The William Harris, Sr., Family
of Newton County, Mississippi

By Jesse Max Harris1

I was born and reared on a farm about three and one half miles east of Decatur which is now called Harris Road.  It was earlier known as “Harris Hill”.  Some of my earlier recollections of farming occurred at cotton picking time.  I was too small to pick much cotton so I was designated “water boy”.  It was my job to take a one gallon “lard bucket” and go to a spring at the base of “Harris Hill” for water.  Since I was rather short at the time, by the time I got to my brothers and sisters with the water I had gathered some cotton leaves and maybe an armyworm or two in the bucket.  My sisters would pour out the water, whip me and send me back for more.  I learned rather quickly how to hold the bucket high and keep out the worms and leaves.  (Although, at the time I wondered why they couldn’t just push the leaves and worms aside and drink the water).  Another early memory was of the Decatur Boy Scout Troop coming to Harris Hill to camp.  I would go visit them and I joined the troop as soon as I became of age.

Our farm was originally purchased by my grandfather, James Monroe “Red Jim” Harris.  It was purchased from George Wilkins Todd who migrated from Georgia to Newton County and established a farm in the “Chunky Bottom” and built an eight room house on the hill above the bottom to get away from mosquitoes2.  According to notes from Dr. Joe Todd, George Wilkins Todd’s wife Bettie died of an illness during Sherman’s raid on his march to Meridian.  The property was ravaged but the house was spared at the pleading of her children.  At the time her husband was serving in a Quartermaster Unit of the Confederate Army.  The farm was purchased from George Wilkins Todd about 1876 when he decided to move to a farm near Hickory to be close to a railroad and to have access to the Hickory Academy as he was a teacher and had earlier organized the Chapel Hill School and had taught there until the start of the Civil War. The Todd/Harris house would be the home of the Todd’s and Harris’ for over 125 years.

First Generation: William Harris, Sr.

The earliest member of the Harris family that has been found by this researcher is William Harris, Sr.  Family legend has him coming from Scotland as his Family Bible was Scottish; however the 1850 U. S. Federal Mortality Schedule for Newton County, Mississippi, lists his place of birth as South Carolina.  He was born about 1753 and died May 1850 of apoplexy in Newton County, Mississippi.  According to the 1840 census William was a veteran of the Revolutionary War.  About 1787 William married Sarah Heath, born between 1760-1770, in the Darlington District of South Carolina.  This union produced eight children, all born in Georgia.

Apparently, Mary Woods Harris (who married Joel Pierce) and Matilda Harris (who married George Pierce), convinced their parents to move to Mississippi, having moved here several years earlier. By 18203, William Harris, Sr., was living in Lawrence County, Mississippi, along with his son William Harris, Jr.  Joel Pierce was living in Perry County, Mississippi, and George Pierce (thought to be a brother of Joel) was living in Covington County, Mississippi. By 1830 they were all living in Lawrence County, Mississippi. William Harris, Sr., is shown in an 1829 Tax List for Lawrence County as having 160 acres at Whitesands. The children of William Harris, Sr., and Sarah Heath were:

  1. Mary Woods Harris, b. 05 May 1788 Georgia, d. bef. 3  February 1837, Lawrence County; Mississippi; married Joel Pierce4 (See further record)
  2. David Harris, b. 10 June 1792 Georgia. No further information
  3. Martha Harris, b. 1 Sept. 1794 Georgia. No further information
  4. Matilda Harris, b. 30 June 1797, Georgia, d. aft. 1870 Perry County, Mississippi; married George Pierce. They were the parents of eight known children.
  5. William Harris, Jr., b. 7 October 1801, Georgia, d. November 1858, Chunky, Newton County, Mississippi; Mississippi; married Cynthia Everett  (See further record)
  6. Jeremiah Harris, b. 13 April 1804, Georgia d. aft. 1840; married Temperance Bell 23 October 1828, Lawrence County, Mississippi
  7. Jane (Jenny) Harris, b. 9 Sept. 1806, Georgia; married James Bell, Sr. 20 Sept. 1826, Lawrence County, Mississippi
  8. James Hiram Harris, Sr., b. 25 Feb. 1809, Georgia, d. 14 May 1862, Chunky, Newton County, Mississippi, married three times. (See further record)

Second Generation: Mary Woods Harris Pierce

Mary Woods Harris, daughter of William Harris, Sr., and Sarah Heath, was born Jun 1788, and died Bef. 08 Feb 1837 in Lawrence County, Mississippi.  She married  Joel Pierce Abt. 1803, born Abt. 1780, and died Aft. 1841 in Newton County, Mississippi. Joel was married twice after the death of Mary and is thought to have moved with his son Seaborne Pierce and other family members to the Chunky-Hickory area of Newton County, Mississippi prior to his death.

Joel Pierce/Pearce is shown in the 1812 Tax List for Greene County, Mississippi and also on the 1816 Mississippi Territorial Census for Greene County, Mississippi. He was a private, 7th Regiment, Perkins’ Battalion, Mississippi Militia, War of 1812. In 1820 he was living in Perry County, Mississippi, Perry having been created from the western half of Greene. His family is known to have moved into Lawrence County, Mississippi, during the 1820’s and were living there in 1830. In 1840, Joel is thought to have been living with his son Seaborne Pierce in Newton County, Mississippi. Children of Mary Woods Harris and Joel Pierce were:

  1. David Pierce, born 12 October 1805, Georgia—died after 1820. No further record
  2. John Reddick Pierce, born 20 October 1807, Georgia—died before 1880, Prentiss, Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi; married 22 February 1837, Lawrence County, Mississippi, to Evaline Oglesby
  3. Seaborne Pierce, Sr., born 1813, Greene County, Mississippi—died 1898, Texas; married (1) Susannah Blackwell, (2) Bernice J. _______, and (3) Nancy Minerva Price
  4. Jeremiah D. (Jerry) Pierce, born Abt. 1814, Greene County, Mississippi—died after 1880, Henderson County, Texas; married (1) Jane Stucky, (2) Martha  _______,  and (3) Elizabeth ________
  5. Lewis Edmund Pierce, born 25 May 1815, Greene County, Mississippi—died 5 Aug 1888, Wickware community, Newton County, Mississippi; married (1) Emeline Parker and (2) Laura A. ______
  6. Cynthia Pierce, born ca. 1822, Mississippi; married Thomas Carlisle, 24 August 1835, Lawrence, County, Mississippi. They were living in Bienville Parish,  Louisiana, in 1850.
  7. Ann Pierce, born ca. 1825, Lawrence County, Mississippi; married Augustus Dupriest, 11 January 1839, Lawrence County, Mississippi. Augustus Dupriest is shown in early records of both Newton and Jasper Counties, Mississippi. He was a son of John Dupriest and Mary Young, Mary having married first to Micajah Wall.
  8. Gad Abbeville Pierce, born 1826, Lawrence County, Mississippi—died 1868, Chunky, Newton County, Mississippi; married Eliza Davis
  9. George Washington Pierce, born 9 June 1828, Lawrence County, Mississippi—died November 1917, Prospect community, Newton County, Mississippi; married Mary S. Haley

    10. Second Generation: William Harris, Jr.

William Harris, Jr., son of William Harris, Sr., and Sarah Heath, was born 07 Oct 1801 in Georgia, and died 1858 in Newton County, Mississippi.  He married Cynthia Everett 16 Oct 1826 in Lawrence County, Mississippi, daughter of Thomas Everett and Penelope Rogers. She was born 06 Apr 1807 in Georgia, and died Bef. 1860 in Newton County, Mississippi. They left Lawrence County, Mississippi, moving first to Hinds County, Mississippi, then to Newton County, Mississippi. In 1835, William Harris filed two land patents, totally approximately 129 acres which were subsequently sold to his father-in-law, Thomas Everett. William Harris, Jr., first appears in Newton County records on an 1838 Tax List. A land patent dated 1841 indicates he lived approximately one mile north of Chunky, but in which he is described as being “of Jasper County, Mississippi”, indicating that he may have lived briefly in Jasper County. (See next page for a copy of this patent. Also refer to the back cover for a second patent for William Harris and Eleazer Nelson in Jasper County, Mississippi.)

William Harris, Jr. and Cynthia Everett Harris were the parents of the following known children:

  1. Luaney (Lue) Harris, born 1828, Lawrence County, Mississippi—died September 1869, Chunky, Mississippi; married William C. (Bill) Williamson
  2. Caroline Elizabeth Harris, born 6 April 1832, Lawrence County, Mississippi; married William Hiram Corley, Sr.
  3. Melissa Emaline Harris, born 6 April 1832, Lawrence County, Mississippi—died 25 March 1892, Chunky, Mississippi; married Simeon Riley (Simmie) Castles
  4. James Monroe (Red Jim) Harris, Sr., born 26 September 1834, Mississippi—died 19 December 1918 near Decatur, Mississippi; married (1) Martha Elizabeth Gressett and (2) Elizabeth Sims
  5. Temperance Harris, born ca. 1836, Mississippi—died August 1849, Chunky, Mississippi of dysentery5.
  6. William Jackson Harris, born 8 April 1838, Chunky, Mississippi—died 10 May 1915, Chunky, Mississippi; married (1) Sarah Katherine Gressett and (2) Martha Marcilla Grace
  7. Richard Oliver (Ol) Harris, born 24 April 1839, Chunky, Mississippi—died 27 November 1917, Decatur, Mississippi; married Mary Elizabeth Clearman
  8. Mary A. Harris, born 12 June 1841, Chunky, Mississippi—died 11 Jan 1880, Chunky, Mississippi; married William Franklin Gressett
  9. Cynthia Ann Harris, born 18 September 1843, Chunky, Mississippi—died 11 February 1928, Lake, Mississippi; married George William Mabry
  10. Green Berry Harris, born 1845, Chunky, Mississippi; married Nancy A. ________
  11. Louisa A. Harris, born 1 March 1848, Chunky, Mississippi—died 29 May 1905, Newton County, Mississippi; married Eli L. Mabry
  12. Sarah Ann Harris, born 1849, Chunky, Mississippi—died after 1900, Navarro County, Texas; married Lovett F. Jordan
  13. William Harris, III (traditional)
  14. Thomas Harris (traditional)

Harris Land Patent Document

Second Generation: James Hiram Harris, Sr.

James H. Harris, Sr., son of William Harris, Sr., and Sarah Heath, was born 25 Feb 1809 in Georgia, and died 14 May 1862 in Newton County, Mississippi.  James H. Harris is believed to correctly be the Hiram Harris who married (1) Keziah McCall 1826 in Lawrence County, Mississippi, and there was one child, James Hiram (Jack) Harris, Jr., born to this marriage.    He married (2) Temperance Ann (Tempy) Nelson before 1839, daughter of  Eleazer Jordan Nelson and Temperance Everett. This marriage produced ten children. She was born Abt. 1822 in Lawrence County, Mississippi, and died Aft. 1852 in Chunky, Mississippi.  He married (3) Martha Busby Abt. 1854.  She was born 06 Sep 1826 in Alabama, and died 26 Jul 1905. This marriage produced three children. James appears first in Newton County records on an 1838 Personal Tax List and is shown later on an 1846 Tax List as owning land about a mile north of Chunky which was formerly patented to his brother William Harris, Jr. Issue:

  1. James Hiram (Jack) Harris, Jr., born 23 October 1828, Lawrence County, Mississippi—died 20 December 1898, Battlefield community, Newton County, Mississippi; married Martha E. Castles
  2. Jeremiah M. Harris, born 1839, Chunky, Mississippi; married Sarah Catherine Clearman
  3. Nancy Harris, born 1839, Chunky, Mississippi. No further record.
  4. Jackson E. (Jack) Harris, born 1840, Chunky,  Mississippi—died 1889, Newton County, Mississippi; married Mahany Mary Nelson. Mahany was a daughter of Eleazer Jordan Nelson and Temperance Everett and resident of Stratton.  She died at the home of her son, James Andrew (Jim) Harris, of the Erin community in 1940.
  5. Nathan Harris, born 1841, Chunky, Mississippi. No further record.
  6. William Harris, born 27 Jan 1843, Chunky, Mississippi—died 18 May 1918, Chunky, Mississippi; married Margaret Matilda Cooper
  7. Temperance (Tempie) Harris, born 1845, Chunky, Mississippi—died 1800-1885, Smith County, Mississippi; married Alexander (Sandy) Young
  8. Martha L. Harris, born 1847, Chunky, Mississippi. No further information.
  9. Matilda Jane Harris, born 1848, Chunky, Mississippi—died 7 February 1925, Coryell County, Texas; married William Sanford Blakely
  10. Hannah Harris, born 1849, Chunky, Mississippi. No further information.
  11. Eleazor A. Harris, born 27 December 1851, Chunky, Mississippi—died 9 December 1925, Decatur, Mississippi; married Sarah Keziah (Babe) Monroe
  12. James Louis Harris, born 10 Nov 1855, Chunky, Mississippi—died 23 October 1910, Taylor County, Texas; married Lucretia Jane Sadler
  13. Emma Jane Harris, born 5 November 1858, Chunky, Mississippi—died 28 September 1892, Decatur, Mississippi; married Judge Leroy Cleveland
  14. Leonard Sampson Harris, born 18 December 1862, Chunky, Mississippi—died 9 April 1938, Callahan County, Texas; married Mary Isabelle Belew

      15. Third Generation: Lewis Edmund Pierce6

Lewis Edmund Pierce, son of Joel Pierce and Mary Woods Harris, was born 25 May 1815 in Mississippi, and died 05 Aug 1888 in the Wickware community, Newton County, Mississippi.  The 1846 Tax List for Newton County indicates he owned property approximately one mile west of Chunky. Then, on 5 October 1865 he purchased from his brother Jeremiah Pierce and wife Elizabeth Pierce for the sum of $512 410 acres in Section 32 Township 6  Range 12E and Section 5 Township 5 Range 12E, this land lying just north of Poplar Springs Baptist Church and identified historically as being in the Wickware community7. With his death in 1888, most of the land was sold to G. A. Hammond and his wife.

Lewis married (1) Emeline Parker on 07 Jan 1842, likely in Jasper County, Mississippi.  She was born 1824 in Mississippi, and died 26 May 1862, in childbirth, in Chunky, Newton County, Mississippi.  He married (2) Laura A. _____________. There were a total of ten children born, all from his first marriage. Issue:

  1. Matilda Jane Pierce, born 11 February 1843, Chunky, Mississippi—died 5 September 1860, Chunky, Mississippi; married George B. Williamson
  2. Mary Ann Pierce, born 7 December 1844, Chunky, Mississippi—died 29 September 1881, Chunky, Mississippi; married Elansom Green Everett
  3. Aaron Pierce, born 26 October 1846, Chunky, Mississippi—died 18 July 1932, Wickware community, Newton County, Mississippi; married Margaret Ellender Dean
  4. William M. Pierce, Sr., born 26 August 1848, Chunky, Mississippi and lived in Jasper County, Mississippi; married Elizabeth (Betty) Walker
  5. Emaline Malissa Pierce, born 23 December 1850, Chunky, Mississippi. No further information.
  6. Franklin M. Pierce, born 11 March 1853, Chunky, Mississippi—died 20 February 1935, Wickware community, Newton County, Mississippi; married Mary M. Welch
  7. James Pierce, born 8 April 1855, Chunky, Mississippi—died 2 June 1925; married Mattie Mitchell
  8. Jefferson Pierce, born 8 April 1857, Chunky, Mississippi; married Janey Jones
  9. Louisa Pierce, born 4 December 1859, Chunky, Mississippi—died 23 November 1942, Wickware community, Newton County, Mississippi; married Thomas Preston Yarbrough
  10. Bernice Pierce, born and died 16 May 1862, Chunky, Mississippi

Third Generation: Gad Abbeville Pierce

Gad Abbeville Pierce, son of Mary Woods Harris and Joel Pierce was born 1826 in Mississippi, and died 1868 in Newton County, Mississippi.  He married Eliza Davis about 1850, daughter of Hamilton Davis and Lavisa (Vicey) Loper8. She was born 1830 in South Carolina, and died 1863 in Newton County, Mississippi. There were six children born to the marriage, but only one child, Elias Hampton Pierce, is known to have survived. He made his way to Texas, and later on his return to Newton County, could find no living relatives. Issue:

  1. James Pierce, born 1851, Hickory, Newton County, Mississippi
  2. Melissa Pierce, born 1852, Hickory, Newton County, Mississippi
  3. Joel Pierce, born 1854, Hickory, Newton County, Mississippi
  4. Elias Hampton Pierce, born 31 March 1856, Hickory, Newton County, Mississippi—died 30 April 1938, Eastland County, Texas; married Elizabeth Ann (Betty) McCanlis.
  5. Levy Pierce, born 1858, Hickory, Newton County, Mississippi
  6. Sarah Pierce, born 1859, Hickory, Newton County, Mississippi

Third Generation: George Washington Pierce9

George Washington Pierce, son of Mary Woods Harris and Joel Pierce, was born 09 Jun 1828 in Mississippi, and died Nov 1917 in the Prospect community, Newton County, Mississippi.  He married Mary S. Haley Abt. 1853 in Newton County, Mississippi, daughter of Spencer Haley and Mary Myers. She was born 14 Dec 1838, and died 22 July 1911 in the Prospect community, Newton County, Mississippi. George and Mary left the Chunky area and resettled in the Prospect area during the 1870’s. They were the parents of ten children, as follows:

  1. Mary M. Pierce, born 30 April 1855, Chunky, Mississippi; married John C. Barrett, and following his death in 1891, moved to Louisiana
  2. Dora Ann Pierce, born 15 April 1857, Chunky, Mississippi—died 26 July 1938, Lucern community, Newton County, Mississippi; married George W. Guice
  3. Martha Jane Pierce, born 22 October 1859, Chunky, Mississippi—died 1 February 1902, Prospect community, Newton County, Mississippi; married Robert J. (Bob) Underwood
  4. Mary Elizabeth Pierce, born 4 September 1862, Chunky, Mississippi—died 18 August 1914, Prospect community, Newton County, Mississippi; married Daniel Carroll (Cal) Boykin
  5. James Rankin C. Pierce, born 2 February 1865, Newton County, Mississippi—died 2 June 1948, Prospect community, Newton County, Mississippi; married Martha E. (Jennie) Thrash
  6. Frances D. (Fannie) Pierce, born 1 August 1867, Newton County, Mississippi—died 18 August 1915, Prospect community, Newton County, Mississippi; married Able Netheniel Boykin
  7. W. W. Pierce, born 25 May 1870, Newton County, Mississippi—died young
  8. Lucie V. Pierce, born 25 May 1870, Newton County, Mississippi—died 28 September 1935, Prospect community, Newton County, Mississippi; married Robert Singleton (Bob) Boykin
  9. Spencer Lewis Pierce, born 7 August 1875, Newton County, Mississippi—died 23 October 1956; married Mapsie Liler Wyatt
  10. Ransom Benton Pierce, born 1 August 1878, Newton County, Mississippi—died 29 May 1939, Union, Mississippi; married Minnie Lee Hedrick

Third Generation: James Monroe (Red Jim) Harris

James Monroe (Red Jim) HarrisJames Monroe (Red Jim) Harris, son of William Harris, Jr. and Cynthia Everett, was born 26 Sep 1834 in Lawrence County, Mississippi, and died 18 Dec 1918 in Newton County, Mississippi.  He married (1) Martha Elizabeth Gressett, daughter of William Van Gressett and Cynthia Carter. She was born 1841 in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, and died Aft. 1860 in Newton County, Mississippi. The marriage produced two children. He married  (2) Elizabeth Sims Aft. 1860, daughter of Michael Micajah Sims, Jr., and Eleanor (Nellie)  Blakely. She was born 13 Sep 1842 in Newton County, Mississippi, and died 28 Jan 1920 in Decatur, Newton County, Mississippi. This second marriage produced seven children. During his life time, Red Jim moved from the Chunky area in 1877 to live at “Harris Hill” in the Chapel Hill area northeast of Decatur, land that largely remains in the hands of his descendants.

Issue:

  1. Cynthia Catherine Harris, born 8 August 1857, Chunky, Mississippi—died 18 December 1938, Decatur, Mississippi; married Jacob Claude Hollingsworth
  2. William Richard Harris, born 1859, Chunky, Mississippi—died October 1879 of fever10.
  3. Sarah Elizabeth (Sallie) Harris, born 12 September 1866, Chunky, Mississippi—died 24 August 1949, Meridian, Mississippi; married Elias George Williams
  4. James W. Harris, born 1870, Chunky, Mississippi. No further information.
  5. Richard Michael (Mike) Harris, born 30 June 1873, Chunky, Newton County, Mississippi—died 28 January 1932; married Elma Lucinda Williams
  6. Mary S. Lou Harris, born 20 July 1875, Chunky, Newton County, Mississippi—died  4 July 1937; married Leonard Munn
  7. Janie F. Harris, born 12 October 1877, Chapel Hill community, Newton County, Mississippi—died 1968; married Charles Lafayette Williams, Sr.
  8. William Rufus (Rufe) Harris, born 10 September 1879, Chapel Hill community, Newton County, Mississippi—died 16 January 1964; married Susan (Susie May) Laird
  9. Thomas Monroe Harris, born 30 July 1882, Chapel Hill community, Newton County, Mississippi—died 27 July 1970, Decatur, Mississippi; married Nellie Eliza Rowzee

Third Generation: Richard Oliver (Ol) Harris

Richard Oliver Harris, son of William Harris, Jr., and Cynthia Everett, was born 24 Apr 1839 in Newton County, Mississippi, and died 27 Nov 1917 in Lake, Newton County, Mississippi at the home of his son Floyd Green Harris, Sr.  He married Mary Elizabeth Clearman 02 Feb 1860 in Newton County, Mississippi, daughter of  William Leslie Clearman and Mary Lucretia Speaks. She was born 08 Apr 1844 in Newton County, Mississippi, and died 26 Apr 1926 in Newton County, Mississippi. They lived much of their early marriage in the Chunky area (both in Lauderdale and Newton Counties), but some time prior to 1880, they moved to Decatur and are shown on an 1883 Tax List as owning 360 acres in Sections 25 & 26 Township 7 Range 11E. They were the parents of nine children:

  1. William Hughes Harris, born 5 December 1860, Chunky, Mississippi—died 7 November 1930, Decatur, Mississippi; married Minnie Alice Loper
  2. Columbus Richard A. (Lum) Harris, born June 1862, Chunky, Mississippi—died 5 April 1939, Stephens County, Texas; married Harriet Cleminta (Hattie) Martin
  3. James Washington (Wash) Harris, born Abt. 1866, Chunky, Mississippi—died 20 August 1946, Stephens County, Texas; married Sarah Elizabeth (Sallie) Summers
  4. Lucretia J. Harris, born 9 April 1868, Chunky, Mississippi—died 14 July 1890, Decatur, Mississippi. Did not marry.
  5. Rosa Lee Harris, born 27 February 1871, Chunky, Mississippi—died 10 October 1965, Union, Mississippi; married George Washington Carey, Sr.
  6. Emily Elvira Harris, born 3 March 1876, Decatur, Mississippi—died 27 August 1916, Decatur, Mississippi; married James Dunagin Shockley
  7. Edna A. Harris, born 14 February 1878, Decatur, Mississippi—died 19 September 1947, Decatur, Mississippi; married William Henry Scoggin
  8. Floyd Green Harris, Sr., born 13 July 1879, Decatur, Mississippi—died 21 July 1947, Jackson, Mississippi; married Nora Lee Robinson
  9. Andrew Clifton (Cliff) Harris, Sr., born 12 April 1882, Decatur, Mississippi—died 4 December 1948, Walters, Cotton County, Oklahoma; married Eunice Amelia Williams

The William Harris family was among the pioneer families of Newton County, and as the genealogy shows, they intermarried with many of other pioneer families including those of Everett, Nelson, Mabry, Williamson, Blakeley, Loper, Pierce, Hollingsworth, Clearman and Gressett.

Eleazer Nelson & William Harris Lan Patent

Eleazer Jordan Nelson, a brother-in-law of William Harris, Jr., served as a Private, Georgia Militia, War of 1812, under the command of Capt. Jett Thomas, a native of Baldwin County, Georgia. Thereafter he moved to Lawrence County, Mississippi, and was married there on 2 May 1821 to Temperance Everett. They were the parents of thirteen children. He later lived in Jasper County, Mississippi and patented in 1860 a tract containing 120 acres near Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi.

Notes:

  1. Contributing to this report, as well, were Dr. Harold Graham and Bess Hollingsworth.
  2. Newton County Deed Book 2, page 83, includes the sale from George W. Todd and wife V. C. Todd of 420 acres for the amount of $2, 000 on January 13, 1877 to W. J. Jones, attorney, this land located in Section 10, Township 7, Range 12E. Newton County Deed Book 2, page 85, includes the sale from W. J. Jones of 520 acres for the amount of $1,500 to James M. Harris and wife Mrs. E. Harris on January 22, 1877, this land located in Section 35 Township 7 Range 11E, Section 2 Township 6 Range 11E, and Section 26 Township Range 11 East, this land inclusive of the land originally purchased from G. W. Todd. 
  3. Newton County Deed Book 2, page 86, includes the sale on January 22, 1877,  of land (acreage not specified) in Section 35 Township 7 Range 11E from W. J. Jones to James M. Harris and wife Mrs. E. Harris in the amount of $500.
  4. Other names of interest in the 1820 Federal Census of Lawrence County, Mississippi, were Eleazer Harris, Jeremiah Harris,  and Charles W. Harris.
  5. Pierce is the usual spelling of this name, but Pearce will also be found in historical records.
  6. United States Census Mortality Schedule Index.
  7. United States Census Mortality Schedule Index.
  8. Elias Hampton Pierce named Vicey Loper as his grandmother; however, historical records suggest that her sister Canna Loper, the first wife of Hamilton Davis, was more likely his grandmother.
  9. Reference is made to the journal of Spencer Lewis Pierce, as provided  by Melody Harvey.
  10. U. S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules Index.

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