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Reverend Harrison Harvey was born on March 20, 1851, in St. Joseph, Missouri, likely into enslavement. How he came to Greene County is unknown, but in 1870, Harrison was living in Cass Township, in the household of Jane Watson, a white woman. On August 5, 1875, Harrison married Sarah Huddleston in Greene County and began a family. In 1880, Harvey was still living in Cass Township, and was teaching school. By 1900, he and his family had moved to West Main Street, Ash Grove, and he was working as a preacher and as a laborer for the Ash Grove White Lime Association. According to local histories, Reverend Harrison had a small congregation of African-American Cumberland Presbyterians in Ash Grove, and another in the town of Cave Springs, Missouri. In 1906, his wife passed away and was buried in the Berry Cemetery. In 1910, when the cemetery was formally legally established, Harrison Harvey served as one of its trustees. Harrison died on April 7, 1918 at 66 years of age and his death certificate states that he was interred in the "Berry Cemetery Ash Grove Mo" (Russel 2012).
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Rev. Harrison Harvey (left), his wife Sarah, and their two children in front of their house on the west edge of Ash Grove. Rev. Harvey was a circuit preacher for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and laborer at the Ash Grove lime kilns. The Harveys are interred in the Berry Cemetery. (Photo courtesy of the Berry Family)
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Grave Marker: Rev. Harrison Harvey's grave marker is a large block style monument on a base. Excluding the base, the monument is 43 x 33 x 15 inches in size. The base is 14 x 40 x 22 inches in size. The front of the marker bares floral imagery (upper portion), engraved text "REV. H HARVEY 1851 ----- 1918" (central portion), and the embossed surname "HARVEY" (lower portion). By 2010, the upper part of the monument had detached from the base. In 2017, through a grant from the Phenix Marble Company, the upper part was re-set on the base. The marker is now in relatively good condition.
East face of monument Monument in 2021, after re-attachment to base.
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North face of monument in 2021, after re-attachment to base.
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