I believe Elizabeth Sporle was born in the village of Kirton, 10 miles south-west of the city of Ipswich, in the county of Suffolk, England. Her parents were John Sporle and Hannah Burrows. Elizabeth's youngest child, Mary Hannah, was probably named after her grandmother. I believe Elizabeth and David Towers Pierce met either in Kirton or London. Elizabeth gave birth to John Sporle Pierce in London on 10 May 1850. Presumably David Towers Pierce was the father of the child, but in any event they were not married and by the time John Sporle Pierce was born, David Towers Pierce had left England emigrating to Durban, Natal, South Africa. Elizabeth followed David a couple of years later, meeting up with him in Cape Town in 1853. There she married David Towers Pierce on 22 Aug 1853. Young John Sporle Pierce was baptised in Cape Town on 5 Mar 1854 at the age of 3 years and 10 months. The family then moved back to Durban where they had 3 more children - David George Pierce (1855), Mary Ann Pierce (1857) and Mary Hannah Pierce (1858). In 1857 David advocated for the emigration of 25 year old John Sporle (Elizabeth's younger brother, not her father) and his wife, Agnes also 25 years, and their son David (2 years) to emigrate from Kirton to Natal. However, this family decided not to come to South africa in the end. David Towers Pierce died soon after the birth of Mary Hannah and on 25 Jul 1859 Elizabeth married James Moore a gardener in Durban.
