Harrison D. Wilson was born about 1847 in Missouri, and likely grew up enslaved. He was living in the Ash Grove area by September 1869, when he was a witness in the murder case against Peter Boone (See entry for Boone, Peter). Harrison is absent from the 1870 census but is listed in the 1880 census as then living outside Ash Grove and working as a laborer on the farm of T.C. Coleman. In 1900, Harrison was living on West Main Street in Ash Grove with his housekeeper, Hattie Haney, and working as a plasterer. In June of 1900, Harrison Wilson was a trustee of the Colored Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Ash Grove. By 1910, Harrison was living alone and still working as a plasterer. Harrison died on May 14, 1914. According to available records, Harrison never married or had children. Harrison's death certificate reports that he died of "acute dialation of the heart" and was interred in the "Berry Cemetery" on March 14, 1914 (Russel 2012).
Grave Marker: Harrison Wilson's specific place of burial within the Berry Cemetery is unknown and there is no individual headstone for him. However, Harrison is memorialized by the inscription of his name (shown below) on the new monument, installed in 2017, for individuals interred in unmarked graves in the Berry Cemetery.
