Elizabeth was born in September 1835 in Fraddon and was baptised on September 13th, 1835 in St Enoder, Cornwall. Elizabeth's father was Thomas Pearce and her mother was Ann Bullock. Her paternal grandparents were Thomas Pearce and Ann Clemow; her. She was the oldest of two children. She had a brother named Thomas. She had a half-brother and four half-sisters, named Thomas, Ann, Mary, Dorothy and Ann.