Harrison Pearce was born in Jackson County, Georgia, December 17, 1818, a son of James Perry Pearce and Elizabeth Humphries. In 1821, They moved to Marion County, Alabama. His father died December 12, 1827 leaving his mother and six children.
Harrison was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at the Old Lawn Creek, Mississippi by Robert Dowdle, November 1, 1845 at 27 years of age. On the 2nd of November 1845, his wife Henrietta and several neighbors were baptized by B.F. Mathews.
On February 1, 1846, he left Mississippi and started for Nauvoo, Illinois where the Saints had been advised to gather to defend themselves against their oppressors or move out west. He arrived with his family after encountering a great deal of rain, snow and mud on March 22, 1846. They suffered a great deal from exposure and cold.
After resting in Nauvoo a week, they crossed the Mississippi River and went to Pittsburg then to Des Moines, Iowa. There he was able to work for provisions, clothing and etc. They all got sick with chills and fever, they rented a house to shelter them. Among them who proved themselves to be neighbors and friends, were John Funk, James Danna, Kipinger and McDonald. Brother Solomon Warner and his family were extra good. In April they moved upon the Fox River near where Brother John Price had rented a farm. After all the hardships of traveling they were happy to make so many friends.
The family moved on to Mt. Pisgah where he was able to teach school the next three years. From there, they moved on to Council Bluffs, Iowa. We have no date as to when Harrison Pearce and Henrietta Cromeans were married, but his was their family:
John David Lafayette, born 5 April 1837, Ittawamba County, Mississippi
James born 6 March 1839 Ittawamba, Mississippi
Amelia born 15 May 1841, Ittawamba County, Mississippi
Nancy Clark, born 12 Dec 1842 Franklin, Alabama
Thomas Jefferson born 22 February 1845 Ittawamba, Mississippi.
Harrison born 24 March 1849, Pisga, Iowa
Henretta born 15 Jun 1852 Kanesville, Iowa
The family left Council Bluffs where they had spent three years. Here they had two children born to them; Henretta was born in a covered wagon. This was their last child, now being seven children in the family. They started across the plains with this tiny baby. Harrison taught school most of the time and took all kinds of produce in payment. They ate so many squash, the whites of their eyes turned yellow, also their skin. They even had dried squash to take with them. The last three years they had dried corn, squash, and fruit to have a balanced diet. Little Nancy, a beautiful sweet girl of ten took sick, and with all the tender care she had, still died of cholera and was buried on the plains. This brought great sorrow to the little family. The children grieved as well as parents. No one knows the burial spot. The family continued on their way and arrived in Salt Lake, September 1852 in the James Snow Company and were assigned to Payson, Utah to help settle.
The Walker War broke out between the Indians and white people, so they moved into the fort for protection. Somewhere about this time his wife died. No date is found. [See note below] Later he met Ann Meredith and married. In 1857, he was called to Dixie in the "Dixie" cotton Mission. They came in the Robert D. Covington Company. Others in the company were Samuel Adair, James B. Regan, Wm. H. Crawford, Umpsted Rencher, John Woodruff Freeman. They arrived in Washington on 5 May 1857. They camped on what is known as Adair Spring in the east side of town. Robert Covington was appointed President for the company, Harrison Pearce, 1st councilor, and James Regan as 2nd. This pioneering proved too much for his young wife, so she left him and went back to Salt Lake. She had 2 girls. While he lived in Washington, he was appointed the 1st sheriff. In 1859, he was appointed to the 1st postmaster too.
Harrison Pearce was a music teacher, choir leader, also leader in the Dixie brass band. About this time, he went down to the Tonaquint fields, west of St. George on the Santa Clara Creek. In about 1863, he went down to help to make a settlement on the Beaver Dam Wash. He cleared land and planted crops along with Henry William Miller, John Eardley, Benjamin Pendleton, Luthur Hemingway. They raised good crops. By this time, he met a young girl, a beautiful singer. She was a convert to the Church from Switzerland. She came to Santa Clara with the first company of Swiss converts. Their family is as follows: Mary Abigail born 5 October 1870; Emily and Harrison.
In the winter of 1866 and 67 a heavy snow came on the mountains at the head of Beaver Dam Wash and was followed by a warm rain, sending floods down which ran through the cleared land cutting a deep channel, destroying all the farm improvements. After the flood, the creek channel was so deep the water could not be taken out on to the remaining land. There were three years of work swept away and they moved away. Newton Daniel Hall went south to the Muddy Valley settlement. Wm. Jones moved to Hebron, Francis F. Roulett and family went to Santa Clara. Henry W. Miller moved his family to Saint George.
[NOTE: Henrietta Cromeans died on April 16, 1864 in St. George, Washington County, Utah, and she is buried in an unmarked grave in the St. George Cemetery - see outline of Harrison Pearce for further information]