My Genealogy Hound

Henry Clay Pearce, a prominent and well known citizen of Trenton, Tenn., was born in Carroll County, November 5, 1842, son of Stokley D. and Mary (Killough) Pearce, natives, respectively, of North Carolina and Tennessee. They were married in Middle Tennessee and in 1821 removed to Carroll County, where he followed farming until his death, in 1856. He was originally a hatter by trade, but never followed that business in West Tennessee. Henry Clay removed to this county in 1856 and lived with his brother, his mother having died when he was an infant. In 1857 he came to Trenton with his brother, John K., and assisted him in conducting the Union Hall Hotel until the war. In May, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Fourth Regiment, Tennessee Infantry, Confederate States Army, and served as a private until the cessation of hostilities. He then clerked in a mercantile establishment in Trenton until 1872, and then began keeping a grocery, continuing until 1876. He then acted as deputy county court clerk from 1878 to 1882. From 1876 until 1882 he was magistrate of his district. Since the latter date he has lived a comparatively retired life, having traded somewhat in real estate and devoted part of his attention to farming interests. November 15, 1870, he married Sarah A. Williams, of Gibson County. They have seven children, three sons and four daughters. Mr. Pearce is a Democrat, a member of the K. of P., and he and wife are members of the Baptist Church. He has been secretary of the County Fair Association for three years.