Pearsons was born on December 19, 1824, to parents John and Hannah (née Putnam) Pearsons, the latter being the grand-niece of
American Revolution General
Israel Putnam. Before he was of grade-school age his parents moved to the adjacent town of
Bradford, Vermont, where he spent much of his childhood. He attended school there and upon graduation entered
Harvard Law School in 1846. Graduating in the class of 1849 with a
Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B.), he moved to
Holyoke, Massachusetts, to open a practice and spent the entirety of his legal career operating out of that city. In the city's founding days in 1849, Pearsons was involved in local politics as a member of
fourth estate, serving as the very first editorial writer for the
Hampden Freeman, wherein his first editorial he described Holyoke, then known as Ireland Parish, as– "the infant giant of western Massachusetts, in the midst of a beautiful and fertile region noted far and wide for the industry of its inhabitants, its salubrious climate, and its enchanting scenery". Pearsons remained active in Holyoke's civic life even prior to becoming a public officeholder, serving as the first secretary of
Mount Tom Lodge A.F. & A.M. soon after it was chartered in 1850, and its third master in 1855. ==Political career==