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p J THE ADVDC? !'F
y TFENTON, ONT., CANADA, Thurs. Jan 12, 1893.
MR. DAVID R. PIERSCN i, of grec f rOi' ,L)
On the 24th day of Dec, the writer called upon Air. Pierson & found
him as usual enjoying good health & in the enjoyment of all his mental
faculties.. Having been intimately acquainted with him for over �O years,
I could not in any way detect in his memory or intellect any defect, & he
did not show any sibs of that febbleness that is usual in nersons of his
age and he converses as fully & intelligently as he did 50 years hence.
David Ross Pierson was born at Elizabethtown, Union County, New Jersey
on the 23 day of Dec 1798, and was therefore 94 ,years old on the 25th day
of Dec. 1892.
The late Col. James Pierson of Hillier, his eldest brother, came to
Canada about 1806 with his uncle James Hendricks, settled at the Carrying
Place, and carried on the lumbering business & James Pierson was his foreman.
Tn 1809 James Pierson returned to New Jersey fc persuaded his mother
who was then a widow, to remove wits her family tc Canada, which was
satisfactory, and two large covered sleigl`_ sere obtained & during the month
of January 1809 Mrs. Pierson and her family left Elizabethtown_ for Canada. They
came by way of Albany, Ballstown, Little Falls, Utica, Fort Stanwin (ROME)
to Cape Vincent; thence across Wolfe Island to Kingston, thence to Carrying
Place, and located at Sugar Point, where James Pierson had bargained to
purchase 800 acres of land, but on examination, the title was found to be
objectionable, and he then ,purchased land at Pleasant Bay, where they shortly
after located,
Airs. Pierson's family consisted of James, David, Aaron, Joseph, Hannah,
Jemima & Elizabeth, who was married to John Bryant, who came with his mother-
in-law to Canada. James, Aaron & Joseph settled at Pleasant Bay; Jemima
married the late John Stapleton of Hillier & Hannah married Richard Ellrebeck of
Kingston.
Subsequently widow Pierson married the late James Hennessey, and with the
.younger members of her family removed to her husband's home, being part of lot 64
in the first concession of Ameliashurg, where Mr. Hennessey kept a public house
for some years. David at this time was a boy and attended school at the school-
house located on part of lot :�6 in the said concession then owned by Mr. John Post.
On growing up to manhood he purchased the east half of lot 92 in the first con-
cession of Ameliasburg from the Corbman estate, & subsequently purchased the
east half of the west half of said lot, which together with the broken front made
200'acres. This was sometime during 18199 In $M 1821 he married Mary Halsey, a
native of his own town in New Jersey, Their family were Joseph, Bryant, Aaron &
Sarah Ann, Joseph died in 1854, Sarah Ann_ mt-•ried Lewis Bent ' & died in 18i0.
Mr. & Mrs. Pierson resided upon this farm till her death in 1884 in her 84th year,
having been born on the 25 day of Deb 1800, and Mr. Pierson still occupies the farm
where he has resided continuously for over 73 years, He never meddled with public
affairs Pc attended strictly to his own business, never was sued, & never sued any
person growing out of his personal dealings, so far as my memory serves me & I
am certain he has not an enemy or has ever had one.
-- Many a uredy Person has had -benefit of his help & charity. During his long life,
no needy person ever got the cold shoulder from him; for he was for many years in a
Position to render assistance to the poor & did so liberally.
Mr. Pierson's family at preGent are few in n umber. He has living two sons,
three grand da2_Zhtprs & one gra s n, & one great grand daughter. There are no male
descendants bearing the name of Pierson except his two sons.
Aaron is hale & hearty, but apparently has no notion of becoming a benedict, As
a financial success I know of no 200 acres of land in the Province of Ontario that
has produced the same or an equal amount of accumulations, as that of Mr. Pierson &
his sons. I attribute his logevity to the fact that he has never meddled with any
other person's business.
Jan 9th, 1893 J.H.P.