps I would see what my old car transport trailer is worth. I still have this toy that I got for my third birthday. Or perhaps some of the old books that I have. The problem is, I really don’t want to part with any of these items. I would rather take them to the Antique Road Show.

My favorite parts of Pawn Stars is when they bring the experts in. My two favorite experts are Mark Hall-Patton from the Clark County Museum and Rebecca Romney from Bauman Rare Books. They are usually called in to talk about the items that interest me the most. I have learned a lot about history from Mark and have learned interesting facts about books from Rebecca. I also follow Rebecca’s blog: Aldine

The interaction between the three generations of the Harrison family that own the pawn shop is also interesting to watch. I am also impressed with the wealth of knowledge that they have that helps them assess an item or to know when to call in an expert for more information.

One of my favorite episodes has been where they were talking about whether they were related to the two Harrison presidents, Benjamin and William Henry. I am actually a bit surprised that they did not have a definitive answer. With Rick’s love of History and his interest in the presidents, I thought that this would be something he would have researched. I decided to do a little research myself to see if there was something out there on the internet that would answer the question as to whether they were related to the presidents. I could not find anything anywhere so decided that I must research it myself.

On Wikipedia I found out who the father of Richard (Old Man) Harrison was and then did a little Census research. Within about 45 minutes I was able to trace their family back to the early 1800’s. It was then time to see if they tied in with the presidents.

I pulled out my copy of Ancestors of American Presidents by Gary Boyd Roberts to see which Harrison family the two presidents descended from. I had earlier found a website where DNA research was being collected on the different Harrison lines in America, so also looked to find out which of almost 70 different Harrison families they fit into.

Perhaps Rick does know his ancestry and whether they connect to the presidents, and they are using the uncertainty as a plot device in the show. I know the answer, well I am 90% sure, but won’t divulge it here. I don’t want to ruin a future episode of Pawn Stars if they are planning on revealing the answer in a future episode. If they want to know, they can contact me :-).

I actually have a neat idea for an episode of Pawn Stars. They should order a genetic testing kit from the Harrison DNA Project and find out if they come from the same line of Harrisons as the presidents.

Steven

p.s. I forgot that I was also going to talk about the history of pawn shops. Well, maybe another time. This post is long enough.