John H. Harrison, a prominent and successful farmer and poultry man of Oneida County, is a native of England, born in Sheffield, October 3, 1862. His parents, Edward Harrison and Elizabeth (Holland) Harrison were also natives of England. His father was born in Sheffield, England, June 22, 1834, and his mother was born in the same place, July 7, 1834. 

John H. Harrison crossed the ocean at the age of two. Accompanied by his parents, they landed on shore in the spring of 1864. From here they journeyed to Salt Lake by ox team. On the way across the plains, John Harrison became ill with scarlet fever and remained in bed throughout the entire journey. He was kept alive only by a strong stimulant. When they reached Salt Lake he wasn’t long recovering. When old enough, he went to work for his father, Edward, in the blacksmith shop. 

John Harrison’s father, Edward, was chiefly a ship builder and a boiler maker in the old country. When they came to America, he took a fancy to blacksmithing at which occupation he has been very successful. 

They lived in four or five small towns between Malad and Salt Lake. In 1865, they lived in Franklin, the oldest city in Idaho. From there they moved to Hyde Park, Utah in 1867. They liked Hyde Park because of its fertile soil and farming was the chief occupation then. In 1868 they moved back to Salt Lake where they remained until they came to Malad in 1878. The roads were only wagon trails which the settlers made themselves going and coming to the valley. The buildings were log rooms and poorly equipped. 

John Harrison and his father operated a blacksmith shop on South Main where Dave South now lives. When he was 17, he bought a building from the Express Co. where the J.C. Penney store now stands and started a blacksmith of his own. He must have enjoyed the blacksmith work because he worked at it for 20 years in Malad. 

Mr. Harrison attended his first school in Salt Lake at the age of 5. He was there only a short time and the most important thing that he remembers was the singing of the moral song, “If you don’t succeed the first time, try,try,try again.” His next schooling was in San Francisco some years later. In this school they went by readers instead of grades. Mr. Harrison was a favorite of his teacher. He was chosen every time when an errand was to be run. 

In San Francisco he saw his first World’s Fair at the age of 13. He would go every day and spend hours watching the machinery work. It was the beginning of the self-binder machine. He remembers distinctly the first steam engine he saw. It was so small that a sewing thimble could be placed over it, and it was run exclusively by steam. Mr. Harrison says he would like to go to the World’s Fair now and see the improvements. He mentioned as his greatest ambition watching the improvements in machinery. 

Mr. Harrison met Lucinda Campbell in Malad and was later married to her in her home on the Devil Creek ranch in 1883. Mr. Harrison was 21 years of age and Miss Campbell was 19. Their first home together was on South Main, later buying the lot where they now live from Dave Leigh. 

Mr. Harrison is the father of nine children: Jonathan, Lizzie, Daniel, and Alfred who are deceased; Lorenzo, Orville and Lee Harrison, Mary Jones and Helen Allen who are still living. Mr. Harrison has seventeen grandchildren and three living great-grandchildren. 

Mr. Harrison mentioned as his greatest accomplishment starting out alone and acquiring a large lot and a fine home in Malad and a large farm out in St. John. He also has his children started in occupations of their own helping them to acquire farms and get started. 

Mr. Harrison noticed a great improvement in education. He says that he went to school in a log room and now they have large, fine buildings and elaborate equipment for the students to work with which gives them a much better chance. Business has also improved tremendously. He says when he came to Malad, the Co-op was only a small one-room log store. 

Mr. Harrison’s advice to the younger people of today, “Go straight by all means; get started in one occupation and stick to it. Don’t keep changing around for you will never have anything in the end.