History of Richard Harrison by Beverly Evans
Richard Harrison was born in England in 1808. When he was 14 years old, he became an apprentice in making iron. He eventually worked his way up to become a superintendent in an iron foundry in Liverpool, England. He married Mary Ann Whitaker in 1836. In 1840 they were baptized members of the church and they had a daughter that was born and died in Liverpool.
In Nov, 1842 they immigrated to the United States. They arrived in New Orleans and went up the Mississippi River by steamboat, and although delayed by the frozen river they eventually arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois. While there, he worked as an iron molder in nearby Iowa. They had another daughter who was born there but died at the age of three and a then a son who would. They were driven from their home in Nauvoo and went to Council Bluffs to prepare to go west by wagon train, arriving in Salt Lake on Oct. 28, 1849. They lived in Salt Lake where they acquired property and built a house on what is known as Walker Block on Main Street. They had another daughter born to them in Salt Lake.
One year after arriving in Salt Lake, Richard was called to move to southern Utah as part of the Iron Mission. The men that were called had to be men of some means because they had to live on what they took with them and also finance the building of the furnaces and equipment to make iron that the Saints needed. Richard Harrison sold his property for an ox team, wagon, rocking chair, and supplies and ammunition to sustain them for the next year . They left in the middle of December and arrived to settle Parowan in the middle of January and proceeded to make a settlement there. One year later, in 1851, he moved with some of the group to what is now Cedar City where they lived through the winter in wagons formed in the shape of a fort for protection.
In Feb. of 1852 they began erecting a furnace Richard Harrison was appointed the superintendent of the newly organized iron company by Brigham Young. Finally in Sept of 1852 the iron foundry was ready for its first trial run. The original furnace and setup was in Cedar City near Coal Creek coming out of Cedar Canyon, and the ore was not as high quality as what was later found out by Irontown. The entire town showed up for the event, with parents putting their children to sleep on blankets as they anxiously waited. At daybreak on Sept. 30, Richard Harrison ordered that the furnace be tapped and a small stream of molten iron came pouring out as everyone celebrated.
In 1854, the Harrison's little daughter died, their third child to do so. In 1854 and 1855, Richard represented Iron County in the Territorial Legislature. Their daughter, Sophia Elizabeth Harrison was born in Salt Lake in 1855 while they were there for the legislative session. Richard took another wife in that same year. In 1856, the Iron Mission received several blows when the water supply dipped low, the furnace's hot blast pipes burnt, and a big flood came down the creek washing away some of the equipment. Eventually, the Iron Company was closed down after eight years. Richard Harrison moved to Pinto and later worked for the iron company at Irontown as superintendent. He became Pinto's Justice of the Peace and Postmaster. He died in Pinto in 1882 at the age of 74.
We are descended from Richard Harrison through his daughter, Sophia Elizabeth Harrison (The Promised Child - But that is another story). She married Neil Donald Forsyth and they were the parents of nine children, the youngest being Cassie Alene Forsyth. She married Alonzo Christian Christensen and they are the parents of Russell Alonzo Christensen. Russell married Katherine Stirling and they are the parents of Beverly Ann Christensen Evans.
